Contact Search, iPhone Australia, 3G?

[i.maverick]

so.. anyone think this would lead them to open up the ifone for other countries as well.? i mean, they have a binding partnership with AT&T only right.? maybe they have realized they can't win. the ifone can be unlocked, no matter what.!!
this gonna be good

 

[tyke65]

I don't think that Apple are being generous in opening up their iPhones in Oz, I think that Oz has laws banning such restrictive practices. I may be wrong. Again!

 

[batchtaster]

I'm on a corporate plan with Telstra for a personal phone - about $3 administrative charge per month, no minimum spend, $0.16 SMS.

When I moved into my new house, before I got the broadband on, I had internet withdrawal and used the browser on my Nokia 7710 over GPRS (ie: non-3G) for a bit. Web pages only, no video or audio. Big mistake. In no time I had an $80 data bill, several times higher than my mobile bill has ever been, almost twice what I pay for my 20GB monthly broadband access. Swore I would never use it again, and I haven't.

Someone is going to have to do a whole lot of convincing to get me to use mobile internet on any phone ever again, particularly given 3G is a more expensive service than even that.

Don't get me wrong - I *want* to use it, and would love to be zooming around with an iPhone, using Safari and Maps and all that other stuff, and even without using those I still do want an iPhone; with 802.1X coming in iPhone OS 2.0 I should be able to happily connect to my company's wireless network. But as far as mobile internet goes, once bitten, twice shy.

 

[dannychang]

Who cares?

Who gives a fxxk with the ability to search contacts?..

We Need A2DP. iphone is not for stupid business man only. People use it to listen to the music too. -.- damn.. apple.

 

[andygeo]

jeez i hope that this stuff about an Australian release in June is real. We've waited so so long and i'm clinging onto my dying Samsung with a broken screen and a 2 hour battery life so i dont have to buy another phone in between getting an iphone....

 

[nja247]

Oh god I hope this rumor about the iPhone not being exclusive to one carrier in Australia is NOT true. As far as I've observed, when the iPhone has been released in America/Britain/Europe, the carrier offering the phone has improved their data plans to allow people to actually use it as an internet device without breaking the bank. Australia's mobile data plans are probably the worst in the world, and without carrier exclusivity there is no incentive for any of the carriers to change this.

Huh? Maybe true in the US, but the plans for the iPhone in Europe are definitely not better than non-iPhone plans that offer roughly the same level of options for cheaper. O2 UK is likely Europe's best iPhone plan, but one could still get more minutes and 3G services from other carriers for cheaper.

 

[BrokenChairs]

Yay finally some good news for being Australian
I hope there is no lock in contract because if Telstra were involved...now to start saving!

 

[cameronjpu]

I've never had a problem. I might have had one billing mistake, and they corrected it immediately without having to argue on the phone for hours like I've seen with friends with Verizon and Sprint.

I get a great signal everywhere—3G in my city. I've had no problems with traveling—to NY lately and Ireland and France in 2005. In fact, my friend who met me, got a SIM from a local telecom in both Ireland and France and couldn't even make a call. I've been an AT&T owner for over eight years.

The only place I don't get a signal is in the very middle of my office. Verizon users get a faint signal, but I believe that's because CDMA is supposed to be better at penetrating buildings. We're under a movie theatre in a brick and metal building and our studs are metal. It's pretty much a faraday cage.

Most people calling AT&T crap are either bunk or I'm an exception. It could be because I live in a large metro area. But I doubt it.

My experience echo yours. All the haters seem to be Verizon customers. I hear just as many verizon customers bitching about that service as the opposite. The grass is always greener.

 

[zync]

My experience echo yours. All the haters seem to be Verizon customers. I hear just as many verizon customers bitching about that service as the opposite. The grass is always greener.

Thanks for letting me know that I'm not alone. Last week two of our guys nearly cancelled their service with Verizon over charges and it took both of them a few hours to sort it out. And they didn't even get the payment dropped, only reduced! These guys probably lost more money talking on the phone than paying the bill.

 

[itcheroni]

no thanks lol ill pass.. btw where is PA??

Pennsylvania is a sh*%hole next to New York. And it's the only big state left in the Democratic Presidential Primary.

 

[Dimwhit]

Thanks for letting me know that I'm not alone. Last week two of our guys nearly cancelled their service with Verizon over charges and it took both of them a few hours to sort it out. And they didn't even get the payment dropped, only reduced! These guys probably lost more money talking on the phone than paying the bill.

You're not alone. I've been with AT&T, then Cingular, then AT&T for a number of years. Never once had a problem. Not with service, not with billing. I'm glad the iPhone is on AT&T. (Though, granted, it would be better if it weren't tied to any service, but that's dreaming.)

 

[Sijmen]

MacWorld Australia also has a story about the Australian release. Questions such as: "the iPhone is available for upfront purchase much like an iPod touch in Australia, what will that mean for software upgrades? Will customers buying one in June be slugged for an extra $25 in July? Obviously we can do little more than speculate at this stage." are interesting.

Story at: http://www.macworld.com.au/blogs/view/iphone-here-it-comes-339

That was also one of the things I thought about. Let's hope it all works out for the good.l

 

[seedster2]

Does anyone know if this contact search feature is specifically a result of the upcoming exchange feature?


I am looking forward to it, but as a few have said it's truly ridiculous that this functionality is just being implemented. I had this on my treo back in 04. A year after its release and users interpret a basic functionality addition as a feature update.

I love the phone but I don't know where the attention is placed: the marketing or the device

I am happy to see signs of a change to their business model

 

[offwidafairies]

thats so funny. my biggest gripe with the iphone is the lock in contract. and i have moved from australia to usa this year. i dont own an iphone because i dont want a contract. not because i dont want an iphone

 

[iSamurai]

Ooo, interesting. But I really hope that they will price it "properly", because the current unlocked iPhone available in France is ridiculously priced. Then we'll see some proper unlocked iPhones.

