A web page from Australian provider Telstra indicates that HTC is preparing and update for its One XL and One S smartphones. It would be Android 4.1, though no dates are yet available, with the idea being that the provider has received the software and is now testing it. Exactly how long the carrier will take to approve and/or modify the software remains to be seen.
In its first endeavor away from American shores, subscription music service MOG announced an exclusive partnership with Telstra, one of the largest telecom companies in Australia. The deal will give bring access to MOG's music catalog to Telstra's more than 13.3 million mobile customers.
Apple's Australian iPad pages have changed to preemptively comply with rulings on 4G marketing. It now makes more generic claims to support "very fast cellular networks" and makes clear that the iPad doesn't support the frequencies or technologies for what's considered 4G in Australia. The hardware is "not compatible with current Australian 4G LTE networks and WiMAX networks," Apple said.
Apple's emphasis on LTE support for the new iPad is sparking a conflict with carriers outside of North America, according to statements given out later on Friday. In the wake of a "backlash" from European carriers, The Australian understood that local carriers Telstra and Optus would both avoid making any mention of 4G. European providers had been calling on Apple to stop marketing 4G that their networks can't use.
The Global Certification Forum has already approved a new smartphone from HTC that has yet to be formally announced, the HTC Velocity 4G. Details from the GCF show the Velocity 4G supports quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE for voice, and UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA at 900/2100 MHz and LTE at 800/2500 MHz for data. Sources say the smartphone will will have a dual-core 1.5 GHz CPU and a five inch screen with 960x540 (qHD) resolution. It will also have an 8-megapixel HD camera, ship with Android 2.3, and have 16 GB inbuilt flash memory and be expandable, according to sources.
Google and Australian carrier Telstra have teamed up on the first official store to be themed around Android. Just called Androidland, it serves as a store-within-a-store similar to Apple's presence at Best Buy and a mix of theme park and store. While it lets users try out Telstra's current Android phones, it also lets them play with Angry Birds and Google Earth on giant touchscreens and carnival-style games.
Newly discovered FCC documents for the Droid RAZR indicate a future version of the international version, known as the RAZR, with support for GSM 850/1900MHz and WCDMA 3G bands. This could mean the device may arrive at a number of new carriers other than just Verizon, including AT&T, Rogers, and a number of Australian and Canadian carriers. The FCC's documents mention of the unique model number for the battery, SNN5899A, that only the new smartphone uses.
Australia as is often case has had the distinction of being the first for an Apple launch in carrying the iPhone 4S. Apple's flagship Sydney store showed that demand hadn't tapered for the new model, with hundreds of buyers queued up in line. Both official and unofficial reports have pointed to "tens of thousands" of pre-orders at Optus and Telstra each, selling out of 64GB pre-orders.
The HTC Holiday has made an appearance at Telstra's 4g launch event. Although Telstra has branded it as the HTC 4G, photos posted by CNET show it to indeed be the Holiday under the hood. Telstra has been using 4G to describe its new LTE network and the phones that will run on it.
HTC launched itself back into Windows Phone support at its special event Thursday with two new models. Topping the group, the Titan (once codenamed the Eternity) is the biggest Windows Phone ever and has a 4.7-inch (albeit 480x800) touchscreen in a relatively slim 0.39-inch unibody frame. It confirms front camera support in the Mango update to the OS and has both a 1.3-megapixel front camera along with the rear eight-megapixel piece.
HTC updated Desire owners Friday with news that the upgrade to Android 2.3 was moving faster than expected. Tests had "gone well" and would see the OS upgrade come before the end of July. HTC was quiet on which carrier models would get it first.
The planned upgrade to Android 2.3 for the HTC Desire has been an "on again/off-again" story. Now the Gingerbread update appears to be back on again, as Australian wireless carrier Telstra has scheduled the software update for the Desire in August.
Australian telecom giant Telstra has come to terms with that country's government to effectively shut down its copper based broadband services and help migrate customers to fiber based services. The new fiber infrastructure, known as the National Broadband Network (NBN) will be controlled by the government and available to multiple providers, including Telstra. In return, Telstra over time will receive post-tax payments with a net present value equivalent to about $11.6 billion US.
The Australian Government’s controversial high-speed National Broadband Network (NBN)is one step closer to reality after key legislation underpinning it passed through Senate lawmakers. The legislation is designed to deliver a 100Mbps fiber-to-the-home network that will provide the backbone of Australia’s communications infrastructure at a cost of $35.7 billion AUD ($35 billion US). Central to the legislation is the splitting of Telstra’s wholesale and retail arms helping to break its monopoly on Australia’s communication network.
Carriers serving Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland are having a difficult time dealing with the country's iPhone 4 demand, a report suggests. China Unicom is said to be attributing the problem to Apple, noting that it has not kept up with orders. Unicom is believed to have ordered about 600,000 iPhone 4s, but there is no indication of how many have actually been delivered.
