It’s been a couple of days now since the Samsung Galaxy S6 went on sale in Australia, and it seems that the launch day was a big success, both for the carriers and for Samsung itself. We attended Telstra’s launch event at their George St Experience Store in Sydney, and while the crowds weren’t overwhelming, it’s clear that Telstra has put a bit of muscle behind the local launch.
Telstra is making much of the Galaxy S6’s compatibility with its newly 4GX enabled network, which the Galaxy S6 Edge can access as well. Primarily in capital CBDs and selected suburban and regional areas, this fast-as-lightning network empowers downloads up to 100mbps per second, which is about the same speed as you can get out of home broadband (at the upper limit).
Telstra also spoke to us about their offerings which they hope will tempt customers to connect (or re-connect) with Telstra to take up the new Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge; in time for the launch, Telstra is boosting the value of some of its most popular mobile plans by including more data and introducing a bonus 6-month subscription for one of Australia’s leading TV and movie streaming service Presto.
Depending on the plan level chosen by a customer, they will enjoy a bonus data boost ranging between 500MB and 7GB per month for the life of their contract to use in Australia. Both smartphones will be available on a range of Mobile Accelerate Plans with bonus data.
It seems the real party was down the road though, with the Samsung Experience Store near the corner of Market St seeing a much bigger crowd (presumably for those buying the handset outright), with queues of eager customers reaching out into the street at some points. We’ve attended product launches at the Samsung Experience Store before, and they sure know how to throw a party… not to mention that they have heaps of stock, and they’re a good place to get off-contract deals if you’re willing to take a two year hitch with a carrier.
Did you buy a new Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge on launch day? Where did you get one from — a carrier, a Samsung store, somewhere else? Let us know!
Editorial by Chris Rowland, Photography by Alex McCulloch
Any comment from Samsung about the differences between the baseband versions?
Unbranded / Optus / Virgin – G920IDVU1AOC5
Telstra – G920IDVU1AOC7
Has the Telstra version been optimised for their network? Will I get less reception with the other version on Telstra?
Yes I’m also curious to know whether my S6 from Hong Kong would be 4GX compatible. If not is this something that is firmware or hardware related?