The HTC Thunderbolt 4G

News of the upcoming launch of at least four 4G Android phones for Verizon Wireless has been scarce since the phones were first unveiled.

The 4G devices revealed this past week at CES are the HTC Thunderbolt 4G, Samsung SCH-i510, Motorola Droid Bionic, and LG Revolution.

Verizon has kept release dates for these phones secret by keeping retailers in the dark. Still, there is some weak consensus as to when the first 4G phones will launch and the order in which they will launch.

According to various sources we’ve spoken with over the past couple of days, there is some consensus that the first 4G phone will be released in the last couple weeks of February (at the earliest), or sometime in the first week or two of March. In fact, March 1st looks to be the date Verizon is shooting for.

Verizon is taking its time to make sure the new 4G LTE network can handle the new devices without the disruptions in 4G service experienced by AT&T and T-Mobile customers, according to one person familiar with Verizon’s network. Verizon is aware that the success of launching its 4G network is twofold: how the new network actually performs, and how the public perceives the reliability and success of the new network. One of the more important indicators of the robustness of the new network will be the smoothness of video chat—a highly promoted feature of the next-gen 4G phones. Customers with 4G phones on networks other than Verizon’s have experienced significant problems with video chat, a problem Verizon does not want to be perceived as having. Because of Verizon’s ongoing work on the LTE network, a mid-Atlantic/East Coast “region-wide” Verizon 4G LTE network may not be completed until sometime July or August.

As for the phones: the big news is that some think the HTC Thunderbolt 4G may not be the first of the 4G phones launched. During CES, HTC created hype for the Thunderbolt by announcing that the company would once again be launching a “first” 4G phone. However, there is some speculation that Samsung may be moving aggressively to beat HTC to market. Samsung would certainly steal HTC’s thunder by launching the yet-to-be-named Samsung SCH-i510, a phone built on the successful Galaxy S series phones (see the Samsung Fascinate), first.

Still, the popular opinion is that the HTC Thunderbolt will be the first 4G phone released, likely around or on March 1st. Why? HTC has created too much excitement by announcing it would be first to market, plus the Thunderbolt branding is kinda-sorta-obviously designed to lead Verizon’s marketing of its 4G launch. The safe bet is that Samsung’s 4G SCH-i510 will likely arrive just after the launch of the Thunderbolt 4G.

The Motorola Droid Bionic and LG Revolution will follow HTC and Samsungs’ phones, maybe in the Spring.

Preorders for the HTC Thunderbolt and Samsung SCH-i510 are not yet being accepted. If you’re looking to be one of the first people to get a 4G phone on Verizon’s LTE network, we advise you to start checking various retailers beginning the last two weeks of February.

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