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As AT&T works hard to keep pace with their new iPhone rival Verizon Wireless, it is imperative that they can compete on a 4G level, and that’s exactly what they are doing with the HTC Inspire 4G and Motorola Atrix 4G smartphones.  While AT&T may be a little behind Verizon on the  release of their 4g LTE service, they have come on strong with their 4G  launch, and are now beginning to incorporate the 4G smartphones into their repertoire.  Currently the AT&T 4G service is what is known as HSPA+, and offers faster connectivity and functionality than 3G was able to deliver.  AT&T is scheduled to commercially launch their 4G LTE in mid-2011.

AT&T currently has two different 4G smartphones available, the HTC Inspire 4G Smartphone and the Motorola Atrix 4G Smartphone.  While two smartphones may not seem like a lot of choice, they are two of the premiere smartphones of 2011.  The Motorola Atrix won 11 awards at the recent CES 2011, and both smartphones have gotten very positive reviews from users.  Below is a quick overview of each phone, along with the user ratings received from consumers.

HTC Inspire
The HTC Inspire from AT&T delivers the innovative features you’d expect from a smartphone, with specific strengths lying in its popular Android 2.2 OS, its large 4.3″ Capacitive touchscreen, a powerful 1 GHZ Snapdragon Processor, Wi-fi mobile hot spot for up to 5 devices, 4G speed, 8mp camera, and nice variety of entertainment features with both music and video functionality.  With Android Market apps becoming exceptionally plentiful, more and more consumers are considering switching from Apple driven platforms to Android powered gadgets.  The HTC Inspire has received 4.6 stars out of 5 from consumers in its short time on the market, which is quite promising for the future of the HTC smartphone.   The HTC Inspire is available to AT&T customers for only $99. 

Motorola Atrix
One of Cnet’s favorites from the recent CES 2011, the Motorola Atrix 4G Smartphone won 11 awards, and has received a 4.3 out of 5 stars from consumers.  Cnet has rated the smartphone as Excellent, with 4 out of 5 stars for its performance, speed, and high end features.  Cnet editors were also highly impressed with the Atrix’s laptop dock features as well.  This dual core Android 2.2 smartphone is helping AT&T to finally get with the program when it comes to their selection of Android phones, and with its 4G capabilities, the Motoroal Atrix will likely continue to impress.  Features include a 4″ qHD touchscreen, 5mp camera, 4g speed, a Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chipset dual core processor, 3D graphics, Android 2.2 OS, and lots of ‘cool tools’.  The Motorola Atrix is available to AT&T customers for $199.

While there is quite an abundance of conflicting reports out there, it doens’t seem that AT&T is experiencing the mass exodus that was expected when Verizon Wireless released the iPhone.  For those die hard Apple iPhone AT&T customers who recognized that the Verizon iPhone was not necessarily a cut above, many are willing to hold out for the iPhone 5 release (this summer) which is rumored to be upgradeable to its full 4G LTE capacity either in late 2011 or early next year on both networks.  Neither the AT&T iPhone 4 or Verizon Wireless iPhone 4 offer 4G connectivity at this time, and the iPhone 5 is the first Apple 4G possibility, and that possibility is still a rumor at this point.    The Samsung Infuse will be the next 4G smartphone added to AT&T’s selection.

HTC Status

Features

ANDROID(TM) OS Access to thousands of apps in the Android Market(TM). TOUCH AND TYPE Crystal clear touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard. THE SOCIAL SMARTPHONE Enhanced Facebook® experience with HTC Sense and Facebook share button. 5 MP CAMERA 5 MP rear-facing camera with built-in flash and autofocus; VGA front-facing camera. Camera Rear-facing Camera Resolution5.0 MP camera with autofocus and LED flash Zoom2X Live video capture and playback:2.4 hours capture and 7.3 hours playback time Front-facing Camera Music Music player AT&T Shop Music Supported music formatsAAC, AAC+, AAC+V2, 3GP: H264, H263, MP4/AMR-NB, AAC MP4 Built-in FM Radio Create music playlists Messaging Text MessagingInsert pictures, video clips and sound clips easily Instant Messaging (IM)Instant Messaging (IM): Google Talk(TM), Facebook® Chat; Others available for download Email Mobile EmailGmail, POP3/IMAP, MS Exchange Video & Web Web browserPC-like Web Browser Applications/Media RingtonesMP3 Ringback Tones - have your friends hear your favorite song or funny phrase when they call you Cool ToolsFacebook, Twitter, Quick Lookup, Google Voice(TM) Actions ThemesWallpaper, background, custom menus/popups, icons and more AT&T Preloaded AppsAT&T Navigator®, AT&T FamilyMap, AT&T U-verse Live TV*, AT&T Code Scanner, myAT&T, AT&T Shop Music. Separate subscription may be required.

Productivity Calendar Alarm clock, Call waiting, Caller ID Address book Conference calling Call Forwarding MultitaskingUse voice and data simultaneously GPS Extras 3Ghigh-speed data and voice World phoneQuad-band BLUETOOTH® wireless connectivity USB connectivityUSB Cable Included Hands-free speakerphone Voice dialing and voice commands TTY/TTD Compatible Hearing Aid (HAC) ratingM3,T3 Operating System Android Display Display size2.6 inches Resolution (pixels)480 x 320 Colors262K Keyboard Touchscreen QWERTY Predictive text for fast typing Backlit Keys Battery Capacity1250 mAh Talk timeUp to 6.5 hours Standby timeUp to 26.6 days Dimensions Size (inches)4.49 x 2.54 x 0.42 Inches Weight4.32 Ounces Memory Internal memory storageUp to 512 MB (with 120 MB user accessible memory) Expandable memory storageUp to 32 GB Memory formatmicroSD(TM) Memory Card Included2 GB microSD(TM) pre-installed Wireless Technology GSM/GPRS/EDGEGSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/900 MHz) 3G - UMTS/HSDPA850/1900 MHz, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps EDGE high speed data network BLUETOOTH® technology3.0 FOTA capable - upgrade Firmware Over the Air