Telstra exec: new Android-based HTC phone 'better' than Pre

With Mobile World Congress a little over month away -- and Android essentially a no-show at CES -- suspense is building over what sort of action we'll see out of the Google camp at the show. Australia's Smarthouse cites a particularly cocky Telstra exec saying that he's got an upcoming HTC set that's "better and more functional" than the Pre -- and seeing how he enjoyed a Palm briefing this week, he'd have a pretty good idea. Rumor has it this Pre killer will run a version of Android with HTC tweaks and will have a huge display, which seems like a good combo if you're trying to impress a jaded smartphone buyer these days. The mystery device is expected in the second quarter of the year, which gets back to our hope that we'll see some Android heat at MWC next month; don't get us wrong, the G1 is great and all, but we're ready for some more.

[Via wmpoweruser.com]

[Joachim Bengtsson @ Jan 12th 2009 6:14AM]

lol, Pre killer? You do realize the Pre isn't even out yet, and won't be for a while?

[giuliop @ Jan 12th 2009 6:32AM]

I've got a Telstra's Pre-killer killer here in my pocket. It's gonna be out in the third half of the next year, or when I wash my trousers, whichever comes first.

[auricom @ Jan 12th 2009 7:55AM]

so that makes it a Pre pre-killer. Unless it then comes out after Pre is released then it becomes a post Pre-killer, or Pre post-killer?

[Ahmed Alzayani @ Jan 12th 2009 9:00AM]

People always talk about any XYZ new-nee phone killer before it's even out, The Pre is very good but 8 GB SSD only and no micro SDXC slot! and no one know how the battery will perform in real life. also the display small and limited resolution (HVGA)! add to that no GSM version yet.

If HTC come with WVGA device like the HTC MAX with android in it, and TF3D android version ,,, i will consider buy it, even if it's cost ~$600

[giuliop @ Jan 12th 2009 10:00AM]

@Ahmed

Yeah, plus the Pre hasn't got holographic memory, no 3D display, and doesn't even fly, can you believe it? What a crappy machine.

[roach @ Jan 12th 2009 10:42AM]

l heard Apple is building a next gen iPhone that will be a Pre killer.

[Michael @ Jan 12th 2009 6:17AM]

Pre Killer? You've got to be kidding me. What's there to kill... it hasn't been released yet!

[Andrew @ Jan 12th 2009 9:08AM]

Yeah, and I thought the Pre killer was the name Palm before it anyway.

[Derbeste @ Jan 12th 2009 12:44PM]

Killing something before it is out............

Wouldn't that make it an abortion?

[Mike10010100 @ Jan 12th 2009 6:18AM]

Them's fightin' words.

[Barbaric @ Jan 12th 2009 4:53PM]

Whoa Mike... let's not get violent. You can has cheesburger...

I just wonder why, when an innovative new product comes out, our first reaction is to KILL IT?

iPod killer, iPhone killer, Blackberry killer, PSP killer,.... aka
zune.....instinct.......iPhone.....pandora.... OJ..... wait wrong list....

when I was a kid I never heard of a "discman killer", or an "Atari killer" or a "VCR killer"
We embraced each, then AFTER a useful lifespan, we welcomed mp3 players, and nintendo & sega, and DVDs. How spoiled are we that now we demand the next big thing before the current big thing is even available.

[chefgon_ign @ Jan 12th 2009 6:27AM]

Color me excited. I use a G1 daily and I think it's really fantastic, but Android definitely leaves room for more exciting things to be done.

[James C @ Jan 12th 2009 6:30AM]

I really hope this is the same Telstra executive that famously said that Apple should "stick to their knitting" when the iPhone came out.

Link: http://www.theage.com.au/news/biztech/telstra-to-apple-stick-to-your-knitting/2007/02/15/1171405363291.html

Telstra executives, you are clueless at this sort of thing. Just stay quiet, and then you get the bonus of not being proven wrong later.

[Will H. @ Jan 12th 2009 7:08AM]

Telstra is quite possibly the shittiest company in Australia. They don't even have the iPhone and they're going to have a Pre 'killer'. I'm calling it right now, it's going to be a shitty, Chinese branded piece of plastic crap with no features and the build quality of a Yurt.

[sebconn @ Jan 12th 2009 7:31AM]

Telstra do have the iPhone Will.


BUt everything else you said was right, Telstra execs are hopeless at guessing what customers want. The only reason they are still around is because most people just go with them by default because they use to be the nationalised phone company in Australia.

The only service I've ever been impressed with is their recent Next-G rollout, which is pretty damn good. But way way way over priced.

