If you weren’t aware, the HTC Velocity 4G from Telstra went on sale today and we’re wondering how many of you guys have purchased one already (early adopters!) or are planning to in the future. It’s available for $0 on Telstra’s $79 Freedom Connect Plan or you can buy it outright for $840 — a little bit steep, but there’s no real competitor at the moment.
Bought one?
If you did buy one, tell us what you think. What speeds are you getting on 4G? What’s coverage of 4G like for you? Any performance issues with the device? What (besides 4G) stands out for you? Do you regret the purchase? Did you get it on a plan or outright? We’d love to hear it all!
Haven’t got one.. yet
So you’re thinking of getting a Velocity 4G.. what’s holding you back? Are you waiting to hear user feedback (perhaps even our upcoming review?!)? Are you waiting for 4G coverage in your area?
Not getting at all!
If the HTC Velocity 4G doesn’t pique you interest, what does get your geeky juices flowing? Why won’t you get the Velocity 4G? Is it not pushing the boundaries of awesome enough?
Can’t wait to have some good discussion in the comments! 🙂
GarryS
WORST PHONE EVER DITTO
Where 4G coverage is week or worse the gremlins come out to play, all well documented.
Is it the phone or Telstra or a combination of the two?
Can’t wait for contract to expire.
WORST PHONE EVER!
I’m forever finding problems with it and fixing them! you would of thought for the price of them that you would of been getting a decent phone, it’s no wonder telstra started selling these pieces of ‘rubbish’ for a 1/4 of the original price! haha what a joke!
Ive had mine for about 2-3 weeks… Was ok at first… but then i kept getting random notifications that i had messages unread on Facebook when that wasn’t the case… then after the update to ICS i hardly got notifications for Facebook, my emails, IMs nothing. Then when i went to telstra today about it, nothing they can do about it because its all 3rd party apps… have to put up with it! Don’t buy HTC….
Nothing but problems with mine. I’ve had it now for over a month and ever since the ics upgrade it randomly turns off and will also randomly get a really washed out looking screen.
Is the velocity meant to keep notifying you of messages even after they have been read? i get double, sometimes triple notifications of the same sms or facebook message. is there a way to turn this off? Otherwise, perfect phone, sensational. Much better than iphone and galaxy nexus
mine does the same thing… had mine about 3 weeks and nothing but problems… won’t notify me of emails, keeps saying i have messages on Facebook when i don’t…. anyone else who reads this, don’t buy a htc…. buy a galaxy s2. I was told by telstra that the velocity was better than the s2 and what a complete LIE…
Bought one and now I’m kicking myself for doing so! It is the most problematic piece of crap I have ever owned. It has already gone back to HTC within one month of purchase and it is still not working. I have tried numerous factory resets and I still get error messages saying “unfortunately this is not working or that is not working” and I am absolutely fed up with it. It’s supposed to be a smartphone? After this I think I’ll go back to my old 6300, at least it works.
go to the office of fair trading if the product is not doing what its suppose to do or is faulty.
I’ve had mine since release and absolutely love it. So sleek, fast and importantly, smooth! It betters Apple for that “smooth” feel when navigating. 4g is crazy fast (I work in Melb CBD) but have seen 4g as far out as Greensborough. It’s got everything you could possibly want in a smartphone. I was a little tentative getting another HTC after the Desire (loved it, but the lack of storage was a deal breaker) but bit the bullet and couldn’t be happier. What a phone!
I love the phone as well. If only the battery life was better.
Less than 5 hours with reasonable useage! The screen just chews up too much power and it seems to have gotten worse since the ICS upgrade.
I love the phone, but the battery life nearly renders it unusable!
I went for this phone with Telstra to get away form iPhone but I need good reception with them and Samsung are only a grade I travel a bit so need blue tick or maby a b grade and the velocity is b grade never had a android phone but I noticed with my handset It gets super hot after a simple 10 min use could be a call or game SMS and I’m wondering with any one élses velocity 4g do the same it’s rather annoying .. Any advice would be awesome it’s 3 days old
If you do a search you will find that the HTC Sensation,Samsung Galaxy S2 will all warm up.It seems to ba a problem that HTC has yet to fix.Mine did not (HTC Sensation until after 7 months of use so it is going back to Telstra and not to be dixed but a replacement.
