A few years back, Telstra -- synonymous in Australia with "communication" -- told Apple it had no business making a cellphone.
Look how that turned out. To make a long story short, the company has since repented, and is on the verge of releasing an app-filled touchscreen phone of their own, the Telstra T-Hub, on April 20th.
Thing is, this tablet stays plugged into your wall. Marketed as a "family organizer," the T-Hub stores contacts, surfs Facebook, plays YouTube, displays photos, accesses personal bank accounts and even sends text messages like a smartphone, but does it all while connected to a landline telephone jack. While existing Telstra customers can get the device for $300 AUD, the company would of course prefer you get it for $35 with a 24-month service agreement... for a minimum total cost of about $1980 AUD with 2GB data per month. We're not Australian, but
compared to US iPhone pricing, that doesn't sound terribly fair.
Update: Telstra spokesman Craig Middleton tells us the T-Hub isn't permanently tethered to your wall. While the phone's base station does connect to a landline telephone jack, the tablet assembly itself is a portable cordless phone with WiFi for web-connected apps. He also adds that the aforementioned 2GB data plan isn't just for the T-Hub, but rather your entire home internet connection.
posted April 14th 2010 4:49AM
@Caboose221 Lol, Tracy Grimshaw no doubt labeled it an "iPad Killer" or something.
ACA is synonymous with "Telstra", especially when it comes to little old ladies and their phone plans ;)
Telstra are the largest telco in Australia and were formerly government owned as Telecom Australia.
They generally have high fees and low service. This device might meet some success with the "mums and dads", but its featured set seems to be tethered smart phone.
This thing is horrible! I've played with a pre-production unit and I must say it really is not worth the ridiculous amount Telstra are charging for it. It is laggy, the screen isn't pf any great quality and the actual unit itself is very bulky. The load times on it are extremely frustrating on it as well.
And it falls inline with the Telstra 'way''- Provide shit service and charge exorbitant amounts to stupid people who trust Telstra because it was once government owned and has been around for ever.
I knew one of the blokes working on the actual T-Hub team and all the criticisms I had the actual device were met with a shrug of the shoulder. Telstra, at one point, wanted to release it with 128 MB of ram.
It might garner some sales for Telstra, but the majority of people who have any clue will avoid it. Telstra are trying desperately to keep a sinking ship afloat (landlines) and this is NOT the best way for them to do it.
@Wahash
Windows 95 ran with 8mb of ram - so surely a device with 16 times more memory could run something reasonably well! And they ran with 32 x more!
I'd rather cut my foot off than sign up with Telstra. And if you live in a major city you don't need them, Optus's coverage just keeps getting better and better.
Of course it's not fair...
Telstra is synonymous with owning and devouring your soul over a 24 month contract.
LOL this laggy piece of shit should be canceled and locked away for another 5 years by which time hopefully some decent people will develop something.
Or, wait for the Optus alternative, like me.
I HATE TELSTRA
Ever since the iPhone launched, I wondered why our home phones are so behind. You can’t sync contacts and you have to manually dial in numbers. In 2010. It’s kinda stupid. I think somebody needed to do this.
I don’t think Telstra was that somebody.
It's okay, Engadget. No one in Australia with half a brain takes Telstra seriously.
I'm with Optus and I've never had a problem with them.
My parents are with Telstra and they have had to replace their wireless modem about 4 times now because Telstra won't admit that its their service thats poor and not the hardware.
Some folks don't have a choice, they do have better coverage and that's pretty much all you're paying for. The other companies are catching up pretty fast though......
Any more news on this optic fibre network K Rudd wants to implement? Which he plans to sell anyway.
aussies always get ripped off
thats how it is :(
Its funny, when that comment was made Apple was still in its infancy of being a mobile opposed to a pc mfg
Despite all the anti-Telstra rubbish in other comments above, Telstra is an excellent company - the ONLY company in Australia offering HSDPA at 21mbps to over 99% of the population (or 2.2million square kilometres).
They are also the best network in Australia if you have an iPhone, where Optus and the others give you lousy coverage and speed, call drop outs and the like (for Americans, think AT&T). Telstra is reliable and as such, the premium is worth it.
@RobertC
Hey RobertC how long have you been working for Telstra now??
@CultOfOne
I don't work for Telstra. But feel free to make some baseless accusations.
@RobertC
Did they pay you for that? .. I can not comprehend why anybody in their right mind would choose Telstra over any other provider if they have the choice.. Unfortunately for most of us we are locked in to using them for our home services. And this is not because Telstra invested in the infrastructure... The government did, when they owned them.
@ombg8
.... the day telecommunications is COMPLETELY deregulated in Australia will be the day innovation and competition will flow. Can not wait for that day.
@ombg8
LOL - I do have the choice, it's just that Telstra provides me with one bill + bundling discounts. Not only that, NextG is the only network that gets decent coverage where I live. Have a read of whirlpool - all the iPhone users have become recent Telstra converts after finding Optus/3/Vodafone intolerably slow and choppy.
Telstra is good. I also like the 30mbit cable allowing me to download files at 3.5MB/s.
@RobertC
So your love of Telstra must absolutely compel you to buy this device then! Please do. I and I'm sure a lot of others here would love to find out what it's really like!
No offence but please ensure your are unbiased when you give us your personal review and turn off the PR mode!
