The oft-rumored HTC Incredible phone just got an official stamp (sort of), although its unveiling is about as cryptic as you can get. Earlier today, a page on the Verizon website showed an email signup page that introduces the handset as the Droid Incredible, teasing fans with an April 29th date (no word on whether it's a release or pre-order date, though). Basically, it says that “the next chapter in the Droid saga begins April 29th,” offering an email entry field for those who'd like more information about pre-ordering.

Despite Verizon's lack of usable details, the skinny on the clearly higher-end smartphone has been outed before. To begin with, it will be running the latest Android 2.1, along with HTC's Sense UI on top. Features include all the usual Google apps, a full HTML browser (with Flash Lite 4.0), onboard social media apps (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube), push Gmail, Exchange support, visual voicemail, advanced speech recognition and more.

Core hardware of the Droid Incredible consists of a 1GHz Snapdragon QSG8650 processor, 512MB of ROM, 512MB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. Details include a 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen (with 480 x 800 resolution), an 8.0 megapixel camera module (with autofocus, video capture and LED flash), an accelerometer sensor, aGPS, full range of connectivity (CDMA / EV-DO Rev A, WiFi, stereo Bluetooth) and microSD card expansion. Phone dimensions are 4.63 x 2.3 x 0.47 inches, with a 4.59 oz weight and a little over 5 hours of talk time.

The public Droid Incredible page has since been taken down, but a replacement should be up soon if they're looking to build more buzz for the April 29 date.

[Verizon Wireless via Unwired View]

It is finally official, or at least, somewhat official.  Verizon Wireless has given a somewhat official date, or timeline, of their first 4G LTE mobile phone.  It appears that Verizon will be releasing their first LTE 4G phone around the middle of next year.

Verizon first expected to have their handset on the market in the last few months of 2011 or the first few months of 2012, but they’ve been able to bring that time scale down quite a bit.  Some regions will be able to latch onto these new 4G phones from Verizon at the end of this year.

Competitor and rival, Sprint Nextel Corporation has successfully launched data cards already with 4G capabilities and are in preparation of launching their first 4G cell phone summer of 2010.

Verizon is expecting to launch a mobile phone that uses Long Term Evolution technology, which is wireless high-speed technology, for their 4G phones.  They are hoping to use this integration of LTE within about six months after the launch of the 4G wireless service.  The phones that use the Long Term Evolution technology will more than likely come with dual-chip sets instead of single chip sets as the dual-chips are needed for the Verizon network and the 4G LTE phones to be compatible with each others in its fullest form.

You can expect to see broadband data cards in 4G before anything else and you can also expect that complete full coverage won’t be likely in the immediate future of the 4G mobile phone and plan launch, says Verizon.  Furthermore, Anthony Melone, a chief technology officer of Verizon, thinks that they will need to eliminate the unlimited data packages in order to fully integrate the Long Term Evolution technology and 4G handsets and plans.  Frankly, it’s not going to be cheap for this technology and 4G, and unlimited data plans simply take away a lot of their revenue, which could ultimately be used towards this new 4G service.

If Verizon decides to eliminate their unlimited phone and data plans, will they be able to survive in this heavy competitive market between cell phone carriers? In my personal opinion, if they do this and the competitors, such as Sprint and AT&T decide to allow their unlimited plans to stay intact, then there may just be a problem for Verizon Wireless.  On the other hand, who will be on top if all mobile carriers remove their unlimited plans?

In response, perhaps, to the iPhone 3G's drop to $99, Verizon is slashing a huge chunk of the price off the majority of smartphones on its roster.  With the exception of the new Blackberry Tour and the Samsung Saga, all smartphones are now $99 and below.

Premium handsets like the HTC Touch Diamond, the HTC Touch Pro and the Samsung Omnia can now be had for the same price as an iPhone 3G, if you sign up for a two-year contract with the carrier.  This development makes the $99 smartphone price point extremely competitive, especially considering Verizon's track record as a considerably better wireless provider compared to AT&T.  Before this, it's hard to imagine beginning a new contract without putting the iPhone 3G as a first consideration: it's a heck of a phone at a very affordable price.

Apart from challenging the iPhone's difficult-to-combat $99 position, the price cuts also make room for Verizon's upcoming smartphones.  Based on previous reports, the company is set to introduce a number  of new models for power users before the end of the year, including the HTC Touch Pro2, the BlackBerry Storm 2 and an Android-based Motorola handset.

Verizon Wireless just began looking like a more attractive destination for those in the market for a brand new smartphone.

Photo Credit: Verizon Wireless