I have had mine for a week now, its quick, very quick, faster than other handsets on 3G as well, sense is garbage though, hate it, but XDA developers should have CM9 working on it soon enough 😀
Have had mine for just over a week. I am yet to see 4g anywhere. Signal strength seems poorer than my HTC desire. CHews through battery. Notification sounds for messages and emails do not work no matter how much I try. I am hoping ICS fixes at least the notifications.
hey dude, may need to take it back to telstra shop and ask them. they had a qick look at my account in their computer and made some small chanfges and 4g appearred straight away. I live in melbourne and already it is spreading as far as northcote etc…
Love it. Great phone. video recording and camera are da bomb. Phone will be even better when ICS comes out!
Try switching off the GPS and other locator features. Be sure that BlueTooth and Wi-Fi are switched off when not in use. Saves a lot of power.
Just got this phone yesterday and is definately worth the price. I’m on a 79 freedom connect plan and its perfect. I got speeds averaging around 30 mbps down and avg of 17 mbps up in 4g area. Runs real smooth and for those complaining about about not having ICS it is coming out in the next month or two so relax. Don’t waste your time with any other provider, no point having good hardware on a substandard network that can’t back it up. The price is justified aswell, try one of these things in a 4g area and you… Read more »
I live in a rural area so i use telstra, i would like 4g but when Telstra get around to bringing it out here nobody knows, even 3g is poor in our area.
I ended up purchasing one, miss Ice Cream Sandwich. I also hate HTC Sense and the included apps, has anyone put a different ROM on the device yet?
Instead of HTC Sense, you can use Go launcher, which is available in Android market for free.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.gau.go.launcherex&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5nYXUuZ28ubGF1bmNoZXJleCJd
CM9 is almost ported to the device, its stable but not 100% working yet, check out XDA developers and look in the HTC Vivid area, the Velocity is a Vivid and a Raider in the US 😀
Don’t buy into the 4g thing yet. will used up monthly data plan in an hour… no thanks. still has 6 months left on my contract , GS3 would be perfect timing.
40Mbps down 20Mbps up (unmetered)
Perfect alternative for most business applications requiring massive movements of data. The device can be used to tether to laptops, etc negating the need for a separate USB dongle.
Data bolt on packs are more than sufficient (unless you expect to use it for d/l BRrips)
The current $59 plan comes with 1.5GB/month and $550 worth of calls and texts. By far enough data to last the whole month. I use mine to constantly check Facebook and watch YouTube vids and I have yet to reach 50% of my monthly data. A great widget that comes with the HTC Velocity on purchase, is a data usage meter. This allows you to keep track of how much data you’re using and when to give surfing the net a breather.
I love mine, nicer in the flesh and to use than images on the web would have you believe. It’s a beautiful device and a rockets to use, 4g or 3g with no lag. Great phone, PS. I am coming off a GS2, Note and Razr to name a few. This matches up and beats them in many ways. User experience and UI is great.
I presume that the device is sold locked to Telstra, even if you purchase it outright? I am not going to rush out and purchase the device, because I am only really interested in 4G, not the actual device itself. It would also be depressing to go from the Galaxy Nexus to the Velocity 4G (no ICS, worse screen resolution etc).
Except the iphone, no telstra postpaid or outright handset is locked to telstra. This us a requirement of apple but telstra unlock them for free. Prepaid are locked.
Even if you unlocked what alternate carrier has 4G in oz? None. Besides Telstra have the best network by far… Unless you what to save $10 per month.
In reality why buy a slightly cheaper car that doesn’t work all the time and stalls when you need it most?
If your like me unlocking is still appealing due to travel overseas (it will still do 3g in the countries I visit), international roaming cost anyone?
Even if you unlocked what alternate carrier has 4G in oz? None. Besides Telstra have the best network by far… Unless you what to save $10 per month.
In reality why buy a slightly cheaper car that doesn’t work all the time and stalls when you need it most?
I had 2 dud galaxy nexus before Telstra allowed me to swap to the Velocity the day it was released. Absolutely shits on the galaxy nexus, i think
4G is only available at the moment on the Telstra Network in Australia. There is a new Samsung compatable with the 4G network, however, 4G is currently only available in selected regions as it awaits further integration.
