Verizon Wireless announced its earnings report, and 32% of its customers use smartphones. Verizon activated 2.2 million iPhones, most of which were upgrades from existing customers, had great HTC ThunderBolt sales, and offered next iPhone news.
Its first LTE smartphone, the HTC ThunderBolt, had 260,000 activations in the first quarter. "From a pace perspective we are very pleased with the HTC handset launch," Verizon's CEO Francis Shammo said.
Here's where it gets interesting. He also said that Verizon will have
up to three 4G LTE smartphones by the end of the second quarter. We
know that the Droid Bionic is delayed, and the Droid Charge has an April 28 release date. What is the next 4G LTE smartphone then? Maybe the LG Revolution?
He also suggested that the next iPhone would be a world phone and implicated a September launch. At the end of the first quarter, 32 percent of Verizon Wireless' retail
postpaid customer phones were smartphones, up from 28 percent at the
end of fourth-quarter 2010.
By year end, Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network is expected to be available in more
than 175 markets, covering a population of more than 185 million people
throughout the country.
Verizon Wireless added 1.8 million total connections, including 906,000
retail postpaid customers, and 897,000 wholesale and other connections.