HTC has confirmed plans to bring its very first LTE handset to Germany, with the launch of the Velocity. The phone, known Stateside as the Vivid and in South Korea as the Raider, features a 4.5-inch qHD touchscreen and is fueled by a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU. The Gingerbread-laced device also boasts 1GB of RAM, 16GB of flash memory and an eight-megapixel camera, along with your standard 1.3-megapixel front facing sensor. As far as networking goes, you'll find support for quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE, dualband UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA at 900/2100 MHz and, most compelling, dualband LTE at 800/2600 MHz. Vodafone confirmed the news to Germany's Computer Woche, though it has yet to offer a price or release date.

Motorola bestowed an early-week treat upon the Chinese market today, with the XT928 -- a nominal RAZR relative and ostensible addition to the Droid X line that we spotted earlier this month. Powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, this Android 2.3 device boasts a 4.5-inch, 1280 x 720 HD display, supports 1080p HD playback and features a 13 megapixel rear-facing camera, along with a 1.3 megapixel shooter up front. The dual-mode, dual-standby handset is also coated in Corning Gorilla Glass to guard against nasty scratches and comes packed with 1GB of RAM. The XT928 will be available in China this December at an unspecified price, though there's no word yet on if or when it'll hit the US. For more details, head past the break for the full PR.

Telstra customers woke up to a sun shower of good news this morning, when their provider's new 4G LTE network went live in Australia -- or within parts of it, at least. After months of development and a soft launch in late August, Telstra finally flipped the switch on its broadband network today, bringing LTE coverage to capital cities, airports and other select areas. According to the company, its new infrastructure offers download speeds between two and 40 Mbps (a 25 percent increase over what its 3G network supported at launch), with upstream rates ranging from one to ten Mbps. For now, Telstra has upgraded its base stations in all eight capital cities and some 30 regional centers, though it plans to expand its coverage to 80 sites by the end of this year. Subscribers can hook up to the network with a new USB dongle from Sierra Wireless (pictured above), as long as they're within a five kilometer radius from a capital city's station, or within three kilometers of a regional center. Before long, however, Australians may not even need a dongle to bathe in LTE goodness, as Telstra is planning to launch a new 4G-enabled HTC handset by the first half of next year. At this point, details about the Android-based device (codenamed "HTC 4G") remain fuzzy, though the carrier says it will boast a 4.5-inch screen, eight megapixel camera and dual-core processor. For more details, head past the break for a pair of press releases.

HTC has bestowed a sparkly new handset upon its South Korean customers today, with the release of the Raider 4G. Sporting a 4.5-inch qHD display, this Gingerbread-coated device is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and boasts 1GB of RAM, along with 16GB of internal storage. Graced with what appears to be HTC's Sense 3.0, the Raider also features an eight megapixel camera, 1.3 megapixel front-facing shooter and supports 1080p Full HD video recording, as well as the usual smattering of WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 and GPS capabilities. When connected to a South Korean LTE network, this handset can reportedly achieve downstream / upstream speeds of 100Mbps and 50Mbps uploads, respectively, with HSPA downloads clocking in at 21Mbps and uploads at 5.76Mbps. The manufacturer hasn't revealed any plans for an international release, though rumor has it that this Holiday-like device may be heading to AT&T at some point. Trot past the break for the machine-translated press release, along with an extra image.