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ORLANDO, Fla.–Day one at CTIA 2011 is done and despite a certain merger hanging over everyone’s head, carriers and manufacturers didn’t disappoint the crowd with new devices. A few announcements trickled out yesterday, but today was the day when companies rolled out the big guns. Here’s a review of what we’ve seen so far.
For more day one coverage, check out Maggie Reardon’s post on spectrum and this morning’s keynote with the CEOs of AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless.
Sprint
Like it has done the past few years, Sprint did its best to throw one of CTIA’s biggest bashes. It started Monday making news even as much of the wireless nation was flying to Florida. The news that it would offer the first 4G (and first CDMA) Samsung Nexus S will please Android purists while Google Voice fans should welcome Sprint’s plans to integrate the service into all of its phones.
Today, Sprint unveiled two additional Android devices, the Evo View and the Evo 3D. The former is a slightly revamped version of the HTC Flyer tablet that debuted last month as Mobile World Congress. Sprint kept almost everything, including HTC’s Scribe technology, while adding WiMax support and a black finish. The Evo 3D meanwhile is a Gingerbread-equipped smartphone with the ability to record 3D video and shoots 3D still photos.
Bonnie Cha/CNET
Samsung
Tablets were on Samsung’s mind. The company held its own press conference this morning where it showed off the Samsung Galaxy 8.9 and 10.1 tablets. Billed as the “world’s thinnest tablets,” both devices measure just 8.6 millimeters deep. That’s thinner than the other Galaxy 10.1 and just a hair’s thinner than the iPad 2 (8.8 millimeters).
The major difference between the two is the size of their WXGA (1,280×800) displays (obviously, one measures 10.1 inches and the other is 8.9 inches). Features, however, are the same. Both run Honeycomb and Samsung’s new TouchWiz UX for tablets. They also have dual-core processors, 1080p HD video playback, a rear-facing 3-megapixel camera and a front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video calls.
Nicole Lee/CNET
LG
Not to be outdone, LG announced the LG G2X for T-Mobile. Like the LG Optimus 2X (this is the U.S. version), the G2X has a 1.0 GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core and a load of features. It only runs Froyo, but it supports T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network.
Next up is the LG Thrill 4G for AT&T. As the U.S. version of the LG Optimus 3D (yet another Mobile World Congress phone) the Thrill 4G is all about its 3D video recording. As we said with the Optimus handset, the 3D effect is subtle but pretty nifty. LG also announced the Optimus C for Cricket and a few accessories including Bluetooth headsets and a wireless charging pad.
The rest
Even Nokia found time to offer up something in Orlando. It’s not a Windows Phone 7 device, but runs on Symbian instead (you heard us right). The Nokia Astound will arrive at AT&T on April 6. If you thought it was basically the Nokia C7, you’d be correct as the two handsets have a lot in common. It sports a 3.5-inch AMOLED touch screen, a rear-facing 8-megapixel with 720p HD video capture, and a front-facing camera for video calls. AT&T also is getting the Acer Iconia Tab A501. That’s an Android Honeycomb tablet with an Nvidia dual-core processor, a 10-inch WXGA multitouch screen, and 1080p HD video output via its HDMI port.
So that’s it from day one of CTIA. Hang tight for all the news from day two!
