Australians will be able to get their mitts on the country's first 4G handset sooner than expected, with Telstra releasing the HTC Velocity 4G tomorrow.
When Telstra launched its
4G LTE mobile network in September last year, a side announcement relayed the news that the telco's first 4G handset, in conjunction with HTC and codenamed the HTC 4G, would be conservatively launching sometime "in the first half of 2012." Coming in well on the early side of that commitment, tomorrow will see Australia's first 4G smartphone become available, with HTC and Telstra partnering to release the Velocity 4G, which opened for pre-orders last week.
The Velocity 4G packs a robust feature set: a sizeable 4.5-inch qHD 540 x 960 display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 16GB internal storage (expandable by microSD), 1GB RAM, 8MP rear-facing camera (1.3MP front-racing) with 1080p video recording, running on Android 'Gingerbread' 2.3.4 (unfortunately not 4.0 'Ice Cream Sandwich', although it's likely you'll be able to upgrade around the corner).
But what most early adopters will be laying down their hard-earned for will be the speed benefits the Velocity 4G affords for data usage: Telstra claims typical download speeds will range from 2Mbps to 40Mbps, "up to five times faster than speeds available on Australia’s fastest 3G handsets", with uploads ranging between 1Mbps and 10Mbps. However, bear in mind: users can only expect to see these peaks in Telstra's 4G coverage areas, currently limited to capital cities and within 3km of some 80 regional centres nationwide. Outside these locations, the phone switches to Telstra's 3G network. The Velocity 4G is available on Telstra's $79 Freedom Connect plan, or business users can opt for a $90 Business Mobile Advantage Member plan (both over 24 months with 2GB monthly data included).
