10th June 2008
Update II:Looks like both Optus and Vodafone are launching in Oz on July 11. No pricing at this stage, and no local link in the press release, but Apple have sent through an announcement that Vodafone’s launching the 3G iphone in Australia, New Zealand and Portugal on July 11. I’ve added the press release to the rest after the jump…
Update: Just got a press release from Apple stating that they’re launching the 3G iPhone with Optus. Pricing and plans are yet to be announced, although there is a website that you can lodge your interest at. Full press release after the jump…
The dust is still settling, but the local Apple site is back up and it offers a few interesting nuggets. First off, the Australian iPhone will hit shelves on July 11. That means that all our previous guesses about the iPhone launch coinciding with the opening of the Sydney Apple store are false.
There’s also no word yet on Australian pricing, nor the ability to preorder on the Apple Store website. Considering that the US$199 and US$299 prices for the 8GB and 16GB models in the US are still locked to AT&T on a 24 month contract in the States, this could mean that we’ll see subsidised handsets locally. I’d expect to hear a bit of noise from Optus and Vodafone within the next few hours. After all, it isn’t even 5:30 am Sydney time yet.
Hit the jump for the 3G iPhone press release:
6th June 2008
It’s the Friday before a long weekend – it’s time to stop work and realise that you have a whole three days off.
But before you rush off for 72 hours of responsibility-free bliss, just a quick reminder for any of you who will be staying up late on Monday night for Apple’s WWDC coverage – Giz AU will be refeeding the US team’s liveblog in real time, adding our own expert analysis and Australian relevance to the impending 3G iPhone announcements.
So, if you’re awake and in the neighbourhood, swing by, have a cup of coffee and follow all the events as they unravel live at Giz AU.
[WWDC 2008 on Giz]
6th June 2008
Earlier this year, Environment Minister Peter Garrett Announced that by next year we’d see energy rating labels on our gadgets. Well, the process has now begun, at least in a voluntary capacity. The government has announced the requirements and guidelines for energy ratings for televisions on their energy rating website.
The rating will be out of 10, rather than the usual six that you see on fridges and other whitegoods, with the higher the star rating the better the energy efficiency.
At the moment, the labelling is completely voluntary, so don’t expect to see them on the cheap plasmas you can pick up down at JB Hifi. However, Sony, Panasonic, Philips and LG have all announced that they are planning on using the stickers to rate their TVs, and you’d expect other big names like Samsung will jump on board as well.
There’s no word on whether (or when) the ratings will make their way over to other gadgets, or whether or not the labels will become compulsory in the near future. Here’s hoping…
[News.com.au]
6th June 2008
Ty over at
CNet AU got his hands on the new Foxtel iQ2 box a little bit before everybody else, and was kind enough to post his thoughts on the CNet site.
Overall, he was impressed by the new Foxtel offering, rating its performance in presenting both SD and HD channels, although the HD was where most of the love was projected, especially with the programs that offered 5.1 surround sound.
There are some advanced options in the setup menu that allow you to cater for lip-sync issues, and the On Demand service worked a treat.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing – the system did lock up a few times and require hard resets, but he was playing with a pre-release version, and Ty wasn’t a big fan of not knowing the start and end times of programs he was recording.
But for the most part, the HD offerings of the iQ2 were enough to convince him that the $200 installation fee was worth the money. Hit the jump for the full review, and stay tuned for Giz AU’s own opinions in the coming weeks.
[CNet AU]
6th June 2008
There’s something in the air. It smells like iPhone fever. And the latest, most exciting piece of information is this photo of… a box.
MacTalk Australia have received this image from a “very reliable source” – a box from Apple with an NDA requiring that the box isn’t opened before Tuesday June 10 – which for those of you playing at home correlates to the Australian time of the
WWDC.
According to MacTalk, Apple resellers all around the country will have received boxes like this one, and although they haven’t yet seen the insides, the smart money is on it containing a new 3G iPhone.
The fact they’ve only received a single box is put down to it being a promotional unit, with retail units to ship to stores for the reported June 19 release date.
It looks pretty legit to me. And although I haven’t read the NDA that applies to that particular box, here’s hoping that the tape is ripped off at 12:01 next Tuesday – 3 hours before the WWDC kicks off – so we can get all this suspense rubbish out of the way.
[MacTalk]
