First Australian 4G smartphone to arrive 24 Jan

The HTC Velocity 4G - the first 4G to launch in Australia - will be available on Telstra’s 4G LTE network starting 24 Jan.

The phone will be available through Telstra stores and Telstra partners. Keen customers can also pre-purchase the phone to have it delivered to them.

Telstra says that in 4G-enabled areas (see Telstra’s own coverage map), customers will have download speeds ranging from 2 to 40 Mbps, and upload speeds between 1 and 10 Mbps.

Outside of those 4G-enabled areas, the phone will switch to Telstra’s 3G mobile network.

The phone features a 4.5″ touch screen, a 1.5 GHz dual core processor and an 8 megapixel camera.

For business customers, the HTC Velocity 4G is available for free upfront, on the $90 Business Mobile Advantage Member plan (via MRO Offset).

Consumer customers can also get the phone at no upfront cost, on the $79 Freedom Connect plan (after using MRO Bonus).

The Business and Consumer plans differ considerably in the extras provided: amount of free calls, MMS, SMS, data and so on.