After our report last week that Telstra would be selling the Nexus 5, the carrier has officially announced that its stores are expected to have stock of the highly-sought-after device from Tuesday November 26, with online pre-orders open now.
It’s worth noting that they’re only offering 16 GB black models of the phone, and will also sell the device outright for $696 – a significant markup over Google’s price of $399, but if you’re in the market for a new device on-contract, you could do much worse. To sweeten the deal, Telstra is also offering customers who pre-order the device online two free $50 Google Play Store cards.
Telstra seems sure that the Nexus 5 will be a hit with the carrier’s tech-savvy Android fans. Andrew Volard, Telstra Director of Device Management, commented that customers are always looking for 4G connectivity and impressive camera features when looking for a smartphone device:
Customers have been waiting eagerly for this phone, which is the first Nexus phone to come with 4G functionality, and it couldn’t arrive at a better time. Last week we switched on our 3000th 4G-compatible base station, bringing our 4G coverage to four times that of any competitor network. That means customers using the Nexus 5 with Telstra will have access to superfast 4G speeds in more places than ever before.
There has also been a lot of anticipation surrounding the new KitKat operating system which includes a range of new functionality compared to previous Android platforms. After extensive testing of the device and the new operating system, we’re thrilled to confirm we are stocking it.
Comments regarding extensive testing raised eyebrows around Ausdroid’s offices. The carrier’s been known to have lengthy testing periods for devices and software updates, and this may imply that Telstra’s had their hands on Nexus 5 units for quite some time.
Update: It appears that updates for the Nexus 5 supplied by Telstra will not come directly from Google, but will go through Telstra’s ordinary carrier testing process before the update becomes available. This could mean delays of up to 90 days for Telstra Nexus 5 users in receiving OS updates from Google, which is far less than ideal.
We’re chasing up details from LG regarding handling of software updates for Nexus 5 devices sold on Telstra – a particular pain point that many Galaxy Nexus owners will find difficult to forget – and will update when we know more.
You can check out Telsta’s Nexus 5 plans on their site, or go straight to the pre-order page.
Will you be getting a Nexus 5 on-contract from Telstra? Let us know in the comments.
Upto 90 days for updates? Try 6-9 months, if at all! Those of us who got Telstra Galaxy Nexus’s have long memories! Never again!
Might have a better tuned radio firmware like the Galaxy Nexus had in Australia, hence the (much), longer timeframe.
As much as I want one, I will waiting till my contract runs out, then purchasing one direct from Google.
I don’t think telstra would sell many outright phones full stop and doubt they expect to sell any Nexus at that price.
Not a bad option to go on contract if you plan to use Telstra , break it down over 24 months
$399 google price plus shipping $20, Telstra BYO plan $50 total price = $419 + 24 x $50 =$1619
Telstra Contract price = $69 x 24 = $1656 so $37 better off buying on Google
Don’t forget the BYO plans are not directly compareable to the plan with the phone, You get more calls and Data on the BYO plan and its cheaper, Im sure this is deliberate to make it hard to compare its the name of the game from telstra
The $50 BYO and $60 with-phone plans seem the same?
Neither are a good deal of course, even the pre-paid $50 Telstra recharge looks better – what with rollover – and that’s without playing games on the starter packs.
Filthy price for a outright purchase. They really want people on contract.
Our very own Verizon strikes again.
Kudos Telstra.
got excited then a carrier finally having it, sadly contract is still the best option then an outright payment, then i saw the sku limits and price, FU telstra FU
Oops… I knew this as of Friday… should I have said something?
We also reported this on Friday, but the product page was missing from Telstra’s site and the press release today made it official.
That said, you CAN tip us any time you like at the “tips” link up above 😉
I know it’s Telstra but $100/month for 2GB of data is just plain stupid. I know this is their standard price but it’s still stupid.
I signed on to a BYO phone plan with Telstra on their double data for life promo a few months ago. I’m their $60 a month plan but get 2GB of data then bought the Nexus 5 off Google Play for $449. If they can offer 2GB for $60/month on BYO phone plans, surely $100/month is slightly overkill!
I was on a similar plan with telstra, but switched to boost pre-paid – cheaper, freedom to do what you will and best of all, 3GB data and unlimited usage – loving it. It’s perfect with my N5. never signing a phone contract again.
I’m on the $50 prepaid encore cap which gets me $950 of calls and text with free calls and text 6pm-6am. The cap includes 800mb of data and $50 to spend on ‘inclusions’. I spend $49 on the BROWSER PLUS PACK 3GB every month and that brings my total data to 3.8GB for $50/month.
So in total that’s $100 for 3.8GB? Or am I missing something?
No in total that’s $50 for 3.8GB. The prepaid encore cap includes $50 worth of credit to spend on any inclusions you like (at no extra cost to you).
that is insane!! includes 4G coverage too? This is Telstra, not Boost right?
correct. all telstra. google the “prepaid encore cap”, you want the $50/month one as well as the BROWSEPLUSPACK49
Wow, $696? That doesn’t even make sense. It’s like when EB Games and others just put a placeholder price of $899 on new consoles knowing it won’t be sold just yet.
sadly telstra know a large number of their customers will not check prices and will not want to buy direct from google so they can pretty much charge what they please, then get upset when no one buys it
What? You can buy PHONES from Google?!
How are they going to sell the HTC One, the Sony Xperia Z1, the Samsung Galaxy S4; if they price correctly? Telstra get margin on those phones.
If they took the outright price of the Nexus 5 ($450 for 15GB) and priced it correctly against the HTC One ($580 for 32GB) then they wouldn’t sell any of the phones that make them money.
It’s a con job, they make it look less enticing such that those who don’t know better can be upsold (its downselling in reality) to something that makes Telstra cash.