This morning’s announcements from Cupertino is sure to upset Australia’s largest telecommunications provider, Telstra. While the iPhone 4S is a ‘World Phone’ packed with technology, unfortunately Telstra have spent millions on technology that won’t be accessible via the new device.
Going on sale next Friday, the iPhone does not have a new technology WB-AMR, which Telstra uses to achieve HD calls on their Next G Network. Given the extra clarity and noise cancellation available with the technology, this could be something that benefitted Siri.
The iPhone 4S will support 2G/3G, but not 4G as we know it here in Australia. Telstra has already begun rolling out 4G LTE in Australia which is capable of speeds up to 40 Mbps. The iPhone 4S will only support HSDPA, which can achieve a lowly 14.4 Mbps. Back in 2009 Telstra showed off Next G running at 21Mbps.. back in 09 !
Consumers will have the choice of a number of 4G phones in 2012, but the reality is millions of Apple iPhone users will be within 4G areas and not able to take advantage of the extra speed. The 4G situation in the US (where the iPhone is developed) is a complete mess. The 4G label has now become a generic marketing label for ‘better than 3G’ rather than a technical specification.
I never thought I’d see the day where America was holding Australia back in technology developments.
