Samsung announces Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S4 Mini for Optus new 4G networks

When we attended a briefing with Optus awhile back, they told us that handsets supporting their new TDD-LTE 4G network (presently available in Canberra and soon to be elsewhere) were around the corner. A few days ago, Optus followed this up with the announcement that Samsung would be amongst the first to the party, with special versions of the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S4 mini for these networks.

Today, Samsung have officially announced the arrival of these new handsets.

TDD-LTE, FDD-LTE.. what’s it all mean?

Samsung and Optus conducted detailed testing of the dual band TDD/FDD-LTE versions of the GALAXY S4 mini and new GALAXY S4 handsets earlier this year. Optus’ new mobile site development, as well as upgrades to existing sites across metro locations, will consist of combined TDD-LTE and FDD-LTE technologies so customers with dual 4G devices can access Optus’ 4G network in more places.

“This exciting launch from Samsung means Optus customers can get their hands on two great new smartphones – then get ready for a new network experience,” said Rohan Ganeson, Managing Director Sales, Optus.

“These smartphones, combined with our new TDD/FDD-LTE network paves the way for greater 4G capacity on the Optus network,” Ganeson added. Not to mention wicked fast speeds, so Optus told us back in May.

Currently available in parts of Canberra, Australia, Optus’ TDD-LTE network will be rolled out across select Australian metropolitan centres over the coming year.

Galaxy S4 Mini network support and pricing

The GALAXY S4 mini is available on a number of great value Optus plans, including the $50 My Plan with $5 monthly handset repayment fee offering 450 minutes of standard national voice calls, unlimited standard SMS and MMS to Australian mobiles and 500MB of mobile internet data (Minimum Total Cost is $1320 over 24 months, cost of 1MB included data $0.0300), all for use within Australia, and subject to the Optus Mobile Fair Go™ Policy. The GALAXY S4 mini can also be purchased outright for RRP $576.

We’ve highlighted the new network support above; the other specifications and features remain pretty much the same as the primary model, the Galaxy S4 Mini.

Galaxy S4 network support and pricing

From mid-September 2013, customers can pick up the dual mode new GALAXY S4 with a $7 monthly handset repayment on the Optus $60 My Plan which comes with 600 minutes of standard national voice calls, unlimited standard SMS and MMS to Australian mobiles and 1GB of mobile internet data (Minimum Total Cost is $1608 over 24 months, cost of 1MB included data $0.0195), all for use within Australia, and subject to the Optus Mobile Fair Go™ Policy. The dual mode new GALAXY S4 will also available outright for RRP $744.

As with the S4 Mini, we’ve highlighted the new network support above; the other specifications and features remain pretty much the same as the primary model, the Galaxy S4. If you want to know more, or if you’ve been living under a rock, check out our Galaxy S4 review.