I bought it yesterday for my brother, seems pretty good, screen and camera not quite as good as my s2, but downloads speeds are amazing and internet browsing significantly better than s2. It’s worth noting not only is it 4g, but it’s also the first dual carrier 3g handset, so outside 4g coverage it still flies. It’s fairly hefty but I think it’s a really good effort.
I don’t mind with Telstra, have NextG pre-paid for my Acer Iconia Tablet. I’m currently with Optus though, and wish moving to 4G as soon as my Milestone 2 contract is finish, but won’t getting this HTC phone, still waiting for Droid 4. Hopefully released by then (Read this Telstra).
Plus one to that. I too am hoping for a soon release of Droid/Milestone 4 in Aus. 4G don’t care either way as not sure how prevalent it is in rural areas where I spend most of my time, I just want a high end smartphone with a QWERTY.
It would seem the $0 cost would only cost 480 more than the existing phone contract version of equal features, therefore paying nearly twice as much to own the phone is nonsensical … unless there’s some hidden information?
Don’t like Telstra! Waiting for the Samsung Note to be released. Wish I had the money so I could buy outright. Peeved that the Nexus is released after the Note was out first, yet we are still waiting here in Aus!
Nope, bit too heavy and bulky for me. My S2 is still amazing. S3 with LTE would be hard to deny though.
No chance I’m buying one. Telstra should have got Samsung to rigg up a Galaxy Nexus with LTE the Sepos got one so its possible.
Plus I dont live or work any whee near the coverage area in Perth
Unfortunately the Nexus LTE version was developed for the US LTE network (i.e. 750Mhz network frequency) not the 1800Mhz frequency that Telstra LTE runs on. Also I don’t believe that it is legal to run LTE on 750Mhz in Aus yet as that is the same spectrum that Analogue TV runs on. It is currently being phased out, but I don’t think the spectrum will be available for Mobile networks until all of the analogue TV is switched off. Could be wrong on the analogue TV thing. Please correct me if I am wrong. That said, it is a Beautiful handset, though still slightly… Read more »
Again agree with Robert. Having been a Vodafone customer for 10 yearsx, their coverage really gave me headaches. So much so, I got my contract end date brought forward. Then made the no brainier switch to Telstra. Corporate greed??? Who cares…have coverage and with the NextG HTC Sensation being far better than the SGS2 on the Telstra network. Oh….wont be tempted either with 4G…yet
I’m tempted, but I’m just not blown away by the specs, I was kinda hoping for a little bit more. I’m also keen to see what non-HTC options come up in the near future, I’d be keen to try something else after a so-so experience with the Desire. My plan runs out at the end of April, so i’m hanging out for something else cool to be announced and/or released by then..
Telstra. No thanks.
You have something against a network that actually works (as opposed to Optus and Vodafone)?
Telstra aren’t *that* pricey any more, and their network actually performs, and yes, whilst they *are* Telstra and I don’t agree with many of their practices, I refuse to submit myself (again, been there, done that) to the pissweak coverage and performance of the Optus or Vodafone networks just so I can “stick it to the man”, because in that case, the only man I’ll be sticking it to is myself.
Totally agree with Robert
Telstra is a high functioning, relatively low cost option these days. They are hardly more expensive than the competition and Voda/Optus know this.
I would never consider anyone other than Telstra unless the other players really did shine with there deals. BUT THEY DONT
Optus prepaid $2 days – Completely unlimited usage for around $60 a month. What have Telstra got to match that?
It’s simple enough why I won’t likely be getting one, any time ever. Too pricey outright, and I don’t do contracts.
I agree!
What plans are available if you buy outright?
All of Telstra’s Freedom Connect Plans I would imagine.
http://telstra.com.au/mobile/plans/freedom-connect-plans.cfm
Is there any current LTE/4G phone that supports the Telstra 4G frequencies? (I’m an Optus customer so I haven’t investigated it).
…the HTC Velocity 4G?
I meant OTHER than the Velocity.
We’re going to be reviewing the Samsung Galaxy S II HD from MobiCity in the next week or two. It’s meant to support 1800MHz LTE so we’ll test that out when we get our hands on it.
http://www.mobicity.com.au/samsung-galaxy-s2-hd-lte-e120s.html