Samsung Galaxy S II coming to Telstra
Filed under: Android, gadgets and gizmos, Next G™, smart phone, technology
We’re delighted to confirm that Telstra will bring the powerful Samsung GALAXY S II smartphone to our customers in July.
Running on the Telstra Next G® network, the GALAXY S II will set new benchmarks for mobile internet speeds in Australia.
Teamed with Australia’s only HSPA+ network, the GALAXY S II will support download speeds up to twice a fast as those available on competitor networks in all capitals and selected areas.
For our customers that means they will be able to surf the mobile web faster, stream video with less buffering, and access their social networks more quickly than ever before.
We think our customers are going to love this super-thin smartphone which features an extraordinarily vivid 4.3-inch screen and one of the best cameras we have seen on a phone.
We will update you on pricing and in-store availability a little closer to launch.
Any chance we can preorder and prepay 12 months payments before the end of the financial year so I can use the payments as a tax deduction?
I was speaking to a member of staff today in the Mt Ommaney store as was told that they were meant to be getting some in on Wednesday but they had no information yet on what plans it’d be available on. Best bet was to go back next weekend. Hope this is true, although not sure why there wouldn’t be pre-orders on the site.
Pleeeease Telstra, will you tell us when you will have the SGS2 available? This month???
Pleeeease Andrea, will you read the first line to see when the SGS2 will be available? This month???
I went into my local Telstra store (up in Darwin) yesterday to enquire about a release date and to see if I could put one on hold or pre-order and they said they don’t know when it’s being released so I couldn’t pre-order. I’m dying to get this phone!!
I’ll be watching this thread with baited breath to see when a release date is announced.
I went to Telstra Shop at Chadston, the staff said SGS2 will release on July
So it takes a month to install the Telstra bloatware?
Or are they waiting to announce network upgrades too??
As a former Telstra employee, I can tell you with absolutely certainty that Telstra’s custom firmware is not the sole reason, though it is part of the reason.
As frustrating as it is at times (even for staff), Telstra are notorious for their testing of devices, often spending far longer periods of time testing their upcoming devices than their competitors… This is why Telstra handsets usually have fewer issues than the same handset offered by a competitor.
Telstra want the “it just works” experience that Apple is so famous for and whilst they don’t nail it every time, they certainly try…
Adding bloatware shouldn’t take very long, not a month any way..
As soon as I get mine it’ll be ROOTed and overclocked with a custom ROM.
Word on the grapevine is July the 12th it will be released. Don’t bother asking where i got this info from as i will not tell you. I can tell you that it’s a ‘trustworthy’ source however
SO HANG IN THERE GUYS IT’S JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!!
Spoke to some guys at telefirm.com.au (telxtra exclusive reseller) and they said the GSII is coming up early July. They’re offering the phone on a 79$ plan/24ths w/2.5GB data, incl. handset.
Their g2 web page mentions pre orders via email, here I come and good bye Apple!
Damn that’s too far out of my price range, I was hoping for a $59 option, may have to go with optus, who already have their prices there. Shame because I want to go on the telstra network. Will wait and see when it’s launched.
Finally!
We’ve been waiting for this phone to be released on Telstra. Even though it came out on Optus first, I intended to wait for it to be announced for Telstra customers. I could hold out for a month and a bit just to use a service that had better coverage and a faster network.
I’m not so sure about the ptices though… We’ll see but I’m excited to upgrade from my Motorola V3 =P
great news on the price, I thought it might be $79+phone cost of up to $20. what is the link for the page Matt – telstra g2?
