Yesterday, HTC in conjunction with Telstra launched Australia’s first 4G smartphone; the HTC Velocity 4G. Boasting a 1.5 GHz Dual Core processor and 4G LTE connectivity, the phone is being touted as the handset with the fastest internet access in the country.
"The leap to 4G means customers in 4G coverage areas can load web pages up to five times faster than with earlier 3G device," said Telstra Mobile director Andrew Volard. At the launch event we put these claims to the test.
In the video below, we use the HTC Velocity to compare 4G network speeds to a Samsung Galaxy Nexus armed with a 3G Vodafone SIM. We loaded the same YouTube clip (Lady Gaga's Glamour Zombie) on both phones and hit playback at the same time. The results speak for themselves (the Velocity 4G is the phone on the right):
Bear in mind that this is purely a test of network speeds - the Galaxy Nexus was significantly hamstrung by a Vodafone SIM card. The HTC Velocity 4G's speeds are impressive nonetheless.
The HTC Velocity 4G is available from today on a variety of Telstra plans, including $0 upfront on the $79 Freedom Connect Plan. Keep in mind though, that the 4G network is still being trialled and these sorts of speeds are currently only available in limited areas.
Stay tuned for an in-depth review, coming soon.
