HTC Merge finally available for Verizon, but they aren’t selling it

Reports are coming in that the HTC Merge will finally be hitting Verizon Wireless starting today. We have heard tons about this device over the past 2-4 months, from it hitting the FCC, to getting mentioned by Alltel, yet it never saw a launch. We have heard about this phone as far back as September 2010 if i recall.

From what we are hearing as well as seeing in the picture above, it looks like Verizon doesn’t want anything to do with this phone. We don’t really know why, maybe they don’t want to compete with the their own and ever so popular Motorola Droid lineup. They might be thinking what we are, that this phone is late to the party and not quite up to par. Yes it is made by HTC, who has some of the best hardware around. It runs HTC Sense but it is that slow 800 Mhz CPU and older specifications that might be holding them back.

According to sources the phone is being launched today but will not be for sale by Verizon. It is available through 3rd party retailers or providers like Alltel Wireless, but it will work on that Big Red Verizon network if you do decide to pick it up. There is no hardware or software changes from anything you have heard as of late, but for those that want a full QWERTY slider with HTC’s great build quality, this may be a phone for you.

[via Droid Life]