This QWERTY slider is headed to Verizon on October 13 for $149 (two-year deal required), it boasts LTE connectivity, which means it is one of the cheapest Verizon offerings to boast such super-fast connectivity, the rest of the specs aren’t too shabby either. Specification highlights include a 1GHz processor, 4GB of onboard memory, a 5 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 3.0, a 4-inch display and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Currently Verizon has five other smartphone on offer at this price point, all of which are regarded “old”, these are the 16GB iPhone 4, HTC Trophy, Droid Incredible 2, Casio G’zOne Commando and the Palm Pre 2.

It will be interesting to see sales figures for this smartphone now that the 8GB iPhone 4 has had its price slashed, obviously Apple’s 4th-generation iPhone doesn’t boast LTE connectivity or a QWERTY slider, so they can’t be compared side-by-side – but if your looking for a mid-end device both should be seriously considered.

You can head over to Droid-Life for full technical specifications, Verizon are pushing the fact that the Stratosphere is the network’s first-ever 4G LTE QWERTY slider and the fact that it boasts enhanced enterprise features.

We would love to hear your opinions on the Verizon Samsung Stratosphere, could it be Verizon’s answer to a business-centric, Android-based, business QWERTY-slider? We think it has all the attributes it needs.

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It turns out that the Stratosphere is actually just a Verizon variant of the Samsung Epic 4G on Sprint, only the handset has been modified slightly to include a 4G LTE radio and it will also retain the slide-out keypad also seen on the Epic 4G. This is contrary to previous rumors speculating that the Stratosphere would turn out to be Verizon’s version of the popular Samsung Galaxy S II device.

That means instead of featuring ‘next-gen’ specs such as a dual-core processor and 1080p HD video recording, we are fearing that the handset may only come with a 1Ghz single-core processor and around 500MB of RAM. We do know thanks to information obtained from Pocketnow that the Stratosphere will come with an ‘excellent’ dislay though, as well as a 5 megapixel camera and a 1.3MP front-facing camera as well.

The pleasing factors about the Stratosphere though is that it is set to ship with the latest version of Android Gingerbread 2.3.4 and it will also come in at a very affordable price compared to the more expensive Droid Bionic. $150 on contract is the price that’s flying around at the moment, so it may still tempt a few of you into a purchase due to its low fee alone.

It now looks like the Droid Bionic will remain the premium handset on Verizon for the time being, and as we mentioned in a previous report this week, it should be arriving on Thursday September 8th. Sadly, it seems like the Stratosphere won’t be on par with the Droid Bionic in a head-to-head specs battle, but it will appeal to consumers looking to pick up the latest handset on Verizon at the best price.

Are you disappointed with the findings after keeping a eye on the Stratosphere? How do you feel that it looks to be a rehashed version of the Epic 4G?

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This may have been the first you’ve heard on the Samsung Stratosphere, but we can tell you that it is probably going to be Verizon’s next 4G LTE handset to launch after the Droid Bionic. Verizon accidentally posted an official support page for the unannounced Stratosphere recently as discovered by Droid-Life, before quickly removing all existance of it after realizing the error that they had made.

However, there are a few whispers spreading now, that the Stratosphere is actually the Samsung Galaxy S II in disguise on Verizon. There hasn’t been official confirmation of this, but it would seem perfect sense to us, since Samsung opted to name the original Galaxy S device, the Fascinate on Verizon. If Samsung are following a similar pattern for the US rollout of the Galaxy S II, then it’s very likely that all four carriers will once again have unique names respective to the carrier and the Stratosphere could be the first name revealed for the Galaxy S II on Verizon.

Of course, we could be wrong here and the Stratosphere could turn out to be a completely different handset all together. It is not exactly bad news if it does happen to be the Galaxy S II, since it is an excellent phone in our opinion with specs definitely on par with the Droid Bionic. Could it also be a factor that Samsung are holding off from a release of the Galaxy S II on Verizon so they can equip it with a 4G LTE chip?

One things for sure, we have a very interesting few weeks ahead of us, what with the expected arrival of the iPhone 5 on Verizon too in September. If you have been keeping up to date with information on the Droid Bionic, tell us what you think of this mysterious Samsung alternative. Would you pick up the Verizon Galaxy S II instead of the Droid Bionic or not?

More About: Droid Bionic, samsung stratosphere, Verizon

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