Apple iPhone 5 has a new rival on the block. It is Samsung Stratosphere, which is expected to be a QWERTY slider phone with 4G LTE support.

Although the specifications of this smartphone are not up there to match iPhone 5, it can a give hard time for iPhone 5 and other smartphones if it gains momentum on Verizon’s 4G LTE network. Though there were reports that Verizon would not introduce Samsung Galaxy S2, a new report from Pocketnow shows that Samsung Stratosphere SCH-I405 is heading to Verizon. Another report circulating in tech Web sites shows that the phone has gone through FCC filing, indicating that Verizon is expected to release the phone alongside Motorola Droid Bionic. It is expected that the Samsung Stratosphere will support LTE as well as CDMA/EVDO. Along with cellular modes, the phone is expected to support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi.

According to the leaked specs, the Samsung smartphone looks very similar to Samsung Epic 4G, another QWERTY slider which has 4-inch display. The rumored specs of Stratosphere include Super AMOLED Plus 480 x 800 pixels resolution display, 1GHz single-core processor, Android 2.3.4 preinstalled, 512MB of RAM, 1800mAh battery, 2GB internal storage and 5-megapixel rear along with 1.3-megapixel front cameras. While comparing it with iPhone 5’s rumored specs (3.7-inch or 4-inch display, dual core processor, iOS 5, 768 MB or 1 GB RAM, 8-megapixel camera, battery capacity expected to resemble to close to iPhone 4) it may look unimpressive, but here are 4 reasons why it can pose a challenge to Apple’s device.

4G LTE:
Even though iPhone 5 may be titled as 4G phone, it may not feature Verizon’s 4G LTE support as the LTE chip price is too high to match Apple’s cost-efficient measures. Most probably as AT&T HSPA+ network advances, there are possible chances of iPhone 5 being activated with 4G in near future. And even Apple thinks that the 4G technology is still too immature and yet to reach out to wider audience.

Samsung’s wise move to include 4G LTE technology on a lower-spec phone may pay off as Samsung’s Droid Charge, another 4G LTE supported single core smartphone, has received good reception in Verizon. Sometimes it almost overtook the sales of iPhone 4 and HTC Thunderbolt 4G LTE on Verizon.

Price:

Samsung Stratosphere is rumored to be priced around $150 on contract initially. With competitive pricing, Stratosphere can be a very stiff competitor for iPhone 5 as the 4G LTE phone will be available for a cheaper price than iPhone 5, which may not have LTE capability.

Battery:

Samsung is not new to feature 4G LTE technology in their phone. Samsung Droid Charge has a Li-Ion 1600 mAh which gives 11 hours of talk time on 3G, with the 4G standard being 8 hours. And with Stratosphere expected to feature an 1800mAh battery, the phone would perform better than 8 hours of talk time. Being a 4G LTE phone capable of better battery life, it will be a tough competitor for iPhone 5.

QWERTY:
Offering the convenience of using a QWERTY keyboard, Stratosphere may attract business end users, who would love to have a smartphone with speed along with QWERTY option which again turns the tide against iPhone 5.

RELATED STORIES
Smartphone Samsung FCC Android