Smartphone square-off: Australia's 4G handsets

HTC Velocity 4G

HTC beat its rivals to the punch launching Australia’s first 4G smartphone in January this year.

The phone maker teamed up with Telstra to unveil the Velocity 4G, the first handset to run on Telstra’s LTE network. 

The Velocity touts a 4.5 inch touchscreen, 1.5 GHz dual core processor, 8MP back and 1.3MP front-facing camera, capable of recording 1080p HD and 720p HD video respectively. 

The handset runs Android’s 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and size-wise sits smack in the middle of its two current 4G competitors, at 11.3mm thick, but is weightier than all three at 163g.

The Velocity 4G, along with the Samsung Galaxy S II 4G and Titan 4G, all offer 16GB internal memory.

It retails for business customers on the $0 upfront $90 business mobile advantage member plan, and for consumer customers on the $79 freedom connect plan, through JB HiFi, Phone Zone and Telstra stores.

Samsung Galaxy S II 4G

Samsung was next off the 4G springboard, in March unveiling its upgraded Galaxy S II handset.

The Galaxy S II 4G is similar in specifications to its predecessor, aside from its 4G capability and more powerful 1.5GHz dual-core processor, compared to the S II’s 1.2GHz chip.

The screen is also slightly larger at 4.5 inches and the 4G model comes built with an NFC chip.

The Galaxy S II 4G camera remains at 8MP able to record 1080p full HD video, along with a 2MP front-facing camera. It currently runs on Android’s 2.3 Gingerbread operating system but Samsung has confirmed a future upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich.

The Galaxy S II 4G is the smallest of Australia’s three 4G handsets, at 9.4mm thick and weighing in at 132g.

The handset can be bought by business customers on Telstra’s $5 upfront, $70 business plan over 24 months. Retail customers can access Telstra’s $5 upfront, $59 freedom connect plan over 24 months. 

HTC Titan 4G

HTC this week released its second local 4G offering, and the first 4G Windows Phone to hit the Australian market.

The Titan 4G is an upgraded version of HTC's Titan II, a smartphone which launched earlier this year but never reached Australian shores.

The smartphone targets business customers already familiar with Microsoft software. It runs on Windows Phone 7.5, which offers Exchange ActiveSync mobile email and Office Hub along with Microsoft’s SkyDrive online storage and file sharing service. 

The Titan 4G is powered by 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor and 1GB RAM. It is the largest of the three - measuring 132mm long including its 4.7in display, and weight-wise sits in the middle at 147g.

The smartphone boasts a 16MP camera with 720p HD video recording, as well as a 1.3MP camera on the front.

It is available through Telstra from Tuesday for $78 per month on a 24 month plan for business customers, and $79 per month for 24 month for consumers. It can also be purchased outright for $888.

LG to follow suit?

LG this week revealed it will launch four 4G smartphones in Australia by early next year.

It admitted it was dragging behind other smartphone manufacturers and had “dropped the ball” with its handset strategy. 

LG Australia mobile head Ben Glimmerveen revealed the company would attempt to push ahead with a new 4G range, but declined to comment on details of the upcoming devices.