Australian range of Windows Phone 7 devices

The localized Australian version of the Windows Phone 7 portal has just been updated with the range of phones that will be officially available in the Australian market.

Those exclusive to Telstra include the LG Optimus 7Q, HTC 7 Mozart. Others include the Samsung Omnia 7 and HTC 7 Trophy, presumably available via other carriers and retailers. Features and specifications are available for comparison on the website.

Although the selection might seem limited with just four of the nine WP7 devices revealed at the official launch in NYC, it’s a great start considering many of them are not exclusive to just one carrier unlike the US market. Having said that, the much-anticipated HTC HD7 seems to be giving down under a miss. HD7 might still be coming?

Expect more information about Windows Phone 7 specific to the Australian market at the Microsoft/Telstra press conference later today.

Update: Thanks to a heads up from commenter “Mackenzie Price”, HTC’s official press release suggests the HD7 is still coming to Australia as a Telstra exclusive, contrary to both Microsoft’s website and press release.

19 insightful thoughts

  1. MONDAY, 11 OCTOBER, 09.30 EST (New York)

    HTC GOES BIG WITH MICROSOFT; LAUNCHING FIVE NEW WINDOWS PHONE 7 SMARTPHONES

    Asia-Pacific
    • HTC HD7 will be exclusively available with Telstra in Australia
    • HTC HD7 will be exclusively available with Telecom New Zealand.

  2. Exclusivity pisses me off. It means I can’t ever get phones I want without jumping carriers all the time, and that is too much of a hassle.

  3. Australia has avoided being drawn into the global recession, in fact they have a mini boom going on right now, so I suspect WP7 will do very well there.

  4. My first Impression of the AUS portal – obtrusive poncy music. I’m in an open office and now I’m scrambling around looking for a way to shut it up. There’s a 50/50 chance I’ll just close the tab to silence it because the speaker-icon is tiny and hard to find. ok, now I’m pissed of at you and you want to try and sell me something? Welcome to Windows Phone 7.

    Good one Microsoft, or whoever thought of that. You really need to test these things on someone who didn’t drink the Koolaid, and who left the early 90’s of web experience.

  5. Looking at the 5 phones listed on the Australian portal it just illustrates why perhaps Apple’s strategy of only offering one phone isn’t so silly after all. The vast majority of people will look at the 5 phones and say “what’s the difference and why would I buy one over the other?” Looking at the portal site that’s not apparent to me. Given that I am tech head I don’t see how the none tech people will be able to make up their mind.

    I can already see plenty of people buying device because it was the cheapest option or because the sales drone told them so only to be disappointed with what they end up with. In the end this rarely reflects badly on the device manufacturer but instead will make Windows Phone 7 look bad. I don’t think this is very well thought through by MS.

    1. I think Microsoft have nailed this perfectly.

      As much as I like Android, they need to do a lot of catching up. Looking at the 4 phones you can choose from:

      – 1 has a slide out keyboard
      – 1 has an 8MP camera
      – 1 is Optimised for Gaming

      So unlike Android (and focusing on the Wildfire, Legend and Desire) where all 3 phones offer similar features, and it isn’t clear what value you get with the desire over the wildfire, you have a choice with the Microsoft phones. Now I can walk into a Telstra store and go “I want a phone thats suitable for playing games”, and pick up the Trophy. If I’m in business, I might get the Optimus because of its slide out keyboard. And If im someone easily impressed by big numbers, I might get the Mozart for its 8MP camera with Zenon flash.

      So to conclude:
      Apple – one size fits all
      Android – bunch of various confusing models
      WP7 – choice depending on needs

      1. There is a base hardware specification and device benchmarking so users are sure to get a solid smartphone experience irrespective of the manufacturer.
        That beign said I’m not very happy with AT&T’s choice of WP7 devices yet.

      2. so why can’t I have 8MP Camera and optimised for gaming (what does that even mean?).

        Also I read elsewhere on this site that none of the launch phones are 3G capable. If that’s true I would say there will be a lot of disappointed customers. Personally if your really want a good Windows 7 Phone experience I’d wait till the HTC 7HD is released.

      3. Looks like the phone are 3G on 2100 and 910 but not 850… in which case there will be a lot of disappointed Telstra Next G customers. I wonder if Telstra sales people will actually disclose this to potential customers.

      4. @Tom – feature creep/bloatware.

        There is no perfect phone (yet), and sacrifices would need to be made somewhere along the line. I have no idea what optimised for gaming even means either (guessing the form factor somehow), and giving it a bigger camera (but by the looks of it, it doesn’t have one at all) might disrupt the form factor.

        It’s probably not the best example, but I’d rather Microsoft’s approach to Apples any day.

        As for the frequencies… well AT&T has 850mhz, so it seems strange that we aren’t getting any of them. And I do believe its 3G capable (because 3G is part of GSM), but it isn’t LTE/CDMA capable. I could (and probably am) wrong though

  6. Tom: comes with the territory. More options obviously means more complexity. Having said that, the fact the baseline hardware is fixed and that the OS is also pretty restrained should mean the experience is mostly the same throughout. The alternatives being Android which is the wild west when it comes to hardware/experience or Apple’s “my way or the highway”. Besides, if Android is able to reach the marketshare it has with all its complexity, I don’t think this will inder WP7.

    Besides, right now most people already go for the cheapest option/sales dude told them so/liked the way the phone looked/Carrier contract. Having fewer models for WP7 wouldn’t change these four important factors in choosing a phone for most people.

    I’m leaning towards either the Omnia, HD7 or Asus’ model which MS used for the original unveiling / emulator is partly based on (if it ever comes out, that is). Since the base hardware is the same all I need to check is screen size, storage, price and looks.

  7. would be nice if they didnt have exclusives here in canada. since it looks like our cdma providers(which have 1st crack @ these phones) are dropping the format for hspa

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