Next G gets its first Nokia

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 26 July 2007 09:30

Your IT - Home IT

Australia's top selling cellphone vendor, Nokia, now has a model that will operate on Telstra's 850MHz Next G network, and Telstra hopes it will lure any laggardly CDMA users loyal to their familiar Nokias onto Next G.

Shaun Colligan, general manager, Nokia Australia & New Zealand, said: "Nokia has traditionally enjoyed a very high share of Telstra's CDMA business and we are looking forward to working with Telstra on moving this loyal Nokia user base to the Next G network."

The phone, the Nokia 6120 Classic is available as a Telstra postpaid handset, retailing for $589. It has a two megapixel camera with four-times digital zoom and panorama mode, a second camera for video calls, text-to-speech functionality, stereo FM radio, MP3 player, MMS capability, hands free speaker and bluetooth.

However it may not be the best phone for people living in marginal coverage areas. Telstra has started giving customers some indication of the RF performance of different handsets: a blue tick will be used to identify mobile handsets "recommended for rural handheld coverage." So far three handsets have been so endorsed: the Samsung 411, released earlier this month at $299 as a prepaid handset; the LG TU500 ( introduced at the launch of Next G in 2006) and the LGTU550 (also launched in June).

Telstra has not said whether the Nokia 6120 Classic will get a tick, but segment executive director, Glenice Maclellan, in the announcement of the Nokia 6120, said that it was important for customers, especially those in regional and rural Australia, to consider their needs carefully when choosing a mobile phone. "It's not a case of 'one shoe fits all'. Customers who work or travel in rural areas and want to maximise their coverage should discuss their needs with sales staff," she said.