[Romesh @ Jan 12th 2009 7:36AM]

I live in Sydney where Telstra is everywhere. Really, the only thing going for Telstra is the fact that because it used to be publicly owned, it has a *lot* of infrastructure. That, and its 'Australian'. It offers incredibly poor value services (overpriced, not enough data allowances etc.) and I wouldn't trust anything they say :P Oh I suppose the only thing they do have is better customer service than most other telcos in Australia, although even that is debatable

[auricom @ Jan 12th 2009 7:52AM]

Will H.: "Telstra is quite possibly the shittiest company in Australia. They don't even have the iPhone and they're going to have a Pre 'killer'. I'm calling it right now, it's going to be a shitty, Chinese branded piece of plastic crap with no features and the build quality of a Yurt."

I bought my iPhone Telstra-locked last year. What you're "calling it right now" is, according to the news, is HTC branded, a Taiwan-based company which manufactures some of the highest quality smartphones you can buy (Touch series, Sony XPERIA).

Next time get your facts straight and RTFA before adding comments. Maybe then I won't think of you as a bare-footed foul-mouth Australian.

[Dave Chappelle @ Jan 12th 2009 8:37AM]

@ James

"bare-footed foul-mouth Australian."

I really hope your not taking a shot at Australians you ignorant tossbag. I wonder where you live hmm your probably too embarrassed to say the USA.

[Spencer @ Jan 12th 2009 9:04AM]

I tend to assume that whatever Telstra executives come out and say is arse-backwards wrong. Consequently, I can only assume that Telstra's new Android phone is going to be an unmitigated piece of crap, which is a pity, because I'd love to see an Android phone even more impressive than the Pre, which I think is pretty damn nice.

However, the other thing to consider is that Telstra being Telstra, I wouldn't be surprised to see them launching the G1 6 months after it came out in the USA. In fact, that's probably pretty quick for them, all things considered. And when you consider the exec's dismissal of the Pre "which at this stage looks nice but is still not delivered to market." it sounds almost like he's contrasting with a product that HAS been released to the market, somewhere. Although the article does say that "The screen is believed to be bigger than current offerings from HTC.", it could be referring to current offerings from HTC in Australia, which would be true - the G1 has a bigger screen than the Diamond & Touch Pro.

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is; I wouldn't get TOO excited, you're getting this information from a Telstra executive. I'd sooner trust tech leaks from my grandmother.

[Hilo @ Jan 12th 2009 10:10AM]

Dave,

Come on, stop with the America hate. Read his comment.

"I bought my iPhone Telstra-locked last year."

Why would any American in their right mind buy an iPhone locked to a provider that doesn't service the states?

[Cy Starkman @ Jan 12th 2009 6:31AM]

This is probably the same Telstra exec that said that Apple knows nothing about phones and should stick to its knitting...

Only to be left snivelling for access to it at the last moment

[rasb1 @ Jan 12th 2009 6:34AM]

The Telstra guy is recognising the serious threat that the Pre is going to pose. He'd seen enough to be worried, hence the 'killer' boasts.

[f3rg @ Jan 12th 2009 6:35AM]

Well, would you expect the guy to say his phone is pretty damn good, but not quite as good as the Pre? If TOBY came out with a phone next week, that, too, would be a "Pre killer" as far as their marketing people would have you believe.

I'm waiting a year (since I just bought a Centro 2 weeks ago) and buying a Pre. Made my mind up.

[Aaron @ Jan 12th 2009 6:39AM]

If this goes off of HTC's previous designs, they will be going through Qualcomm for their processors, which automatically will limit the device in terms of overall performance, most notably when it comes to video performance. Qualcomm is notably stingy about who they license their drivers to, especially if a company doesn't want to pay the premium that they ask.

If Qualcomm burned to the ground, I wouldn't blink twice. A terrible company, they are. Just Google "Qualcomm sucks", and you'll see plenty of examples of why they are crap.

[Freakin Ijit @ Jan 12th 2009 8:40AM]

Isn't Qualcomm inside Pre?

[Spencer @ Jan 12th 2009 8:53AM]

No, the processor inside the Pre is Texas Instrument's latest OMAP chip.

[neodorian @ Jan 12th 2009 9:01AM]

There is a good chance that HTC is actually the company making the Pre.

[luke liu @ Jan 12th 2009 6:39AM]

oh its on!

[MobileGeek @ Jan 12th 2009 6:47AM]

Well we all know HTC can make a tired old whore like WinMo Pro look good, so I don't find it surprising that they could do that and more with android, I just hope its something more than window dressing. I would like to see full Exchange Server and Outlook support for one so I can write off a shiny new HTC android phone as a work expense

[Arnold Aranez @ Jan 12th 2009 6:51AM]

I'm embarrassed to be a Telstra user right now :(

[infectedarea @ Jan 12th 2009 7:31AM]

now?

