Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Preview: HTC Velocity 4G, Australia's first 4G phone

The HTC Velocity 4G is the first phone to work on Telstra's new 4G network
HTC's Velocity 4G Android phone

HTC's Velocity 4G Android phone

Telstra may have unveiled it's 4G network late last year, but it has taken a little longer to release a phone that takes advantage of the faster speeds. Enter the HTC Velocity 4G: the first phone to work on Telstra's LTE enablement of its Next G network.

• Australia's first 4G smartphone is the HTC Velocity 4G
• Full details on Telstra's commercial launch of 4G

Sold as the HTC Raider 4G in the US and South Korea, the HTC Velocity 4G has a large 4.5in qHD touchscreen with a resolution of 540x960, a 1.5GHz dual core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory and an 8-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash. The phone is coated in a gloss black finish on the front and has a silver battery cover on the rear. It will ship with the 2.3 "Gingerbread" version of Google's Android OS, though Telstra hasn't revealed if it will eventually be upgraded to the latest 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" version.

In a brief hands-on with the phone at a private Telstra media briefing last year, we can also reveal that the back of the HTC Velocity 4G tapers inwards towards the edge of the phone, making it comfortable to hold.

Telstra commercially launched its newly branded "4G" Long Term Evolution (LTE) network last September. Its best described as an LTE enablement of the Next G network. Though the 4G network will deliver faster uplink and downlink speeds and higher latency (meaning faster mobile Internet speeds), it will also reduce the strain on Telstra's Next G network.

Telstra claims using the HTC Velocity 4G in a 4G coverage area will result in mobile Internet speeds up to five times faster than it's regular Next G network. The 4G network, which uses the LTE 1800MHz band, will approximately double download speeds and triple upload speeds compared to the Next G network. The company is quoting typical download speeds of between 2 megabits per second (Mbps) and 40Mbps and typical upload speeds of between 1Mbps and 10Mbps.

Telstra customers can pre-order the HTC Velocity online and have it delivered from 24 January. The phone will also be available for purchase at selected Telstra stores from 24 January.

The HTC Velocity 4G is available for $0 upfront on Telstra's $79 Freedom Connect plan, which includes $800 worth of calls and MMS, unlimited SMS and 2GB of data per month. month. The Velocity 4G is also available on a number of business plans.

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: etwork, Google, HTC, Telstra
References show all

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: Google Android smartphone, HTC Velocity 4G, mobile phones, smartphones, Telstra, Telstra 4G
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Implementing Energy Efficient Data Centres
    Electrical power usage is not a typical design criterion for data centers, nor is it effectively managed as an expense. This is true despite the fact that the electrical power costs over the life of a data center may exceed the costs of the electrical power system including the UPS, and also may exceed the cost of the IT equipment. Read on.
    Learn more »
  • Keeping up With Ever-Expanding Enterprise Data - 2010 IOUG Database Growth Survey
    A majority of respondents report having performance and budget issues due to exponential data growth. Those companies with the highest rates of data growth, in fact, are eight times more likely than slow-growth sites to be seeing significant increases in their storage budgets. New processes and tools are needed to help organizations take control of the massive volumes of information now moving through their systems. The IOUG survey looked at approaches being taken by organizations to manage their growing data stores, and what still needs to be done.
    Learn more »
  • Control your Print Environment
    In your ongoing quest to maximize productivity and drive down costs, you might be surprised by the savings and greater competitive advantage you can achieve with a fully optimised and well-managed printing and imaging environment. In fact, studies have shown that managing your fleet holistically can save you upwards of 30% on your printing costs. And the savings increase exponentially when the scope of work includes automating your paper intensive workflows. Read more.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.