Telstra said at day 1 that they weren’t going to launch an Android device until they thought the platform was mature & stable enough. They kept that stance until the HTC Desire was announced, a device they welcomed with open arms and really pushed, and it was that push that I believe really started the Android “craze” in Australia. Telstra made the Desire their flagship Android device with a 6 month exclusive and pricing that was extremely competitive. 5 months have now passed, leaving Telstra with a little over a month left of the Desire exclusive. They should know that VHA & Virgin would love to add the Desire to their Android device lineups, and that they now have to find another device to keep at the forefront of the high-end Android market.
In comes the HTC Desire Z, a beefed up Desire with a keyboard. This device is perfectly suited for Telstra, they can market it aggressively like they did with the original Desire. Having both the Desire & Desire Z enables Telstra to better suit a wider range of smartphone consumers, not all want a keyboard & not all want a full touchscreen device. If they don’t get the Desire Z, they then have to wait for HTC to release a newer device with a keyboard, which will take months, or, they can completely jump ship and snare the Motorola Milestone 2, which eliminates the consistency they currently have with their HTC lineup. I think it would be stupid of Telstra not to get a high-end QWERTY Android device, as there is a huge demand for it.
But that’s just my thoughts.. What do you guys think?
I have the htc desire z and I LOVE it (i hate touchscreens) … though I am with Vodafone and can’t stay with them any longer since their signal is still absolutely terrible … so I may have to give up this phone if no other networks carry it … ??
Depends which version you have, but if it worked on Vodafone then highly likely it will work on Optus. You may have to get Vodafone to unlock it for you
so, i gave in, and ordered it online (ebay.com.au, 589$) had it for almost a month now Desire Z = awesome. unfourtunately the Z isn’t compatible with tesltra’s 3G network. so looks like i am staying with voda for now (icky, but oh well) though reception from voda seems to have improved since having this phone. which means LG phone = crappy (duh) p.s still no news on when it will actually be released in aus. reccommodend buying it online, especially with the way the AUSD is at the moment. if you want the phone with Vanilla Froyo (i.e, no… Read more »
I just want SOMEONE to release it…
Hey buzz, nice post!
I was reading through the comments and it seems like you are all implying that the Z is out in Australia at the moment.. Is that true? If so, where can I get it?, I haven’t seen it anywhere!
no its not out, the normal desire and the desire HD are out
Ok, thanks, do you know when it will be coming out? And what carrier it will have?
P.S I agree with Rhys down there, I just want to own one!
Hey. great stuff once again. I enjoyed coming to your site because the writers often publish well written posts. Excellent post…I have already add this website to my faves. I believe I shall subscribe to this feed too. Recently purchased a cellphone myself. Anyone currently own a samsung galaxy??? It’s off the hook.
I’m with Nikkita…been with Vodafone for years and lately the reception’s been horrid for all 3 household mobiles in our region…Been waiting for the Desire Z and needing to switch to Telstra for decent coverage. So hanging out hoping telstra will get it…
/hi-five
so the Desire Z, much like the Desire HD does not support 850MHz frequency according to the HTC website, any word about a 850MHz(NextG) version coming out ?
Desire Z on Telstra would be fantastic. There seem to be some rumours about Bell Canada releasing it in November, and they (& Telus) use the same UMTS frequency as Telstra Next-G.. so there is hope!
Really? You would like Telstra to get it??
I’ve seen your reasoning in the above post but my concern is that a monopoly by Telstra on the device will mean that people will have to pay premium prices for it and not get a good package deal.
However that said, there is nothing to stop other carriers who get the exclusive deals from doing the same thing which is why I’m opposed to any carriers getting the exclusive deal to one phone.
any exclusives are a bad thing, Telstra exclusives are especially bad!
Has there been anything more about which Australian carrier is going to be getting the Desire Z? It suppose to be availble in about a week time isn’t it?
No one in Oz has said they’re getting the Desire Z, but I’d like Telstra to step up and take it.
Hey Buzz did some posts here go missing?
nope?
Desire Z isn’t specced up enough to receive the Gingerbread update when it’s released. Desire HD is, Milestone 2 is. Desire Z was a mistake by HTC. A temporary stop-gap that I hope they replace soon!
Gingerbread only working on 1Ghz was just a rumor. Most likely not true. It’s about optimization, not numbers. This phone will be VERY fast.
I’m not that keen on the idea of Telstra getting the Desire Z exclusively as I don’t think that any telecommunications company shoud have any exclusive hold over a phone.
We should have the options of comparing plans with two or more companies for the same phone. Also Telestra has not always offer the best value for money on phones they have exclusive hold on. If any company gets an exclusive, it should not be longer than three months.
It would be a smartmove for ay carrier to make the Desire Z or HD an exclusive but for the consumer any exclusive is bad news! Many people without deep pockets like myself simply refuse to go on Telstra and thus if HTC keeps going exclusive with Hellstra they are simply stopping people like myself from purchasing their phones.
I cant agree more. Exclusive deals are created with one thing in mind, The phone company.
If I find my self really wanting this phone, I will import it, carrier free.
Exclusive deals always annoy me. since my first smartphone ive always tried to be as carrier independent as possible. I have an outright import Milestone at the moment on an optus 1 year BYO plan, and im happy that i can change to whatever I want to without that bad of a slug from a telco.
Buzz
Any chance of a comparison table (hopefully less controversial than the pricing comparison table)of the specs of Desire vs Desire HD vs Desire S
Dare I make another comparison table.
1) Dare
2) Obviously Desire Z not S
I’ll tell you why not.. People will have to apply for a second mortgage to pay for Telstra plans 😉
zing! 😛
if you haven’t noticed, telstra has released a few decent cap plans. enough to make me consider moving away from vodafone to get better coverage at a similar price.
the specs on the desire z aren’t as good as the desire
Are you drunk? The Desire Z outperforms the Desire on almost every level. You make that claim just because Desire Z has a 800Mhz processor instead of the 1Ghz? It’s an upgraded CPU and it has a much better GPU that’s almost on par with the Galaxy S line. Almost but not there yet. It’s a much better phone than Desire is.
business-wise it’s a good idea that Telstra get this phone, although exclusivity should be much less than the Desire, as great as the Desire is, that long period of exclusivity to Telstra pretty much turned me off the phone, if say, Telstra recieved exclusivity for maybe 1-2 months, quite like what Optus/Virgin had with the SGS, I think that would be better for consumers in general who do not want to have to change over to Telstra just to have this very nice HTC at the uncompetitive cap plans the big T offers compared to other carriers. Telstra are great… Read more »
I’m with Virgin and I couldn’t agree more. I believe that HTC should be fairly confident of the value of their devices and getting them into more carrier’s hands allows them to become the market leader in Android devices. When you get benefits with your current carrier for being a long term customer makes it really hard to jump to another carrier that has been known for its terrible value (I’m looking at you Telstra). I agree with the shorter exclusivity deal. If anyone hasn’t jumped on the phone with a certain carrier after 3 months, are they likely to… Read more »
An example is where if the desire had come to Virgin last month I would have picked it up. Now that the Desire HD is coming out, I wouldn’t consider it if it came to Virgin today because I am now keen on the Desire HD.