U.S. Cellular said yesterday it would come out with two tablets and eight smartphones before the end of the year, including an Android-based LTE smartphone and its first Windows Phone 7 device.
The regional wireless operator also plans to come out with a “wave” of LTE devices in November, presumably timed to the launch of its LTE network.
The company did not say whether it would begin selling LTE smartphones in November along with its other LTE devices. The company announced last month that it would launch its LTE network in two dozen markets before the 2011 holiday season, covering cities in Iowa, Wisconsin, Maine, North Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma.
U.S. Cellular is working to spruce up its handset lineup in an effort to be more competitive with the device portfolios at bigger rival companies like AT&T.
HTC will provide the carrier with four devices beginning this summer, including U.S. Cellular’s first Windows Phone 7 smartphone, as well as a tablet.
The 7-inch tablet, likely the HTC Flyer, is slated to hit shelves this fall along with two additional Android-based smartphones from HTC.
Motorola and LG will provide the carrier with additional Android devices. The Motorola smartphone will come with dual-core 1 GHz processors and a 4.3-inch touchscreen, and the LG device will have a 1 GHz processor and a 4-inch LCD display.
U.S. Cellular did not announce pricing, models or specific release dates.
U.S. Cellular also will sell some new phones aimed at customers who don’t want a high-powered device. The carrier will offer two new quick-messaging phones from Samsung this summer as well as some “entry-level” Android-based phones from Samsung and Huawei this fall.
