After LG announced yesterday that ‘Further information on offline availability in Australia will be available late November’ it looked as though carrier negotiations were going on in the background to bring the Nexus 4 out on plans as is normally the case. We have approached the carriers individually, so far we’ve seen Vodafone respond in regards to the Nexus 4, now Telstra has advised that they too will not be stocking the Nexus 4 or the 3G enabled Nexus 7:
At this stage we don’t plan to offer the Nexus 4 smartphone or the Nexus 7 3G tablet. Our customers are increasingly demanding a high speed mobile internet experience on their devices so we are focused on bringing 4G LTE compatible models to market.
Given that Telstra has a rapidly expanding LTE network it does make sense for them to focus on the LTE side of things. Although as myself and a large portion of Australians still don’t have access to either Telstra or Optus LTE at home I personally am not looking at LTE as a deciding factor when purchasing a new phone or tablet.
With an extremely low price point for outright sales on the Nexus 4 it will be interesting to see how this affects overall sales. We still have not seen what the pricing will be on the 3G enabled Nexus 7 in Australia. A number of people have mentioned that they are now looking at the LG Optimus G which is due in Australia at the beginning of next year which is LTE enabled so either way, LG appears to be a winner in all this. Is anyone looking at the Optimus G because of LTE and is anyone still looking at a 32GB 3G enabled Nexus 7?
According to Mobicity the recommended networks include Vodafone and telstra now I’m confused coz i don’t want to spend $400 on a device that won’t have reliable internet
If googs keeps this up, I’ll be switching phones every 12 months instead of 2 years and staying off contract in the process. $400… Hell yes.
The nexus line has never been the highest end device available, but when all the contract folks are pushing their once shiny new SGSIII to the very end of it’s life at the 18 month mark of their contract, I’ll be sitting pretty with a 6 month old nexus. And it’ll be up to date with the latest Android.
not so sure where this rapidly expanding 4G telstra network is,,,,i live about 10km from central Melbourne and have only just been included in the 4G coverage- but i have the wifis at home so not an issue. I work about 30-40km out, so i figure 4G will reach there around 2022 at current expanding rates :- a 4G option would be nice. there is an explanation for the lack of 4G though…. basically, the carriers suck. http://mobilesyrup.com/2012/10/30/google-nexus-4-the-android-phone-for-everyone-with-or-without-lte/ I am happy with DC-HSPA+… good renough for me.. its a bit of a worry that no carriers will carry it though…… Read more »
We’ve got it here in Bathurst, obviously in time for last month’s race 🙂
It’s better that if your wanting a Nexus to buy directly from Google, Look at how many people with the Galaxy nexus has flashed Google rom due to the continues lag behind updates. Telstra or Samsung’s fault, It sure is annoying.
Funny thing how Android fans react to this, Samsung and their fans have made a lot of stupid ads to show that they got 4G before iPhone and iPhone is outdated for not having it. Now when Google release their newest device and Android fan seem not care about the 4G any more. So 4G is not important now with many reasons.
As soon as the HTC One XL came out I switched to Telstra and lovin’ it. No LTE on a device is just buying outdated technology that you’ll want to replace in 6 months time.
It’s just typical Telstra Bulldust. 1, the demand for 4g isn’t running them off there feet, in fact there are more complaints about the usability of the 4G signal in designated areas where it’s supposed to work than you can poke a stick at. Then there’s the data over runs with 4g, not just on the iPhone 5 but across the Telstra network with all there 4G phones, and of course you’d have to be blind if you haven’t noticed all the complaints about battery usage being high with the Telstra 4g Network. So no coincidence that they are releasing… Read more »
So the telstra BYO phone plans are better value than their phone included plans… I’ll be buying a N4 and getting a $60 or $70 a month BYO phone plan, so can swap phones later on down the line at only the cost of the handset and just swap sim over… Telstra bought phones come with pre installed shit anyways, do not want.
Yeah, but remember, most people who buy a phone from Telstra will be purchasing it through a contract. You’ll be basically stuck with your phone for 2 years. You may not have 4G in your area now, but in 12 or 18 months time one would think the coverage will be vastly better. You might be kicking yourself that you didn’t get a 4G device after all. On top of that, I don’t see how Telstra could fit the N4 into their current plan pricing. The Razr M is currently $0 extra on their cheapest plan. The N4 costs significantly… Read more »
With such a low price for the N4 though people could easily buy one for the next year and just upgrade again in 12 months when the next Nexus phone comes out. $400 is pretty much petty cash in regards to a phone.
Just did a quick check, $30 a month pre-paid Telstra + $400 is $760 for 12 months. Most TCO for a Telstra 24 month contract are usually $2000+
Telstra could do worse than offer the Nexus 4 a free with contract 3G option. Weird situation for Google now.
I guess with how quickly Telstra dumped the Galaxy Nexus and getting the One XL and then the SGS3 4G, it isn’t too surprising.