There were high hopes for the HTC Merge to hit Verizon on November 18th, and those high hopes had quickly come and past. There has recently been sightings at Verizon stores with accessory inventory, giving new life to the anticipation for yet another world phone from Verizon using Android software. While all the accessories entering stores look to be complete, there is still no definitive sign on when the device will launch.

The HTC Merge is a mid-rage Android device, sporting Bing instead of Google Search (Identity crisis anybody?), an 800mhz processor, 3.8 inch, a full qwerty keyboard, 5 megapixel shooter, 4 gigs of internal memory, and running a healthy serving of Froyo with a some HTC Sense 1.6 sprinkles on top. The reason the Merge needs to hit the market, and soon, is because it’s been rumored to have LTE connectivity. With Verizon’s December LTE Launch, the Merge could be a hot seller up until the HTC Mecha comes into the playbook for Verizon. Either way, it looks like Verizon’s starting to rev up their engines for their 4G launch, and the Merge could help Verizon out in the upcoming Christmas season as an affordable 4G stocking stuffer.

We’ll let you know if we get any more news on this interesting slider and it’s impending release, so stay tuned.

Source:  PhoneDog.com

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UPDATE:
Thanks to our Verizon Wireless tipster we have received a tip that an invitation was sent to employee’s of Verizon stating that 4G will launch in more than 30 US cities covering 100 million people before 2010 ends. The picture above is of the said invitation for a webcast training for the employee’s. How’s that for even more proof that LTE is right around the corner? Very exciting news!

END OF UPDATE:

Thanks to Verizon Wireless for already adding LTE (4G) areas to their coverage map (ie the black and yellow dots.) This means they are really gearing up quickly to release 4G. Also, according to our very own Verizon Wireless Tipster you can expect the official announcement in the near future. No exact dates were discussed but we are being told by the end of this year and possibly early next year. Once we hear more we will let you know! For now, enjoy the map!