MINNEAPOLIS _ Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top seller of smartphones, released its first 5G model in the U.S. Thursday, and early adopters and tech journalists visited Minneapolis to try it.
The city and Chicago are the first two places in the U.S. with 5G network coverage, started in both cities earlier this year by Verizon Communications Inc.
In Minneapolis, Verizon's 5G coverage is around a sizable portion of downtown, including the area around U.S. Bank Stadium, Nicollet Mall and the Convention Center.
The Samsung phone, called the Galaxy S10 5G, is a version of its flagship S-series product that's capable of transmitting and receiving signals on 5G networks as well the 4G networks that are prevalent around the world.
The phone has a 6.7-inch OLED display, two storage options of 256 gigabytes and 512 gigabytes and six camera lenses, one on the front and five on the back. The phone's video cameras have a motion blurring effect that Samsung dubbed Time of Flight.
The base level version of the phone has a list price of $1,299. Verizon has pricing options that include monthly plans starting around $54 a month and incentives such as payments of up to $450 for the trade-in of an existing smartphone.
The two companies, along with the rest of the telecom industry, are in a chicken-and-egg situation that recurs with every advance in network technology; new phones need networks and networks need new phones.