:P
@RobertC Thats right only network with decent coverage where you live. So you don't have a choice.
@Casuist Well, I wasn't quite clear. By decent, I mean that if you want anything beyond calls/text, the other networks are useless. NextG gives me excellent coverage for HSPA data as well.
@RobertC
Telstra data rates for mobiles are a joke, They might have a good network, but the competitors networks are still good enough... They are going to do their nut if they don't cut pricing a little soon...
Check this out.
http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/browsing_packs.html
Basically, at best telstra charges 0.25cAU per MB
Three will give you 1GB per month and a descent amount of calls, and throw in a teatherable handset for the same price as buying just 300MB from Telstra.
We need to start up something on Whirlpool to keep track of the companies ripping us off in AU. Someone mentioned this somewhere in this thread...Plus we still have no android handsets here better than a Magic... whats the hold up!?!?!?!?!?
@steveo666
The competitor networks are nowhere near good enough. The NextG network operates on the 850mHz frequency which explains why its coverage and speed in cities and rural areas is far and away superior. Currently I pay $19 per month for 1GB of data from Telstra, which I find is reasonable.
Three's coverage is an absolute joke. If you happen to travel outside of their coverage area (even in metropolitan areas), they charge you very high roaming rates. Optus' network has had well-publicised problems with congestion, call drop-outs and sub-par speeds. Vodafone is not bad, but again it is constrained by poor coverage.
@steveo666 Also, you're incorrect regarding Android phones. Telstra will be releasing the HTC Desire and Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 later this month, both of which have excellent specs and are far superior to the Magic.
If this thing is anything like the Telstra branded mobile handsets they make - I feel for those who buy it. Anything product with a 't' logo on it is usually attributed to poor performance, cheap parts, and pathetic usability!
Telstra kicked my dog and got my little sister pregnant.
On the other hand we don't get screwed like americans on mobile phone plans - here you can get a 16GB 3GS for 75 a month, no initial $200 payment.
Everything else we get screwed on though - internet, game prices ($110 AUD for a new release game in stores is fairly typical, thank god you can get it on steam for around $60-70 AUD though.
@Bratyr Yeah and we get taxed on everything we buy. Even multiple times. The manufacturer gets taxed for selling products to the supplier who get taxed for buying it and taxed again for selling it to us. AND then it's our turn...
Look oh mighty fruit prophet! Even this measly contraption can make calls.
Looks almost exactly like french Orange Tabee. Is it the same ?
@toxn
Lol, Yea, its similar, both developed by Sagem (don't quote me), I think the guts are the same, but this one has a DECT interface so it can act as an analogue hands-free phone.
@steveo666 Yeah, which is why T-Hub must have a battery like the Tabbee, and therefore is NOT locked to the landline as said in the article…
What would be the point of supporting DECT and Wifi if you had to keep a cord plugged to the thing?
that sounds like australia alright. one day i'll row myself away from here.
even the crappiest of crap phones costs you $400+ from Telstra. It' not just Telstra that sucks either... We're just now getting the Motorola DEXT (CLIQ). that's how backward we are. we don't even have microwaves yet
Telstra's terrible with pricing schemes. Its a wonder that the company hasn't lost all of its customer base yet. Just an example: No other ISP in Australia charges $79 a month for a measly 12GB ADSL connection...!! I can just imagine what this new 'gadget' is going to end up costing. Wouldn't want one ever..!!
@andalitefriends You can get better value with Telstra if you bundle your landline & mobile with them. Further discounts apply if you bundle foxtel as well.
@RobertC
And you can get better pricing by bundling with other competitors as well. Your point? I was a Telstra customer for a long time until I could no longer stand their attitude or pricing. Their abysmal customer service was the final straw and I left and was happy ever since. Enjoy your Telstra'ness, but I guess it's not important that I get their coverage in the dead center of Australia since I don't go there anyway.
Telstra sucks. They are the biggest ISP, they own the phone lines and still they are the dearest provider, with the worst record of broadband outages. Guess what I advise friends and relatives looking for an internet provider? Avoid, avoid!
Dear Gizmag, this company you speak of is one of several who rip off the Oz public with regards to mobile technology. Telstra is of course the worst of the bunch & rip us off by way of charging for Internet of which they hold a monopoly. Perhaps you might be able to get some discussion going on the problems with monopolies & their destructive influence on progress. I won't use this company directly bcoz they have proven themselves to have a bastardry about them when it comes to customer support if that customer isn't a behemoth.
Telstras pricing sucks but they can afford to be pricy.. Telstra in Australia coveres every house, they own everything. A standard homephone no contract is 29.95 a month and you get some capped calls but bigpond Internet(telstra) is expensive compared to everyone else. 79.95 a month for 25gb no excess..telstra is the only company that covers every house and do provide a ok service so they charge a ton for it. I changed ISPs on the same exchange, bigpond to internode, and I get a better service on internode then I did bigpond.. Check out internode.com.au and telstra.com.au . It's fair to say most Australian hate telstra but have no choice
Australian pricing isn't good, but it isn't as bad as this article makes out.
I get my 32GB 3GS for $10 a month on a $49 plan with $350 of included calls and text and 750MB of data. Internet I get 130GB of 7mbit/s ADSL2 for $49.99 a month. All in AUD of course. So expensive, but not -that- expensive.