Optus is set to take a giant leap over Telstra with both the new Samsung Edge and the Note 4 set to be delivered to the Australian market configured as category 6 devices, this technology allows the devices to run at blistering speeds up to 300MPS on the new Optus LTE network.
Earlier this week we indicated that the Samsung Note 4 which was revealed last night would not be configured as a category 6 device however Sam sung executives stunned the audience of dealers and media last night by revealing that the device will house the Qualcomm Snapdragon Category 6 chipset.
In live trials of the service Optus said it had been achieving download speeds of 160Mbps which is significantly faster than the 25Mbps to 100Mbps speeds that the National Broadband Network will deliver.
The new network will be available to Optus customers in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide (and Canberra in coming weeks).
Recently Telstra announced plans to double the peak download speeds of its 4G mobile services to 300Mbps and extend the reach of its network to 90 per cent of the population by the end of January.
Earlier this year Qualcomm announced that it was cooperating with Samsung to develop the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor and Qualcomm GobiT 9×35 modem which is built into the new Note 4 and Samsung Edge.
“We’re excited to be working with Samsung across products and technologies to break new ground in enabling customers with the fastest mobile broadband connections worldwide,” said Alex Katouzian, senior vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies.
Users who have purchased a Samsung Note 4 or Samsung Edge will be able to access an LTE advanced Category 6 connection on their network from mid-November.
During the trials a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was specially developed and modified for the LTE Cat 6.
The Note 4 and Note Edge smartphones will go on sale in Australia late next month and early November with the Korean Company undercutting Apple on price, with the Note 4 selling for $50 less than Apple’s big-screen iPhone 6 Plus at $999, and the Edge matching Apple’s top-of-the-line 128GB phablet at $1249.
Senior Optus executives have said that some Apple customers who purchased the large Apple iPhone 6 Plus have tried to switch their device for a smaller iPhone claiming that the Apple device was “too big” for their hands.
A search of eBay reveals that there are more than 160 Apple iPhone 6 Plus devices up for auction.