 

[sleepingworker]

- More than 1 carrier
- No contract lock in
- Current resellers will be able to sell iPhones

If this is true, then it was worth the wait for the Aussies!!! Now what is Apple going to do for the Kiwis (especially Bret, Jermaine, and Murray)?

 

[iphrank]

Yay finally some good news for being Australian
I hope there is no lock in contract because if Telstra were involved...now to start saving!

this is Telstra we are dealing with, since when have they allowed customers the freedom of a non-locked in contract =P

on a different note here, it will be really interesting to see if, quote Solomon Trujillo Telstra CEO: "the worlds best 3G network" actually makes any real world difference in comparison to the systems the iphones are currently utilizing accros the globe (not just quoting technical specs on paper)

if it does prove to be a success, one could only predict T3 shares to skyrocket...$$$

 

[Elrond39]

Now what is Apple going to do for the Kiwis (especially Bret, Jermaine, and Murray)?

I suppose Steve will think, think about it...

 

[samab]

- More than 1 carrier
- No contract lock in
- Current resellers will be able to sell iPhones

If this is true, then it was worth the wait for the Aussies!!! Now what is Apple going to do for the Kiwis (especially Bret, Jermaine, and Murray)?

It really means nothing even if all 3 parts of the rumors are true.

More than 1 carrier --- doesn't mean it's an unlocked iphone. It can mean the iphone is going to be locked to 2-3 different Australian carriers.

No contract lock in --- look at the France no contract lock in price for the iphone (749 euro).

 

[losguanacos]

definitely 3G

The Aus version of the iphone has to be 3G.... a mate who works at crazy johns, that is an authorised apple reseller... says they've had a demo unit(not 3g obviously) for more than a month now, which means either it will be on vodaphone or unlocked completely but cannot be on telstra's edge network because then they wouldnt sell them at crazy johns.

 

[needthephone]

I saw one at Crazy Johns too but I think they just imported them themselves and have no knowledge on what will happen. They are just demoing them to get people into the store and get it known that they are iphone stockists but they know no more than you or me, really. Anyone could have an unlocked iphone and pretend they know which network (s) will get it.

I was at my local Westfield Shopping centre in a northern Sydney suburb and one shop (a general repair and phone place which was practically opposite Crazy Johns and Vodafone too) had a poster advertisng unlocked iphones- I could have taken one away with me today but I'll wait until its 3G and official.

 

[zync]

I saw one at Crazy Johns too but I think they just imported them themselves and have no knowledge on what will happen. They are just demoing them to get people into the store and get it known that they are iphone stockists but they know no more than you or me, really. Anyone could have an unlocked iphone and pretend they know which network (s) will get it.

I was at my local Westfield Shopping centre in a northern Sydney suburb and one shop (a general repair and phone place which was practically opposite Crazy Johns and Vodafone too) had a poster advertisng unlocked iphones- I could have taken one away with me today but I'll wait until its 3G and official.

Off topic here, but you might find this interesting. The person who owns those Westfield Shopping centres, bought some of our malls up here and renamed them to be Westfield Shoppingtowns—or something like that—and the location. Like Westfield Shoppingtown Citrus Park—which is a suburb of Tampa. Apparently they've done it all around the US, which I didn't know until just now, so you might already know this. I just find it funny. Of course, back then I was annoyed because I liked the names of our malls. No one calls them Wesfield Shoppingtowns though.

 

[buckdutter]

I hate AT&T - they are an evil company..... They sell the iPhone but do not allow their own employees to connect to internal AT&T email using one - not supported by their help desk.....

I'm making due with my iPod Touch (32gig) until I can get an iPhone from anyone except AT&T....

I currently get my internet from a Sprint EVDO card - is 3G the same speed as EVDO?

Derek

Are you an AT&T employee? And...the iPhone is not supported by their help desk because Apple basically said "don't !@#$ with our product." Literally, their agreement with Apple states that they flatly cannot in any way shape or form troubleshoot the iPhone hardware aside from basic things that would be network related like a SIM card swap (even that is iffy). Won't be different with any other company, sorry bud.

3G - in the form of ATT is UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA. Currently it is about the same speed as EVDO, with new revisions of EV-DO being perhaps slightly faster. However, HSDPA/HSUPA are in their early stages, while EV-DO is quickly approaching its ceiling. HSD/HSUPA will be up to 7mbps within a year, and AT&T will probably be hitting 14ish range before they start transitioning to Super 3G/4G. So at the moment...not much difference, however check back in a year or even a few months, and yes, it will be faster.

 

[buckdutter]

- More than 1 carrier
- No contract lock in
- Current resellers will be able to sell iPhones

If this is true, then it was worth the wait for the Aussies!!! Now what is Apple going to do for the Kiwis (especially Bret, Jermaine, and Murray)?

I'd rather be locked into a two year contract than pay what will probably be like all other unlocked iphones upwards of a grand for the iphone. If this is even true, which is very questionable.

 

[needthephone]

To reply to the off topic comment on Westfield.

Westfield is the largest retail property group in the world and is an Australian company. They own malls all over the world including the UK

I live near the very first Westfield Mall (however it not the first Westfield location which was in Blacktown ) which was totally redeveloped (well they knocked the old one down and put up a new one around 5 times as big which occupies virtually one side of the town-its quite swanky now)

They (like it must be said most Australian run companies) are extremely agressive, bordering on ruthless. They charge high rents apparently but the shop owners don't have much choice as if they aren't in a Westfield they won't get many customers.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westfield_Group