Verizon to debut 3rd Android phone with 4G Thursday

By Mark Milian, CNN

The Revolution, a $250 Android smartphone with 4G LTE service, debuts on Verizon Wireless Thursday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Verizon Wireless will debut the Revolution from LG Electronics on Thursday
  
• The phone, which uses the faster 4G LTE data network, will cost $250
  
• It will be the third 4G phone available to Verizon customers

RELATED TOPICS

• Verizon Communications Inc.
• LG Group
• Google Android

(CNN) -- Verizon Wireless is releasing the third smartphone to take advantage of its faster fourth-generation data network on Thursday.
Like the others, the Revolution from LG Electronics runs Android and has a large 4.3-inch touch screen. It also has a pair of cameras and a mobile hot spot feature, allowing users to share the fast data connection with eight devices connected via Wi-Fi.
The Revolution will cost $250. That's the same price as HTC's ThunderBolt, which was the first 4G phone on Verizon, and $50 less than the Droid Charge from Samsung Electronics, which also came out this month.
For a conference in February, a prototype version of the new LG phone was picked to demonstrate an Internet calling service from Verizon that is expected to debut next year.
Last week, Verizon added nine new towns to its 4G map and expanded coverage in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans and Philadelphia. The network, which offers faster download speeds, is available in 55 metropolitan areas, the company said. Verizon began rolling out the service in December.
AT&T Mobility named launch cities for its upcoming 4G LTE on Wednesday. The new 4G network, not to be confused with the old 4G network that's basically a faster version of 3G, will debut in the summer, AT&T said.
Traditionally, several months separate the commercial launch of new cell network infrastructure and the release of phones that use it. But AT&T said in January that LTE phones would launch sometime in the second half of the year.

In the meantime, Verizon will continue to take advantage of its lead. Also in January, Verizon pledged to launch four 4G phones by midyear, but it may miss that target. Motorola Mobility has said it will delay the release of the Droid Bionic until the summer in order to add features.