Friday, September 30, 2011

HTC Vigor vs HTC Holiday/Raider 4G, both LTE phones Canada bound?


So we know that Bell and Rogers is in a heated battle to deliver LTE service and with that comes the need for LTE capable devices. We know for certain that Rogers is getting an HTC LTE device, it's just a matter of which one. Right now HTC has only the Thunderbolt on Verizon in the US but will will focus on two that are more powerful than the Thunderbolt and tearing up the tech rumor mills.

First off, I believe there is no reason for Bell or Rogers to get an HSPA+/LTE capable version of the Thunderbolt. So we will narrow it down to these two devices.

HTC "Vigor"
First off, we will look at the HTC Vigor. This phone has been tearing up the rumor mills as being HTC's first proper high end LTE phone headed to Verizon. Sporting impressive specs, including a 720p resolution 4.3-inch display (at 341.54 DPI makes it the new pixel density king), 1.5GHz Dual-Core snapdragon processor and LTE 4G capability. Now of course the big hurdle for this phone to head to either Rogers or Bell is that the few leaks of the Vigor have it sporting Verizon LTE and CDMA which is incompatible with Rogers and Bell's HSPA+/LTE network. But with the HTC EVO 3D we saw a precedent where a device unique to a wacko US wireless configuration (CDMA+WiMAX) was also made in the more widely use HSPA+. I fully believe, like the EVO 3D, we will get a HSPA+/LTE capable HTC Vigor. Here are the full rumored specs

  • 4G LTE
  • 4.3-inch 720p HD Display
  • 1.5GHz Dual-core Snapdragon S3 CPU
  • 1GB of RAM
  • Android 2.3 Gingerbread with Sense UI
  • 8MP Rear facing 1080p HD capable camera with dual LED flash and 2MP Front Facing Camera
  • 1620mAh Battery
  • Beats by Dr. Dre audio optimization with studio earbuds
  • 16GB onboard + Expandable Micro SD up to 32GB

HTC Holiday/Raider 4G
The other heavyweight LTE capable phone from HTC making rounds in the rumor mills is the HTC Holiday/Raider 4G. This phone is actually already officially announced for the Korean market as their first LTE phone. It's also been put through it's paces at the FCC with the right HSPA+ and LTE bands for use in Canada. While boasting similar specs to the Vigor, the Raider 4G is like an HTC Sensation XL with 4G LTE grafted to it. Rumored specs include:

  • 4G LTE
  • 4.5-inch qHD Display
  • 1.5GHz Dual-core Snapdragon S3 CPU
  • 1GB of RAM
  • Android 2.3 Gingerbread with Sense UI
  • 8MP Rear facing 1080p HD capable camera with dual LED flash and 1.3MP Front Facing Camera
  • 1620mAh Battery
  • 16GB onboard + Expandable Micro SD up to 32GB

Will these phones head to Canada? Which is going where?
Now there is no guarantee that these phone will come to Canada but I believe that both will eventually make their way here. That being said, There has already been rumblings of the Holiday heading to Bell leaving the Vigor to perhaps head to Rogers. Things will get clearer in the next few days as HTC has an event planned for October 6th which could be the unveiling of these and many other rumored devices featuring Beats technology.

If I were to make an educated guess, the Raider 4G will head to Bell while the HSPA+/LTE version of the Vigor will head to Rogers.

MobileSyrup has reported the they are getting tips that the Holiday/Raider 4G could head to both Rogers and Bell in Q4 2011. This would certainly be a first since device exclusivity has been rampant in Canada, unless a model is forked into variants like the Galaxy S and Galaxy S II.

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