Verizon Wireless has quietly launched the long-delayed HTC Merge dual-mode CDMA/GSM Android smartphone as a third-party dealer exclusive after months of delays and rumors. Originally meant to launch as far back as last summer with ROM leaks, the HTC Merge was meant to slot into Verizon’s Android lineup as its variant of the HTC G2/Magic without Droid branding. Delay after delay forced the device into relative obscurity until it resurfaced last January for Alltel as one of its last official post Verizon merger offerings, with pictures surfacing online.
Not long after those pictures leaked, the phone was delayed yet again earlier this year due to initial reports that Verizon was going to add LTE support to the smartphone in January, which turned out to be false. Now with the quiet soft launch of the phone via third-party dealers, it seems that Verizon wants to forget about the phone and move on, as the latest internal documentation suggests that the phone will only be offered via third-party dealers and will not receive a wider retail launch via Verizon retail stores, telesales or online.
The Merge features Android 2.2, a 3.8 inch WVGA resolution capacitive touch display, sliding QWERTY keyboard, Scorpion processor, 2GB of flash memory with 512MB of RAM, 5.0 megapixel camera with autofocus, flash and 720p video capture, microSD slot, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS support.
