Telstra snares LG's world first

By Joseph Hanlon on 08 July 2009

Telstra today announced six new handsets soon to join its Next G range, including the LG Xenon, which will be a world's first when it's released on the Australian network.

Back row to front row, left to right: LG Viewty Smart, LG GM730f, Sony Ericsson W995,
LG Xenon, HTC Touch Pro2, Sony Ericsson W508
(Credit: Telstra)

The Xenon will be available on the Next G network on 14 July, with a feature set aimed at a youth market keen to stay in touch with messenger and social networking. A spiritual successor to last year's LG WebSlider, the Xenon sports a full-QWERTY keyboard under a sliding touchscreen. Telstra will launch the phone on a $40 plan over 24 months.

Two more yet-to-be-released Telstra handsets were also included in the telco's announcement; the LG Viewty Smart and the Windows Mobile-based GM730f. The Viewty Smart is LG's next foray into the camera phone space and boasts an 8-megapixel camera lens matched with full touchscreen navigation. The GM730f is also fully touch active, making use of LG's 3D S-Class user interface overlaid on top of the often cumbersome Windows Mobile 6.1 UI. Both should be available by the end of July.

Sony Ericsson manufactures the only phone of the six that meets Telstra's Blue Tick requirements, indicating handsets with reception best suited for use in regional areas of Australia. This handset, the W508, features a flip format and basic Walkman music player features. For a richer music player, Telstra is also offering the Sony Ericsson W995.

For its high-end business users, Telstra will also be the first to market with the new HTC Touch Pro2. Also a Windows Mobile handset, the Touch Pro2 features an innovative conference calling system, allowing users to initiate a conference call from either the contacts menu or from an email message and use rear-mounted speakers to share the call with more users locally. The outright price for the Touch Pro2 is AU$1499 and will be available on Telstra's member and casual post-paid plans.

Topics: htc, lg, mobile phone, smartphone, sony ericsson, telstra, xenon, handset

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Comments (6)

  • M!$$ BRALA!!!@!! commented on 28/08/2009 08:35 Report abuse

    WOW never though that i would like the LG xnone

  • Jords commented on 10/07/2009 23:29 Report abuse

    if they replace all hiptop devices with that stupid LG thing they are crazy.

  • Anti Nokia commented on 09/07/2009 10:52 Report abuse

    I am so pleased Telstra has decided to bring out handsets that are cool!!! They had such a limited range and with this boost it will bring a lot more customers

  • Andy commented on 09/07/2009 08:58 Report abuse

    I tried to sample Telstra's NextG but they couldn't swith me over. Looks like the hoard of US consultants has finally stuffed up their internal software to the extent that it barely works. With Vodafone now. Very happy!

  • marsblakmon commented on 08/07/2009 17:00 Report abuse

    why do these comps chose telstra? at telstra the prices are just so much higher than all the other carriers. i can essentially have 2 handset contracts with any other carrier to one with telstra. i had to wait 8 months to get my xperia with v'fone because telstra is charging $4000/24mths - can you believe that!! compared to v'fone for $1600/24mths. t's customers are getting ripped to shreds with costs, but tech phone lovers get screwed with telstra gaining exclusivity with great tech - its very unreasonable. telstra is the **** of the com sector.

  • What commented on 08/07/2009 14:54 Report abuse

    No Samusng phones

    like HD or omnia II

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