Telstra will launch the HTC Desire S smartphone exclusively on its Next G network in Australia, making the announcement after HTC unveiled the Google Android powered Desire S overnight at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Telstra launched the HTC Desire last year and the phone has been a great success for the telco, with the HTC Desire really the first Google Android phone to sell in any numbers in Australia. The HTC Desire S specifications are very similar to those of the original HTC Desire, with the styling updated to a unibody aluminum design similar to that of Telstra’s HTC Mozart Windows Phone 7 mobile.
Warwick Bray, Executive Director, Telstra Mobile Products had no firm date for launch but the phone would launch in the first half of this year.
“The original HTC Desire was a huge hit with our customers 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.
While the HTC Desire S is not a significant upgrade in specifications from the HTC Desire, it does offer some minor tweaks internally, with the phone coming out of the box with Google Android 2.3 ‘Gingerbread’ which is an improvement on the HTC Desire’s 2.2 ‘Froyo’ version. The phone also comes equipped with a 1Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 8255 processor, which offers a faster graphics core, but is not a major improvement for business users.
“It also sports faster mobile internet connectivity for snappy web-browsing on the Next G network. And, like its predecessor, it will feature a vibrant 3.7-inch touch screen and access to thousands of Android apps.
“Our customers are going to love the look and feel of the phone too, which is crafted out of a single piece of aluminium.”
Telstra’s HTC Desire S is likely to be similarly recommended to the HTC Desire for micro-business users who use Google to host their email, pricing and availability for the HTC Desire S will be announced by Telstra closer to the launch date.