Can we please get a release date and pricing info!!! I really want the phone asap, but with no info from telstra am wondering if its worth the wait, or if i should just buy it outright from another provider and then switch to telstra prepaid
Thanks for the tip on telefirm. com.au I just emailed them, Virgin are hassling me for a free upgrade which is tempting, but I’m over their crap data network.
i already have an unlocked galaxy s II on the telstra next g network…problem is that because its pre paid nothing is free…might have to buy an optus pre paid plus sim to use facebook, youtube etc for free…hopefully telstra do something like that for existing pre paid customers
Come on Telstra. This is absolutely shambolic. I gotten out of my Vodafone plan some months ago specifically for the release of this phone, and whilst I have been patient to date, that patience is wearing very thin given that Vodafone and Optus have this phone out now. They at least have been advertising it for pre-order or something.
Telstra have given us absolutely nothing in terms of an expected release date, potential plans, no information whatsoever except this vague post.
Regrettably, as a former Telstra customer who left once before, I am starting to remember why I left. Terrible customer service and even worse plans.
Lift your game Telstra! A fantastic network will only get you so far.
Telstra please release the pricing and release date already??? Or at least a date when the pricing and release date will be clarified.
This is taking forever, a number of friends I have spoken to have said that they are moving to other providers because of the slow release of information from Telstra.
Suggest you all do what a lot of others are. Purchase G2 outright online for about $785 and signup to Telstra on 12month BYO plan. Be a lot quicker, cheaper and flexible.
If I had $785 I would have bought it two months ago off ebay like I normally do, but I am up for a new contract so want this one free, then sell my LG Optimus 2X and Galaxy S to buy a Xoom
I agree. I always get the latest phone as soon as its out, and I really want this with Telstra; but already my friends are giving me crap coz I don’t have it yet.
How long can it take to program the Telstra bloatware that everyone will remove anyway?
Ok iam out. Waited long enough expected at least some feedback or input from Telstra.
I work for Telstra. July 16 folks. No pricing yet. Not long left now! It will be worth the wait.
Jimmy,
with all this wait, at least tell us if it will be on a plan lower than 79$ (without phone payments).
Optus best plans are is 59+5 (2 months free, which makes it 59$ over 2 yrs) and Voda is 55$ (45cap+10phone).
Otherwise i will (as most of us) have to go with either of your competition as EOFY is around the corner.
Thanks buddy.
Jimmy, why will it be worth the wait? Is the ‘official’ i9100T handset any different? A lot of people have been using the G2 on Next G for some time now..
July 16th? Screw that. I’m just going to buy it outright from overseas and put my Telstra Sim in.
Not on a plan for “free”. Not everyone wants to pay $700+ outright for a phone.
Super keen to see pricing on plans for this, really really really hope its on a $59/mth plan (though I doubt it)…
It’s the same handset, the only difference is the Telstra bloatware, got my “unlocked clean firmware” version from “US” online retailer,price is currently down to
608,- $US = 630 $AU at this price it’s better to go outright.
+shipping 19.95
How is it more in AU when the Aussie is worth more than the US at the moment?
Still a great price when they are around $800 on ebay still.
It’s the “Australia” premium that we pay. It’s the same with a lot of things these days!
Some of you guys saying Telstra might ask for
$79 + 20 handset fee on x24mths plan, thats just NUTS the damn handset gonna end up costing $2376,- I’d do what Murad said get it from online retailer and chuck in a Allpaid sim from Vodafone,you get unlmtd calls + 1gig data for $55,- still not enough then go on a cap with 2-3 gig data, all for half of Telstra’s price. The premium they ask for NextG is just rip off! The 3G speed from the other providers is plenty fast for video calls & downloads, for example 20MB DL on Voda 15 sec,on NextG=10sec, price difference is double !!
When Voda works, LOL..
telstra definitely isn’t for everyone. I’ve seen varying speeds for both Telstra and Optus which I use. Sometimes Optus is actually faster, sometimes telstra is faster.
More often than not though, when in some buildings with poor phone coverage, I get a stronger signal with Telstra than Optus. Or, Optus drops to GPRS while Telstra still stays on 3G or HSDPA.
Vodafail can give you 100GB if they want, but if it doesn’t work it’s kinda pointless. You pay for something u cant use, all u have is bragging rights to a plan that’s not functional.
