AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) announced it will sell the Samsung Infuse 4G Android smartphone starting May 15 for $199 with a two-year contract. The carrier also provided additional details on its handset launch plans for the coming months, as well as insight into its network upgrade efforts.
AT&T previously announced the Samsung Infuse in January during the Consumer Electronics Show. The phone was part of a range of handsets AT&T said will work on its upgraded HSPA network, which it dubbed 4G. Indeed, the Infuse is the first AT&T phone to connect to its HSPA+ 21 Mbps network. AT&T refers to the network as "HSDPA category 14" and it provides theoretical peak download speeds of 21 Mbps. AT&T has already launched two 4G-branded phones, the Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) Atrix and the HTC Inspire, though those devices connect to AT&T's HSPA 14.4 Mbps network, which the carrier refers to as HSDPA Category 10.
Further, AT&T said the Samsung Infuse will launch with HSUPA Category 6 technology, which supports theoretical upload speeds of 5.76 Mbps. AT&T's two 4G-branded phones, the Atrix and the Inspire, did not initially launch with HSUPA Category 6 support, though the carrier is working to offer software upgrades to the devices that will allow users to access the faster upload speeds. An AT&T executive told PCMag.com that the carrier decided to hold off initially on adding HSUPA Category 6 upload functionality to the Inspire and Atrix in order to get them out to market more quickly. Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) launched its LTE-capable HTC ThunderBolt smartphone in March.
The Samsung Infuse features the Android 2.2 platform, a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 1.2 GHz processor.
In an interview with PCMag.com, AT&T's Jeff Bradley said the carrier next plans to launch an Android-powered slider-style smartphone from Pantech. Bradley, AT&T's senior vice president of devices, also said AT&T will soon launch the Windows Phone 7-powered HD7S from HTC, but will hold off on releasing additional Windows Phone 7 devices until later this year when Microsoft's "Mango" update for the platform is ready. He said sales of WP7 devices at AT&T are "fine," though he didn't provide specifics.
Finally, Bradley said AT&T is in the middle of upgrading its network from HSPA 7.2 Mbps to HSPA+ 21 Mbps, but declined to say which cities have been upgraded. He said one-third of AT&T's traffic will be on HSPA+ 21 sites by the middle of this year, and that two-thirds will be on HSPA+ 21 by year-end.
AT&T previously announced the Samsung Infuse in January during the Consumer Electronics Show. The phone was part of a range of handsets AT&T said will work on its upgraded HSPA network, which it dubbed 4G. Indeed, the Infuse is the first AT&T phone to connect to its HSPA+ 21 Mbps network. AT&T refers to the network as "HSDPA category 14" and it provides theoretical peak download speeds of 21 Mbps. AT&T has already launched two 4G-branded phones, the Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) Atrix and the HTC Inspire, though those devices connect to AT&T's HSPA 14.4 Mbps network, which the carrier refers to as HSDPA Category 10.
Further, AT&T said the Samsung Infuse will launch with HSUPA Category 6 technology, which supports theoretical upload speeds of 5.76 Mbps. AT&T's two 4G-branded phones, the Atrix and the Inspire, did not initially launch with HSUPA Category 6 support, though the carrier is working to offer software upgrades to the devices that will allow users to access the faster upload speeds. An AT&T executive told PCMag.com that the carrier decided to hold off initially on adding HSUPA Category 6 upload functionality to the Inspire and Atrix in order to get them out to market more quickly. Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) launched its LTE-capable HTC ThunderBolt smartphone in March.
The Samsung Infuse features the Android 2.2 platform, a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 1.2 GHz processor.
In an interview with PCMag.com, AT&T's Jeff Bradley said the carrier next plans to launch an Android-powered slider-style smartphone from Pantech. Bradley, AT&T's senior vice president of devices, also said AT&T will soon launch the Windows Phone 7-powered HD7S from HTC, but will hold off on releasing additional Windows Phone 7 devices until later this year when Microsoft's "Mango" update for the platform is ready. He said sales of WP7 devices at AT&T are "fine," though he didn't provide specifics.
