Kyocera plans Android, CDMA/LTE devices

SAN DIEGO--Handset maker Kyocera announced plans to launch an Android device next year. The company also said it would release a dual-mode CDMA/LTE device in 2011. That device could sport the Android platform.

tom maguire kyocera The action represents further support for Google's operating system for mobile phones, which has been picking up speed with supporters ranging from Motorola to Samsung to LG. It also catapults Kyocera into the limelight as the latest company to play in the white-hot smartphone space. The company, which purchased Sanyo more than a year ago, supplies phones to the likes of Virgin Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless, MetroPCS and others.

Kyocera did not disclose additional details on its plans, including what specific devices it would offer, which carriers would sell them and what the prices would be. Typically, handset suppliers plot out phones several years in advance, and then shop those devices to possible carrier partners.

Kyocera's planned CDMA/LTE phone is notable in that the company's carrier partner Verizon Wireless is in the midst of deploying an LTE network over its existing CDMA network. Verizon Wireless has said it is working with handset suppliers including Samsung and LG to test its LTE network. Further, MetroPCS, another CDMA carrier, is also planning an LTE upgrade. Representatives from Verizon and MetroPCS did not immediately respond to questions about possibly selling Kyocera's CDMA/LTE devices.