HTC has had stronger sales than it expected for its Windows Phone 7 devices in the launches so far, Taiwan-area phone makers claimed on Wednesday. Phones like the HD7 and 7 Mozart were already selling out at O2 Germany and Australia's Telstra respectively. Low supply problems were a factor, but there was also surprise interest, they told Digitimes.
An interview with John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, revealed that he believes holographic TV sets are the next big technology. According to the CNET report, Chambers saw this technology arriving in about 10 years. Such technology would further enhance the viewing experience and bring medicine applications much easier to view, from all angles and in true 3D.
Electronista today had the opportunity to spy a Samsung Galaxy Tab in live testing in Sydney, Australia. The device, spotted in the hands of an anonymous telco worker at a train station, matches up with the official description of a seven-inch, 3G-capable Android tablet. When asked, the employee couldn't provide details, though the very responsive UI supported notions the device is running the same 1GHz ARM processor as the Galaxy S.
What is said to be the first HTC-made handset running on Windows Phone 7 has been leaked on a forum. If the leak proves true, the handset would also be the least expensive with WP7, as the target price seems to be set at $49 AUD, as the image seems to have originated from Australian provider Telstra. The image also shows that the device, called Mozart, is meant to go on sale in October.
Australian carrier Telstra has introduced a new home phone, the T-Hub, that brings smartphone-like applications into the home. The device, equipped with a 7.1-inch touchscreen, lets users read and send text messages, view Internet sites, play music and tune in to online radio stations. There is also a built-in organizer and widgets that bring the latest news, sports and weather to the screen.
HTC this morning made its presence felt at Mobile World Congress by launching multiple smartphones, including its new Android 2.1 flagship. Previously known as the Bravo, the Desire becomes HTC's version of the Nexus One without Google branding. It gets an upgraded HTC Sense with a unique home screen look known as "helicopter view:" somewhat like Apple's Exposé, a pinch gesture at a home screen shows all home screens at once to jump quickly to one of them.
More than 15 phone manufacturers will release over 30 new smartphones running on Microsoft's upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system before the end of 2009, the copmany's GCR Mobile Team Unit senior director Benjamin Tan said recently. Tan was speaking to a group of reports at the time, according to a Wednesday Digitimes report. Among the phone manufacturers slated to introduce models are HTC, Acer, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and HP.
AT&T this morning provided more definite plans for its promised rollout of 7.2Mbps 3G on its network. Only six cities will receive the upgraded HSPA-based network this year and will focus mostly on the southern US: Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami will all see the doubled download speeds at first. Expansion in 2010 will have 25 of the 30 largest markets receive the update, while about 90 percent of AT&T's entire service will have been upgraded in 2011.
Palm's next stop with the Pre after Sprint may be Australia. Pointing only to insiders in its rumor, the Pacific nation's Smarthouse asserts that Telstra has landed a three-month exclusive for the phone on its network that would start from August. The phone maker's national manager, Brett Murray, doesn't mention a date but partly corroborates the report by confirming a second-half 2009 launch window for the Pre in Australia. He also can't confirm exclusives, though Sprint itself is separately rumored to have a three-month deal of its own.
The Australian government today set out to improve the country's Internet access by unveiling a plan to roll out a nationwide, fiber-to-the-home Internet service. The network would provide 100Mbps access to about 90 percent of the country's population and would reach the remaining 10 percent through long-range wireless. Completing the network will take about 8 years and a cost of as much as $43 billion AUD ($30.6 billion US) over that period.
A mandatory Internet censorship plan in Australia proposed by the government is facing stiff opposition, with an independent senator's decision to block legislation that would start the blockage of certain websites with morally questionable content, the Thursday edition of the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The Green and Opposition parties have blocked the measure and have been joined by independent Senator Nick Xenophon, who changed his position on the mandatory ban. All now believe a filter would not be effective at blocking unsafe content and would slow Internet access while carrying a risk of blocking legitimate websites.
Ericsson on Wednesday announced it will perform the first demonstration of the second implementation of its HSPA+ multi-carrier technology that allows for maximum download rates of 42Mbps at the Mobile World Congress next week in Barcelona, Spain. The multi-carrier technology lets users receive data on two frequency channels at the same time, thereby doubling the user data rate in HSPA network coverage areas. Australia's Telstra, Ericsson's partner, uses an early HSPA+ network that allows for up to 21Mbps downloads.
Vodafone and cellular provider 3's parent label Hutchison today said they would combine their operations in Australia, creating a much larger carrier. The move gives the entity about 6 million cellular customers on the island nation and is being made to compete against incumbents Optus and Telstra, both of which have outpaced Vodafone's Australian wing. A combined Vodafone and Hutchison will have about $4 billion Australian dollars in revenue per year and match Optus in size.
Cellular carrier Vodafone on Thursday said that it has successfully run a field test of HSPA+ on its network to pave the way for deploying the 3.5G service. A trial conducted in Spain has managed 16Mbps downstream speeds in peak but real-world conditions, or more than double the theoretical-only 7.2Mbps peak for regular HSPA. The test comes despite using a single-antenna reception setup that limits the potential bandwidth on the network.
