Telstra’s 4G LTE network went live a short while ago and briefly made news with the HTC Velocity, Australia’s first 4G LTE Phone. Now Australia’s #1 telco has announced that another Aussie first is on its way. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 4G is coming to Telstra with all its LTE broadband enabled glory.
As Australia moves further in to the future of the mobile device revolution faster wireless broadband speeds begin to become an issue. Where 3G speeds have been satisfactory up until now, users are beginning to require more and more bandwidth while out and about as their mobile data consumption increases. This leads to not only a requirement for larger data caps, but also faster wireless speeds.
“Australians are adopting mobile tablets in record numbers and the Samsung GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G — the nation’s first 4G mobile tablet — promises to boost the appeal of this technology even further. The leap in internet speeds available on GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G means customers can stream HD video and music over the internet, load magazines faster and enjoy rich internet content traditionally confined to a PC screen.”
via Warwick Bray, Executive Director, Telstra Mobile
The Galaxy Tab 8.9 4G isn’t just a one-trick pony, either. The dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system, 6100 mAh battery and choice between 16GB or 32GB internal storage put it in line with today’s top tablets.
Of course we’re told that the unit will be upgradeable to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the future. However, as usual we have no idea just exactly when this will happen.
Pricing and Availability of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 4G
From today, Thursday 28th of February, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 4G with 16GB of storage is available from Telstra stores for $720 RRP outright. Eventually the 32GB version will follow with a price tag of $840 RRP.
Pre-Paid Offer
Customers can purchase GALAXY Tab 8.9 outright and team it with Telstra’s Pre-Paid Data+ Cap offer, which allows customers to top up data as and when they need. A range of recharge denominations are available. More details can be found at: telstra.com.au/mobiletablets
Telstra Business plans
Telstra Business customers will also be able to purchase the GALAXY Tab 8.9 from 6 March and team it with a range of Telstra Mobile Broadband® Member Plans over 24 months, including Shared plans, giving business customers the ability to share unused data across eligible services on the same account while in Australia. More details can be found at: www.telstra.com/business/tablets
via Telstra