'Blue Tick' HTC One XL now available through Telstra

HTC One XL gets 'Blue Tick' rating for superior coverage in rural areas

Ross Catanzariti (PC World) on 05 June, 2012 14:20

The HTC One XL is rated as a 'Blue Tick' phone by Telstra, meaning it is ideal for coverage in rural and regional areas of Australia.

Telstra has today officially released its latest 4G smartphone, the HTC One XL, and revealed the phone is 'Blue Tick' rated for superior coverage in rural and regional areas of Australia.

Available now through Telstra stores and online, the HTC One XL is a 4G-capable version of the HTC One X, with the "L" denoting LTE capabilities. The One XL looks virtually identical to the One X but it is powered by a dual-core rather than a quad-core processor and comes in a dark grey colour rather than white.

The HTC One XL is just the fourth phone released by Telstra that works on the company's 4G network in Australia. It joins the HTC Velocity 4G and the Samsung Galaxy S II 4G and comes on the back of last month's announcement of the HTC Titan 4G, the first 4G-capable Windows Phone device.

Telstra also revealed today that the HTC One XL is the first 4G handset to receive Telstra's 'Blue Tick' rating. The company says a Blue Tick rating means the handset is recommended for coverage in regional and rural areas.

"With more than 80 regional centres now Telstra 4G LTE enabled there's a strong appetite among customers to trade up to the next generation in mobile phone technology," said Andrew Volard, Director, Telstra. "The arrival of the HTC One XL will allow more of these customers to move to a smartphone that delivers some of the fastest mobile internet speeds on the planet when in 4G coverage areas."

According to Telstra, Blue Tick phones are designed in such a way that they will outperform other phones when it comes to reception coverage and will hold onto a signal further than other phones when on the edge of rural or regional areas.

The HTC One XL is available for $6 per month on Telstra's $59 Freedom Connect Plan over 24 months (a total of $65 per month). The plan includes $550 worth of calls and MMS messages, unlimited SMS messages and voicemail and 1.5GB of data per month.

Alternatively, the HTC One XL is $0 per month on Telstra's $79 Freedom Connect Plan over 24 months (a total of $79 per month). This plan includes $800 worth of calls and MMS messages, unlimited SMS messages and voicemail, and 2GB of data per month.