It works they fixed the problems,just look at the pre release support from Vodafone and make up your own mind http://blog.vodafone.com.au/blog/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-pre-sale/
I meant generally, Vodafail have that name for a reason you know http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=306OsChFw0A
I agree to ditch Telstra. They really suck at making deals/plans that people will like to pay for having the superduper nextg.
Voda, sorry but they are a really really bad network even with
three on board now.
Optus is the only way. Im complete neutral about network. And I’d really love to have it with telstra but their plans are not for reach people, they are for idiots.
now… i ll have to give it again to optus, they are releasing another exclusive interesting phone, the optimus 3d. I slightly considered it, but to early for 3d. Headache issues, usefullness doubtness, etc etc, 3d will have to wait, even with the release of the htc evo 3d which is slightly better.
Anyway… will try to get the online promition with optus now… and also get the advantage of getting it before the EOFY. Telstra: VERY DISSAPOINTED. (hope they won’t show me wrong on July 16 with a 49$ no repayment plan but i seriously doubt it! LOL )
Pardon me i made a little mistake wrote the values the other way around, so the actual price with the online retailer was
640,- $US = 608,- $AU +19.95 $AU $shipping. Total= $627 AU
which retailer was this Murad? do you need a US address?
There are areas in CBD Sydney where Optus doesn’t even get a signal whilst Telstra has 5 bars HSDPA. Difficult to do mobile business with Optus I’m afraid. Don’t believe me? Go to Saunders Street, Pyrmont and see how you’re signal is on Optus…. there comes a point in time when you need the signal coverage. I went to Mackay last week for work for two days and had barely a second of 3G the whole two days, Cairns, same. I am lucky to push better than 3Mbps on the Gold Coast, it’s pathetic.
It never ceases to amaze me- people are forever complaining about Telstra, yet (approximately) 20 years after mobile telecommunications were introduced into Australia, Telstra still offers the best coverage footprint, the highest level of reliability and in recent times, the fastest data speeds…
Yes Telstra has its flaws just like all the other networks (*cough cough* Philippine call centers *cough cough*), but at the end of the day, they’ve proven themselves and in recent times, their pricing has become realistic- still more than most competitors, but not so much that they (Telstra) can’t justify it.
You’re on the staff then Greg?
Telstra are one of the most obnoxious and arrogant public corporates in Australia.
They might be good, but they sure as hell know it.
Not to mention the slimey sales tricks the call centres pull that takes months to sort out once you get the first bill and find out you’ve been lied to.
Yes they’ve come a long way, but they still have a long way to go.
It pains me to be waiting to move my services as I know there’s going to be pain involved.
No Nathan, I used to work for Telstra, but I left to take up a position in the Australian Defense Force (ADF)…
“Telstra are one of the most obnoxious and arrogant public corporates in Australia.
They might be good, but they sure as hell know it.”
Meh. That’s a matter of personal opinion.
“Not to mention the slimey sales tricks the call centres pull that takes months to sort out once you get the first bill and find out you’ve been lied to.”
Having spent a fair bit of time dealing with the call centers, including the call center on the Gold Coast (one of Telstra’s biggest), I can tell you personally that Telstra does NOT use “slimey sales tricks” to make sales and any staff member found using shifty tactics is dealt with harshly… Besides, Telstra has a designated sales process that staff are taught to use, one that is constantly under review and is by no means a “slimey sales trick”.
Unfortunately, there are third-parties out there selling telecommunications products and services (including those from Telstra), some of which make their own rules and use questionable practices… Be aware that Telstra does NOT endorse such sales methods, nor have they ever.
If you come across someone using shady practices to sell Telstra products and services, take their details, report them to Telstra, the TIO (Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman) or in serious cases, the police (unless it’s something particularly serous though, Telstra should be your first point-of-contact)…
“Yes they’ve come a long way, but they still have a long way to go.”
