Which carrier will get the iPhone in Australia?

This is a great question but is one that will be answered very easily, when you take the following factors into account:

1. Price - The price that the iPhone is sold at, how long the contract is, the price of the service and the terms of the contact will be the major factors in not only purchasing but also using the iPhone

2. 3G - This may be the most important factor in who sells the iPhone.
There are two operating frequencies that 3G use around the world, the popular 2100 MHz and 850 MHz. The iPhone will obviously be released with a 2100 MHz chip, and if the speculated 5 Year deal with AT&T Wireless in the United States is true, it will also be capable of 850 MHz. It will also be a case of whether the iPhone is released as a Dual Mode 3G 850/2100 MHz phone or if a dedicated 850 and 2100 MHz phones are released separately.

3. Market Size - Apple will obviously want to go with the carrier that can deliver the most customers.

Based on these three factors, here are the predictions: Telstra or Virgin Mobile

Telstra is obvious because they already have a national 3G and EDGE data networks.
Virgin Mobile will be the "Brand" of choice if Optus wants to pick up the phone. I personally think the iPhone would sell better with Virgin and it fits into the pricing in terms of data.

In terms of cost, it will be pretty even.
Virgin Mobile already has a $60 Mobile/1GB Data package, which for a small premium of $10 could go unlimited.
Telstra does not have generous data packages, so expect a monthly price at around $70-$85, with a base call rate plan of $40 a month, or Unlimited data at $30 on top of an existing contract. This however may be a sticking point for Telstra. As said, they do not have very good data packages for mobile services at the moment, with 70 MB currently coming in at $29 compared with Virgin at $10 for 300 MB.

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Telstra continues it's Anti-Government campaign.

Telstra today continued it's ongoing campaign against government regulation by suing the Australian Communications Minister Helen Coonan who is going to impose a licensing condition that the new "Next G" 3.5 G Mobile Network have the same or greater coverage as the outgoing CDMA network.

Telstra has also attacked the federal opposition over it's broadband plan and is showing the same negative attitude toward the Labor party.

This is part of an ongoing feud between Telstra and the Australian Government over regulation in the Australian communication industry. But this strategy may backfire on the company soon. The attitude has shifted recently from just whining and complaining to, as in this case, attacking the government and not co-operating with the regulatory authorities and this most recent battle may be the nail in the coffin for the company.

When a company begins to act like this toward authorities, including walking away from negotiating table and then not showing up at all, will result in the government choosing other companies for newer projects and depending on the reaction to these new companies, may impose regulations to ensure co-operation. If this does not work, then sometimes the only option may be forcing change such as splitting wholesale and retail divisions and removal of licences.

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Source - http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22403804-5013040,00.html

"The beat goes on" - The iPod goes on

Apple Inc. has released is newest line up of iPods which includes everything from simple refresh to new products.

iPod Shuffle: Apple has given the iPod Shuffle a new look by releasing four new colours, Light Blue, Light Green, Light Purple and (PRODUCT) RED as well as Silver. It retains the same look and 1 GB of flash memory.
Personally, I would have liked to see a 2 GB model as I also use my Shuffle to listen to Podcasts and a few hours can take up some space.

iPod Nano: Apple has given the Nano a new look, with a larger 2 inch screen with the same resolution as the iPod. This has made the Nano wide than the previous generation. An all metal body has also been used eliminating the plastic on the top of the previous generation models. The click wheel is smaller and close to the screen which may mean you finger might get in the way of the screen as you scroll. The Nano is now capable of displaying video but most people will only use this function when connected to a TV. The unit is also capable of playing games purchased from iTunes Music Store. The iPod Nano comes in 4 GB (Silver Only) and 8 GB in Silver, Light Green, Light Blue, Black and (PRODUCT) RED.

There is also an upgrade to the user interface on both the Nano and Classic. The screen is split in two when navigating menus and gives you a "slideshow" glimpse of what content is in that menu. The new UI also incorporated Coverflow. Both the Nano and Classic have new metal fronts and polished backs.

iPod Classic: Classic is the new name for the original, hard drive based iPod. Classic has also received a facelift with no more plastic front, giving it the same all metal look as the new Nano with colours of Silver and Black. It has a the same 2.5 inch screen and also incorporates the new UI. The Classic is available in two storage sizes, 80GB and 160 GB, both great for video.

iPod Touch: The product that had to happen, the new iPod Touch looks the same as the iPhone and is used in the same way as the iPhone. It has a large 3.5 inch display, all of the iPod functions and also WiFi b/g. This allows the iPod Touch to connect to any WiFi connection and access the Internet through the built in Safari browser. A YouTube app is also on the menu which lets you view YouTube videos through WiFi. iPod Touch comes in 8 GB and 16 GB flash models.
The iPod Touch is thinner than the iPhone and does not have the "Chrome Highlight" around the edge that the iPhone does. There is no speaker at the top of the Touch.
There is some concern that 16 GB may not be enough for people to take full advantage of the Video capabilities and some are asking for hard drive based models. The screen could have also been made flush with the edges as well, as there is no need for a mobile speaker at the top.

There is also a new iTunes WiFi Music Store on the iPod Touch. Utilising the iPod Touch interface, users can purchase and download songs directly from their iPod Touch, listen to them and sync them to iTunes on their computer. There is an additional feature when you visit a Starbucks in America. While in a Starbucks, an icon is added to iTunes WiFi and allows the user to purchase the song they can hear being played at the Cafe. iTunes WiFi Music Store will also be made available by the end of the month for iPhone users as well, when the iPod Touch is shipped.

