AT&T announced today that it will begin selling the HTC Inspire 4G on February 13, its first 4G mobile phone. It will also be the first AT&T phone to come with a built-in mobile hotspot, allowing users to connect to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices.
First unveiled at this year's CES, the Android 2.2-powered Inspire 4G will be the first handset to run the latest version of HTC Sense. It will sport a 4.3-inch LCD display, which is the largest screen of any AT&T phone. Additional features include a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor and an 8-megapixel camera with HD video recording.
AT&T declared its existing HSPA+ network as 4G at CES, and HSPA+ was recently declared a 4G technology by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). According to AT&T Mobility chief executive Ralph de la Vega, current HSPA+ speeds are running at approximately 6Mbps for downloads.
"We have completed our deployment of HSPA+ to virtually 100 percent of our mobile broadband network … [and] we expect these speeds to increase as we accelerate our LTE build and further deploy expanded backhaul," de la Vega said.
HSPA+ has various levels, ranging from theoretical speeds of 21Mbps down up to 42, 84, and in the future, 168Mbps. T-Mobile has said previously that it's aiming to upgrade its HSPA+ network to at least 84Mbps.
These are all theoretical, best case scenario speeds. The fastest real-world speeds we have seen so far have been in our tests of Verizon's 4G LTE network.
The Inspire 4G will be available in AT&T stores and online through AT&T's Web site. It will be available for $99.99 with a two-year contract. Pricing for mobile hotspot support has not yet been made available.
AT&T claims the HTC Inspire 4G is the first of more than 20 4G devices the carrier plans to deliver in 2011. We've already taken a look at the Motorola Atrix and Samsung Infuse 4G, both of which should be coming soon as well.