Telstra is hoarding new smartphones in Barcelona, with the telco confirming today it would exclusively bring the next-generation HTC Desire S to Australia in 2011, in a move which echoes its lockdown control on the distribution of the original HTC Desire throughout 2010.
As announced yesterday for the Sony Ericsson Xperia neo, the HTC Desire S will be available exclusively on Telstra’s Next G network when it comes Down Under in the first half of 2011. The decision came as the new smartphone was unveiled last night at the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona.
The HTC Desire S and the Xperia neo share the same operating system, both being based on the Gingerbread version of Google’s Android operating system, including other Google applications, such as Mail, Search, Youtube, Calendar and Maps.
In a statement announcing the win, Telstra’s mobile products executive director Warwick Bray said the original HTC Desire was a huge hit and helped to establish the popularity of Android smartphones in Australia. “The HTC Desire S builds on the qualities that made the original so popular. It features the latest Android Gingerbread operating system as well as a powerful processor that makes for fast, responsive multitasking,” he said.
With a weight of 130 grams, the HTC Desire S features a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 3.7 inch touch screen, 5 megapixel colour camera and a declared peak download rating of 14.4Mbps; however Telstra said actual speeds wouldn’t quite match that. “It also sports faster mobile internet connectivity for snappy web-browsing on the Next G network,” Warwick said. “And, like its predecessor, it will feature a vibrant 3.7-inch touch screen and access to thousands of Android apps”.
Warwick concluded customers would also appreciate the design of the new HTC Desire S. “Our customers are going to love the look and feel of the phone too, which is crafted out of a single piece of aluminium.”
As for the Xperia neo, pricing and availability will be announced closer to the launch date.
Image credit: HTC
This may just be my next phone. Depending on what comes out near the end of my contract.
I own and love the current Desire. I’ve been wondering what is going to replace it when the time comes. Imagine my excitement when I heard about the Desire S. Beyond the upgrade to the aesthetic of the phone, the peak download speed and Gingerbread, the specs are the same as the current model. Upgrade? Hardly.
1450 mAh battery according to the HTC web site.
Don’t understand why they think that’s sufficient.
Funny how this reports the specifications of the Desire, when they were better features. Front facing camera, 4 inch screen and an 8 megapixel camera?
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