Prices:
Shuffle 1 GB - US$79/AU$99
Nano 4 GB - US$149/AU$199
8 GB - US$199/AU$279
Classic 80 GB - US$249/AU$349
160 GB - US$349/AU$479
Touch 8 GB - US$299/AU$419
16 GB - US$399/AU$549

The iPod Touch will be available by the end of September and the other models are shipping now and should be available in stores in the coming weeks.

Apple has also updated is iPhone line-up for the Christmas season in the US. They have dropped the 4 GB model and lowered the price of the 8 GB model to US$399. Those who have purchased the iPhone within 14 days can get a refund of the difference in price and others can receive a US$100 credit. It is nor clear if this applies only to those who have purchased the 8 GB model or those with the 4 GB as well.

Still no word on when the iPhone will be available in Australia.

Other news from the press conference:
110 million iPods sold, 3 Billion Song sold through iTunes.
A Ringtones feature has been added to iTunes for iPhone owners. You can take tracks you have purchased, select a section of the song and purchase a ringtone from it. These cost US99c. Both the value and flexibility of the service have been questioned by many users with most complaining that they have to pay for a song twice to use a part of it as a ringtone. It is not known if users can make ringtones from unprotected music, such as MP3's or music ripped into iTunes from CD.

More information at the Apple website
US http://www.apple.com/itunes/
AU http://www.apple.com/au/itunes/

Oh, Steve Jobs says they are all "... Gorgeous"

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I'm Back

After a week or so off, i'm back. I've had a really bad leg and for a few days I couldn't walk without a limp. Could not even sit in front of the computer. I'll be updating from tomorrow.

I can't believe I missed the chance to comment on the new iPod's in time. That will be the first new post.

Don't forget the best way to keep up with me is at the Rankin Tech Jaiku. There is the feeds from all my blogs and some extra additions. The great feature is that I can SMS in from my mobile like I did when I couldn't get to a computer.

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Feature Articles to be Added, Blog Update

I've been waiting for a while but feature articles will be added soon. These articles will not be general new items like what you see here everyday but they will be Reviews and Conversations.

These feature articles will be much longer than the normal posts. An example is the post “Anti-iTunes / Anti-iPod Sentiment”. This was to be the first feature but was not long enough. The first feature will now be "Nintendo DS Lite and Brain Training". This will be a review of using the unit for a full month and not a "First Look" at these items.

These new articles can be identified with “FEATURE” at the start of the title and a great way to find them is to use the new search bar at the top of each page. Feature articles can also be identified by looking for the Digg Button at the bottom of the post.

I have also added advertising from Google AdSense. This is here to help support me as I put in a couple hours a day scouring the internet to find stories to comment on.

And don't forget to check my Jaiku feed to keep up to date with all my blogs and you can subscribe to an RSS feed at the bottom of every Blog page.

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Yahoo! Mail enhanced

Yahoo today released information on new enhancements for it's popular Web Mail, Yahoo! Mail.

The additional features include Built In Instant Messaging, Text Messaging and New Mobile Access.

Yahoo! Mail - http://mail.yahoo.com

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iPhone for Everyone Part II

Now everyone has a solution to unlock the iPhone and let you use it anywhere and everywhere.

A group called iPhoneSIMfree.com claims to have created a software solution which will unlock the phone and allow any SIM card to be used in the iPhone.

Even though the solution is software based, this may be Achilles heal, as Apple may be able to release a software update to override the hack and once again lock the unit.

The solution is not completly risk free as your iPhone still needs to be hacked to use the software . Apple does not allow applications to be created for the iPhone so a Hack is required to upload the solution to unlock your iPhone.

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The Genuine (Un)Advantage

Over the past few days, hundreds of thousand, and possibly millions of people have has their computer locked down because of a failure at Microsoft.

Windows users found their computers locked after the program known as "Windows Genuine Advantage" was unable to verify their Windows installation because the Internet servers that verify whether the operating system installed on a computer is legal went down. Once this happened and computer could not verify if it was a legal installation, the computer locked down and was only able to go online and verify itself.

This demonstrates a serious flaw in how Microsoft attempts to ensure that only those who purchase the product use it and attempt to stamp out piracy. This will undoubtedly get the eyes of governments, who will step in and either make sure that Microsoft will find a way for this not to happen again or change the way Windows Genuine Advantage operates. This could lead to the removal of the locking software but retaining the inability to access updates and download additional features.

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iPhone for Everyone

A 17 year old student from the United States has cracked the technology that prevents iPhone owners from using their phone on other networks.

This means that people overseas will be able to use the iPhone without paying roaming fees and excessive charges.

The technology in the iPhone not only locks the unit to a specific carrier, but also requires the phone to be in the United States or after a period of time, the unit will lock itself until it is returned to the US. The solution requires both a software change and soldering which means it is out of the hands and skill of most people.

While the iPhone has been a successful product, the major flaw has been is overwhelming restrictive nature in that the entire product, not just the mobile features are restricted to a single carrier. This could be the problem which sees the product fail in the market place by giving it a reputation that "you do what I want" with no "or else".

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Source - http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=267984

Wikipedia "Anti-Government", Australian PM, Foreign Minister

Both the Australian Prim Minister John Howard and Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer have declared the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia to be "Anti-Government" and the Foreign Minister has said that it can not be trusted because Wikipedia retains some editorial control.

The primary reason that Wikipedia retains editorial control is to prevent vandalism on web pages and to enforce independence and appropriate source quoting to ensure that the site is as factually correct as it can be.

The people at Wikipedia do not use this privilege to go out their and follow their own agenda or abuse the power they have.

This may also be an example of the tactics that will be used by the federal government in the up coming election. By deliberately misrepresenting the facts and placing their own, obviously wrong spin on issues may just be what looses the election for them.

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Stories at news.com.au
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22300570-5007133,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22299984-5007133,00.html