Verizon promises 10 high speed gadgets by mid year

Verizon Wireless promises to have 10 new devices on its store shelves by mid year to support its high-speed wireless data including four smartphones and two tablet computers.

The venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc, said the devices would come from vendors including HTC Corp, LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics.

It showed off the gadgets, the first of which will start selling in March, at an event at the Consumer Electronics Show but declined comment on prices for the devices themselves or for using them on its network.

It highlighted applications such as mobile video chat from Skype and multi-player video games from Electronic Arts, which are expected to take advantage of the new network's higher speeds.

Samsung is providing three devices out of the new line-up including a tablet computer and a large 4.3 inch phone and a gadget that can connect five different devices to the network via Wi-FI. HTC and LG will both provide phones.

Late last year Verizon Wireless launched a new high-speed wireless network in markets covering 110 million people with a new technology known as Long Term Evolution (LTE).

On January 5 Verizon Wireless said it would sell a phone from Motorola Mobility for the 4G network and plans to offer a Motorola tablet computer that will initially work on its older network but will be upgradeable to the faster network.