There’s ALWAYS room for improvement, even in Telstra… I’ll be the first to admit that.
With people commenting that VF have fixed their network issues – baloney. I have just canned my contract with them via the TIO because of the fact that I am getting extremely poor coverage, and I’m only 10km from the Perth CBD!
Hi Shannon, you wanted to know where the i got my one from, 627 bucks delivered to my door !! You don’t need US adress they deliver world wide. It’s unlocked & smooth as baby bottom without the bloatware. By the way if anyone likes the HTC Sensation,they have it currently advertised; fully unlocked for 521,- $AU (that’s damn good price) i think it’s still 200 dollars more here in Australia, anyway here is the retailer :http://www.hi-mobile.net/
My friend told me that in the last 3 days the price for the SGS2 went back up, its currently advertised for 740,- $US,(plus $20 delivery) thats weird either they had a discount before or the exchange prices fluctuated massively anyway at that price it doesn’t make sense to buy from hi-mobile anymore, cause you can get it from local suppliers for around 750 $AU !!
ps; Virgin started Pre-Orders as well,contract prices from 49+10, i think the price for the handset will come down by a good margin by the time telstra is on board
Release date to be announced this Thursday.
http://ausdroid.net/2011/06/27/telstra-will-announce-samsung-galaxy-s-ii-release-date-this-thursday/
heh heh. So Telstra has just announced the release date for details on the release date of the phone.
The SGSII is already available with optus and is a quad band gsm phone which means it will work fine with telstra’s NextG network. Infact it will work on any network, I bought this phone outright and went over to Telstra and got a sim only plan (12 Month). (Freedom Connect), it works brilliantly and is much faster than vodafail and optus and even 3 Mobile.
Telstra will have this on their $59 Freedom Connect Plan with a $20 MRO. So u pay $79/Month, Thats my guess, it should be very similar if not same pricing as the Motorola Atrix.
I see there are various opinions regarding carriers. I already have the SGSII and am happy with my Telstra plan. I am looking for accessories. Where can I buy items such as a leather case, deskdock, and a car mount?
Thank you for your advice.
ebay
Hi Cam, Have a look at Telstra World of Accessories. I’ve done the search for you on this link. Hope this helps. Brendan
Sorry to be ignorant, but what is NFC?
NFC : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication
Think about the new eftpos machine we start seeing everywhere, where you can make a payment by just ‘being there’ (w/ your walled in your pocket).. you could also pay w/ your phone..
Stands for Near Field Communication. At the moment it’s mostly advertised as being used to pay for items with your phone. Have you seen the Mastercard Paypass or Visa Paywave? Same deal there. That said, it can go beyond that. For example, one use I’ve heard recently was a “tap and go” for speakers and docks. So you tap your phone onto your speaker system, and the music plays through it.
Short version is that it’s essentially for short distance exchange/transfer of devices.
Justin from the Telstra shop in rhodes was hugely helpful and confirmed the street date is 16th July. Prices unknown, but looking like the 79$ freedom plan..
I would expect it to be at least $20 a month more expensive than the Optus or Vodafone contracts given the pricing of similar Android phones.
I was told that the official launch is on the 12 July. From that day you’ll be able to buy outright. On the plan it will be available on 19 July.
I’m for the last 8 years with “3″ and I can confidently say three’s network is one of the best in the country, in all those years I never had any problems with them !! In regards to the comments regards Vodafone, well I find them exaggerated, I agree they had stuffed up at one stage, but now they are back on track and very busy building their own “nextG network” Vodafone has the resources & experience to learn from their mistakes!!
FFS just announce the damn thing already. What plans, when available. Had enough of waiting for you clowns, a few more days and I am signed to Optus.
Saw in Havery Norman that you get $200 of vouchers when you sign up with Optus, thinking of doing this since Telstra seem to have no interest in letting people know what’s going on.
