Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 15 January 2008 08:48
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
Whether you’re a CDMA customer holding out for even more choice in Next
G handsets, or someone thinking of switching to Next G from whichever
carrier you currently use, two new Telstra Next G handsets have arrived
to tempt you.
Although neither of Telstra’s two new Next G handsets come with the Blue Tick recommended for rural and regional usage, both handsets are well known and will undoubtedly be of interest to anyone in metropolitan areas contemplating the switch to Next G.
The two handsets are the Sony Ericsson K850i Cyber-shot Phone and the HTC Touch Dual 850. Both have already launched on competing 2G/3G/3.5G networks, but naturally the two models that Telstra offer are 3.5G devices that work on Next G’s 850Mhz bandwidth.
Ross Fielding, Executive Director, Telstra Product Management
said that: “Telstra is continuing to grow its range of Next G handsets to meet the individual needs and requirements of our customers. Australians moving to the Next G network can now choose from a range 34 handsets, including five PDAs, and the range will continue to grow as more people move to the network.”
Fielding continued that: “Mobile phones have evolved into multi-functional media devices. With the higher download data speeds on Telstra's Next G network, customers can take full advantage of richer mobile content and more advanced applications”.
Although the SE K850i Cyber-shot is arguably Sony Ericsson’s ugliest phone ever, appearing to be a bit chunky with odd phone keypad buttons, it’s still feature packed with almost everything today’s modern smartphone contains and has been relatively popular with consumers.
The headline feature is, of course, the stunning 5.0 megapixel auto-focus camera and ‘real’ Xenon flash which comes with the ‘Sony Cyber-shot camera’ interface, smoothly merged within the rest of the smartphone UI.
In addition, it has a 2.2-inch colour screen, 40MB internal memory, easily expandable via a removable Sony M2 Memory Stick storage card, an FM radio, standard video calling capabilities, MMS functionality, Track ID and more.
Telstra says the K850i is available from today onwards, will retail for AUD $829 outright and is also available on a $60 per month ‘post paid’ plan. It’s the second Sony Ericsson compatible with Next G – the previous model was the launch of the Z750i in
December 2007.
So, what about Telstra's second new Next G phone, the upgraded HTC Touch - and what's one Telstra headline for 2008 that would leave me almost speechless (save for one word...) - please read onto page 2 for the conclusion!