Senior officials from Australian carrier Telstra claims on Monday that HTC is developing a smartphone that would trump devices from Apple and Palm. The executives, who observed some of the competition at CES this past week, say HTC has a touchscreen device in the works which is "better and more functional" than either the iPhone or the just-unveiled Pre and should have both a larger display than existing HTC phones as well as custom software written by the phone maker itself; the inaugural T-Mobile G1 currently uses only Google's stock software.
Telstra today said it has switched on the world's first HSPA+ network. Also known as HSPA Evolution, the early 3.5G network promises to be about three times faster in downloads than the best regular HSPA networks, which top out at 7.2Mbps in peak conditions. The Australian carrier's service should theoretically allow downloads as quick as 21Mbps and should also help with uploads; the speed is enough to rival many landline Internet connections, the company and its launch partner Ericsson boast.
Cellphone buyers and owners should expect to see another major update to Windows Mobile 6 before a complete overhaul, Microsoft's CEO has confirmed. Steve Ballmer disclosed the information recently during the 2008 investor briefing for Australian carrier Telstra, which supports a variety of Windows Mobile phones. "With releases we'll make this year," he began, "releases we'll make with 6.5 next year, Windows Mobile 7, I think we have a pretty interesting roadmap." Prior to this, Windows Mobile 6.5 had not been announced by Microsoft.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on Thursday said at an annual Telstra investment meeting that the Google-designed Android operating system debuted in the T-Mobile G1 handset won't make the company money. According to a report originating from an event held by Australian cellular provider Telstra, Ballmer believes Google is essentially telling its investors the new product has no revenue model; he doesn't understand the strategy.
Australian cell carrier Telstra this morning said it was on track to be one of the first providers in the world to use Enhanced HSPA, or eHSPA. Also known as HSPA+, the feature will give peak Internet download speeds of about 21Mbps per second, or about three times the best 7.2Mbps speed on regular HSPA devices. The move is made possible in part by having a new Ethernet-based network backbone and should supply 'true' mobile broadband across the island country.
Palm today corrected its premature launch yesterday with a more formal introduction of the Treo Pro, including its launch information. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone is the first major redesign of GSM-based Treos and sports a normal headphone jack, a Wi-Fi toggle button, and a hardware ringer switch like the iPhone. It also becomes the first Treo to support tri-band HSDPA for 3G access on AT&T and similar carriers and uses true GPS for navigation.
Ericsson and the Italian division of cell carrier 3 today said they have successfully tested the world's first 3G network based on enhanced High Speed Packet Access (HSPA). The trial of the new service gives uploads to the network at up to 5.8 megabits per second in peak conditions and is faster even than downloads on most existing services, which in ideal conditions would offer 3.6 megabits. The new technology also cuts back dramatically on the lag that hurts video calls, multiplayer games, and other time-sensitive features.
Telstra has confirmed earlier reports and announced sales of the iPhone 3G, according to the Australian carrier's website. The phone will take advantage of Telstra's Next G broadband network, which has the broadest coverage in the country in part due to support for the 850MHz band; the company has otherwise announced very few details, with customers being expected to register interest in a particular iPhone, along with any accessories they might be curious as about such as a Bluetooth headset, a "dual dock," and a TTY adapter.
Australian phone carrier Telstra will sell the iPhone 3G, but may be late in joining its peers, writes The Australian. The newspaper cites "people close to the company," who say that while Telstra has perpetually refused to confirm any plans for the iPhone, it has in fact signed a deal; this may be announced by chief Sol Trujillo as soon as next week. Telstra's retail head, David Moffatt, is said to have toured the new Sydney Apple Store last week with a team of executives.
The next-generation iPhone will allegedly support a 42-megabit advanced 3G connection when it becomes available in Australia, a senior official at Telstra claims. Having also claimed to have seen the device itself, the anonymous official tells ChannelNews that the phone will "by Xmas" support a planned upgrade to the advanced HSPA+ wireless standard on Telstra's 3G network. This will help drive sales, as the connection will actually be faster than many fixed-line broadband services and potentially the fastest iPhone data service anywhere, the executive asserts.
Telstra on Thursday announced it would be the third Australian iPhone carrier, and that the company's expected June launch date could indicate that it will carry the 3G iPhone. CNET reports that the carrier joins Optus and Vodafone, and will allegedly offer a multi-frequency HSDPA-compatible device, allowing it to work on both competitors' networks and its own Next G network. Telstra declined to comment on the arrangement, but it would potentially be announced before the end of the month.
The iPhone is indeed coming to Australia, an anonymous source is said to be confirming. CNET is citing an "industry insider," who claims that an Australian iPhone launch is expected in the last week of June, and with the regional carrier Optus. The company is expected to make the announcement in mid-May, just a few weeks before Apple's WWDC conference on June 9th, where a 3G version of the iPhone is expected to be publicly revealed. The source says he cannot confirm that Australia will get the 3G phone, but that Optus is expecting it regardless.