Wow, this must be the most active comments thread on the Telstra Exchange like, ever! lol
so you announce the Sensation, whilst we suckers STILL wait for the SGS2, nice going http://ausdroid.net/2011/06/29/htc-sensation-will-be-available-from-telstra-july-12th-0-on-79-freedom-connect-plan/
Hi Telstra,
Just wanted to let you know that due to your lack of expedience, you have lost another customer.
Yes, you will go on just fine without me and many others… But just wanted to let it be known!
An announcement was supposed to be made today on the release of the SGS2 and we’re still yet to hear anything. I’ve waited long enough, I’m going to Optus to purchase mine.
well we have just given optus our company business of 20 contracts on the samsung galaxy 2 due to telstras inability to give details as promised today on this phone , and we wont be going back to telstra again they are useless
I thought there was going to be an announcement today about the release date? It’s almost 1 pm and no news as yet. Am starting to wonder why I want to change from my current carrier to Telstra, they really are slow on the uptake aren’t they! Please let the network be as good as everyone says because I’m sick to death of waiting for this phone.
Astrogirl, We’re close to confirming the in-market date and pricing for Galaxy SII and we expect to announce these details early next week.
Thanks for your patience
this is really a shame, i registered my interest, no email, but yet telstra updates this forum? not impressed!
Well early next week is really only tomorrow/Tuesday etc so we’ll get the details for sure.
C’mon!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is just about mid way in the week and no longer ‘early in the week’
Stop promising and not delivering.. give us some sort of update.
Matt (post above) has it spot on.. Please supply these details ASAP
Does anyone know (telstra) if the SII will come as blue tick approved?? (sister asking as she’s regional)
Im sure many others have done the same! Optus has excellent customer service, value plans, phone choice, website, pre ordering, etc. Network coverage is sufficient for most customers. Telstra doesn’t seem to care about loosing customers otherwise they would be making prompt business changes at the customer level??
We were promised 30 June. What an absolute disgrace this has become. Firstly treating the public with such disregard, then to mislead the public by giving a date and missing it, Telstra you are abysmal. You are about to lose a customer.
I’m with Des and the rest, I’ve had enough of waiting and the no-info policy of Telstra. I left Telstra in 02 and have been with Voda since then. I have been waiting to come back but not now – Telstra’s handling and late release of the GSII reminds me why I left them in the first place. Later Telstra…
Hmm… so vodafone is selling the i9100T version, so what will telstra be selling??? they’ll probably market it as some special edition next g handset and charge $30mth on $129 plan. sorry telstra you’ve lost me as well…..
BRING ON THE PHONE ALREADY!!!
Telstra have announced they are going to be making an announcement. Unbelievable. Still being run like a government department. Doubt you people could get and keep jobs in the real world. Massive Fail. Bought mine outright today. Gave up waiting for you bozos to get a clue.
Well had enough of waiting with Telstra they are just too cocky for their own good they think of there customers as suckers that no matter what they do people will just wait around and beg Telstra to oblige.
Time to rethink this Telstra you are fast becoming Apple until recently they thought no matter what they do people will always be buying their iphone well guess what they are getting hammered in the market now. Soon it will be your turn as you don’t really care about your customers and decide to do thing your way you have already miss out on a ton of business and good will and you don’t even know it. Keep going your arrogant way.
I have been waiting for 6 weeks but you still have nothing so my whole account is moving to Optus that is 4 land lines 5 mobiles, broadband and wireless. It may only be a small account for you but you won’t be getting my business again.
well said… and ditto! Jam it Telstra!
I have to agree, at this rate I’m expecting to see a very competitive plan released for it to be relevant..
My wife got the iphone4 with telstra a year ago for $49/month and with 1 month free! (that was because the $200 welcome credit on offer at the time removed the $149 upfont fee and the 1st months bill).
Now Telstras fees for the iphone 4 have skyrocketed to the point where its ridiculous…
Effing useless as usual Telstra!