HTC to debut 4G WiBro smartphone

HTC Corp., the world's No. 5 smartphone maker, said Thursday that it will release a new smartphone and a tablet PC in South Korea next month that offers the high-speed Internet through faster fourth-generation (4G) wireless networks. KT Corp., South Korea's dominant fixed-line operator, will launch the Evo 4G+ smartphone and the Flyer 4G tablet computer on July 1, Jack Tong, president of HTC's North Asian region, said at a media briefing. The new mobile devices from the Taiwanese maker supports connectivity to KT's wireless-broadband (WiBro) network, a mobile Internet service that can transmit wireless data about three times faster than the third-generation (3G) technology. "Traffic of the 3G network cannot support the growth of smartphone users," the HTC executive said. With the forthcoming devices, bandwidth-hungry South Koreans, the world's biggest consumers of wireless data, according to KT President Pyo Hyun-myung, can surf the Web or download content through both wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) and WiBro networks, while making voice calls through the 3G network. As the spike in smartphone and tablet users fuel bandwidth demand, South Korean mobile operators have been accelerating their transition to the 4G networks from the second or third-generation wireless networks. While top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. and LG Uplus Corp. are readying to launch the long term evolution service next month, KT has been the most aggressive among the three operators with the WiBro technology. Currently available in 82 cities and on major highways in South Korea, WiBro technology was more widely adopted by personal computers than mobile phones. KT, however, plans to boost its line-up of mobile devices equipped with the WiBro connectivity, Pyo said.