Telstra has launched the HTC Velocity 4G smartphone, which is now available on its 4G network.
Australia’s largest telco actually launched the 4G network back in September of last year. The network uses a different wireless spectrum to the 3G version. Telstra claims it is capable of download speeds ranging from 2Mbps to 40Mbps. The download speed you get will depend on the strength of the wireless signal being sent to your 4G device.
The HTC Velocity 4G is the first 4G-enabled smartphone that the telco is selling specifically for the new network. It comes with the Android 2.3 operating system installed (codenamed Gingerbread), though Telstra claims it will be upgradable to Android 4.0 (codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich) in the future.
“[This] leap to 4G means customers in Telstra 4G coverage areas can load web pages up to five times faster, video chat with fewer interruptions and use more mobile web services simultaneously,” claimed Andrew Volard, director of Telstra Mobile.
Telstra is offering the device for $79 per month, with what it claims is $800 worth of included calls, text and 2 GB of monthly data (minimum contract cost of $1,896 over 24 months). The business plan is $90 per month, with what Telstra claims is unlimited messagebank usage, free voice calls to eligible mobiles on the same business account, and 2 GB of data per month (minimum contract cost of $2,160 over 24 months.
HTC’s Velocity 4G comes with a 4.5 inch touch screen, a 1.5 GHZ dual core processor and an 8 megapixel camera.
The telco has also made coverage maps available of the 4G network, which can be seen here.
