Telstra just posted more information about the Windows Phone update due to it being such a “Hot Topic” however it seems that they have only left ask asking more questions?

Here is a screen shot of the web site http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/phones/smartphones.html under the software update tab.

The most glaring error on the site is that they list HTC HD7 as “Expecting to receive software” however the phone comes with NoDo out of the box.

They also have the HTC Mozart and the LG Optimus 7Q listed as  “Expect to receive software for Telstra”. This is very confusing as Microsoft has said they have released the software for testing already so why would Telstra still be waiting to receive the software?????

While its is nice to see more information coming out about the NoDo update from Telstra it is somewhat disappointing that this information is not exactly accurate and seems to raise more questions….

Telstra announced today that the HTC HD7 is now available for sale at their stores.

Today we’re launching a new big-screen mobile that we think caters perfectly for this growing appetite for mobile gaming and video.

In the same announcement they also mentioned the state of the Windows Phone NoDo updates that will be released for their existing Windows Phones.

We know our Windows Phone 7 customers want the latest, best-performing software for their smartphones. We’re working with Microsoft and phone makers to deliver OS updates as quickly as possible. The Windows Phone 7 ‘pre-update’ has passed Telstra’s test program and we expect Microsoft to make it available to our 7 Mozart and LG Optimus 7Q customers late this week or early next week. Additional software updates for both devices will follow in April.

Source: http://exchange.telstra.com.au/2011/03/29/htc-hd7-the-ultimate-entertainment-phone/

Microsoft have just released an update schedule to list the fragmented update status of all the phones by carriers around the world. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/features/update-schedule-world.aspx

As you can see this schedule shows Telstra as still “Testing” the February and March updates which is behind many of the other carriers around the world.

However the official Telstra twitter account ( @telstra ) has confirmed that the HTC HD7 that is being released this Tuesday 29th March will definitely have the NoDo update pre-loaded.

the HD7 is releasing with NoDo

http://www.twitter.com/Telstra/status/50781737348890624

As you can see this does not confirm that other Telstra Windows Phones will be updated on or before this date. But it does mean that Australia users can officially have a Windows Phone with Copy & Paste support in only a few days…

Today Telstra announced that the HTC HD7 would be coming to Telstra as an exclusive handset in Australia. This is one of the flagship Windows Phone 7 devices that many people have been holding out to buy due to its large 4.3” screen and kick stand. This phone has been out since October in other countries such as Singapore and T-Mobile USA however they were not capable of the 850mhz NextG frequencies for the Telstra network.

What is not known yet is if this device will come with 8gb or 16gb storage. However the official Twitter accounts did speculate the device will come with 16gb as this is the normal capacity for the device when sold in the Asia region.

The phone will be released on Tuesday 29th March for $768 outright.

Source: http://www.telstra.com.au/abouttelstra/media-centre/announcements/telstra-joins-with-htc-and-microsoft-to-launch-the-htc-hd7-smartphone.xml 

Full Product Specs: http://www.htc.com/www/product/hd7/specification.html

There has been a lot of speculation in the blogosphere as to weather phone carriers have the ability to block rolling out updates to Windows Phone 7. This has certainly made some of the strong supporters of Windows Phone such as Paul Thurrot to be very frustrated that this “Janurary” update has now been pushed back to “late march” due to partly technical issues but also suspected delays from the carriers.

Now the official twitter account of Australia largest carrier has confirmed that the NoDo update is done however the “Telstra” version currently does not have a release date (See below). This pretty much confirms that carriers (and not Microsoft) control the release date of the Windows Phone firmware’s which makes us wounder how much delay this will introduce in releasing the update to phones…

http://twitter.com/Telstra/status/50337161261744129

Update: I have also been able to confirm that unlike Windows Phone there is not “Telstra” version of the iPhone and it is released directly by Apple.

http://www.twitter.com/Telstra/status/50347295463579648