[A @ Jan 13th 2009 2:14AM]

some of us outside the cities actually don't have a choice.

if you do have a choice, be embarrassed.

[Todd @ Jan 12th 2009 6:53AM]

Trash talk about things that aren't even officially available yet ( the Pre vs. cupcake branch of Android ) - weaksauce

Telstra execs watch too much professional wrestling.

[Tubes @ Jan 12th 2009 6:55AM]

Yes, but the Pre demo showed Tobias Funke as one of the people on their contacts list. Top that, Android! :)

P.S. Now that I think about it, the fact that Funke was in the Pre's contacts list makes the idea that the presenter looked up Blue Man Group tickets even funnier.

[Dannon @ Jan 12th 2009 7:17AM]

How could I have possibly missed that?! That's possibly one of best things ever!

[Nomi @ Jan 12th 2009 9:14AM]

They even had michael bluth in their contacts.

[ysleiro @ Jan 12th 2009 6:58AM]

anyone know a good car forum? I'm having engine problems.

[Charbax @ Jan 12th 2009 6:59AM]

Palm should use Android instead of that WebOS thing.

[NickNick @ Jan 12th 2009 8:37AM]

Why?

[BobTurbo @ Jan 12th 2009 7:02AM]

I stopped reading at "Telstra exec".

[Hagar Viking @ Jan 12th 2009 7:14AM]

"Telstra exec" or any "Telecom exec" are the biggest idiots in the industry. These people get paid doing nothing basically and BSing all day. They cannot last 5 minutes in any other industry. None of them really understood what the Internet stands for.

Pre rules and it will kick iPhone OSX first in the butt, then Andriod handsets if they are still as mediocre as they come. Sorry, experience really counts here and Palm has it!.

[Atanas Boev @ Jan 12th 2009 11:09AM]

You managed to go pretty far, though :)
"With Mobile World Congress a little over month away -- and Android essentially a no-show at CES -- suspense is building over what sort of action we'll see out of the Google camp at the show. Australia's Smarthouse cites a particularly cocky"

[timepilot84 @ Jan 12th 2009 7:12AM]

If an Android interface can be made to be as phone and small screen centric as the WebOS interface, then this is a great thing. I don't believe a cellphone exec as far as I can throw him, though. I have a really tough time believing that any company is putting in more thought and effort into the UI of a device than Palm. Even the iPhone UI looks shoddy and poorly thought out when compared to Pre.

[chefgon_ign @ Jan 12th 2009 7:50AM]

Android's design is actually a pretty brilliant take on multitasking build from the ground up for mobile devices. The key problem with it is that it's designed for multitasking on low-end devices, while WebOS is designed for more powerful hardware.

They don't let you switch between your open programs like the Pre does because Android will randomly save their state and kill them in the background if you haven't used them for a while and it needs to reclaim the memory for something else. When you go back to that program, the state is restored and it looks like it has been running the whole time. It lets you run multiple programs at once on hardware that would otherwise slow to a crawl when multitasking, but you do lose the ability to see them all at once like on the Pre.

[Decel @ Jan 12th 2009 7:26AM]

So if the Pre is an iPhone killer, and the next HTC Android is a Pre killer...

Is the HTC Android an iPhone bodyguard?

[ac108 @ Jan 12th 2009 7:31AM]

Will H.: "it's going to be a shitty, Chinese branded piece of plastic crap with no features and the build quality of a Yurt."

You must had alot crap experiences with "shitty, Chinese branded". Does these include or exclude Taiwanese? Or just Chinese in general.

Chill man......By the way, HTC Touch Pro is pretty good, give it a try...

[Jash Sayani @ Jan 12th 2009 7:37AM]

HTC phones are definitely incomparable to Palm devices.... However, I liked the webOS. Can it be downloaded fro the net and installed on old phones??

[M. @ Jan 12th 2009 7:44AM]

I wouldn't mind a Touch HD kind of form factor with a slide out landscape keyboard, portrait would be better actually, but that form factor with Android on it, and the usual suspects like wifi, bluetooth that would be my perfect phone.

[superhobo @ Jan 12th 2009 7:54AM]

The Sony Ericsson P800i was and forever will be the most ultimate smart phone evar.

[Beastage @ Jan 12th 2009 8:07AM]

World gone so violent, everyone kill anything for nothing... all this time giving us brain cell radiation that causes obesity and reality TV.

I need a new phone , it better be awesome.