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Internode Rolls Out Terabyte Plan

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Internode is set to take on broadband providers like iPrimus, iiNet, and TPG with the launch of its ‘true’ terabyte plan that can be used anytime.


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The new Internode T-shirt Plans.

Called XXL Easy Broadband, this 1TB ADSL2+ plan is free of any off-peak impediments but includes both uploads and downloads. The plan will cost $159.95 if it is unbundled or $149.95 when bundled with its NodeLine telephone service.

The company will also be launching T-Shirt plans ranging from S (100GB) to XXL (1TB) from next week.

Internode managing director Simon Hackett said the XXL Easy Broadband ADSL2+ plan was the first ‘real’ 1000GB plan on the Australian market. “Our plans let you use your quota whenever you want,” he said.

“That’s in stark contrast to existing high-end market plans that have split their quota into peak and off peak amounts, with the off peak only available for a minority of the time,

“Our M and L plans offer great value and progress cleanly from the entry-level Easy S plan while the XL and XXL plans offer huge quotas for those whom too much is never enough.  

“Our new T-shirt plan table is a major extension of Internode’s enormously successful Easy and Naked Easy broadband plans. It’s worth noting that there are no changes to our other plan tables. These new plans just add value and additional choice for any customer who has an appetite for large data quotas.”

The new Internode Easy Broadband plans will be available next week from www.internode.on.net/easy.

Blockbuster Oz Experiences Rental Growth

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The Franchise Entertainment Group announced that its 320 Blockbuster stores achieved 3.5 per cent rental business growth in the 2009 calendar year.The company said that while the US Based Blockbuster International Incorporated has a poor financial reporting, it had no bearing on Blockbuster’s Australian stores. It also found its growth ‘encouraging particularly at a time when household budgets were under significant pressure.’

Franchise Entertainment Group’s Managing Director, Paul Uniacke said, “Blockbuster Australia continues to deliver strong revenue from its millions of loyal home rental customers. The brand is well placed and continues to invest, innovate and grow in 2010.”

“Blockbuster will be making some exciting announcements in the second quarter on how it will take home entrainment to the next level, delivering a wider range of choice and greater value to our customers,” added Uniacke.

The Blockbuster brand in Australia is owned and managed under a 10-year licensing agreement with FEG. It is the franchisor of Blockbuster, EzyDVD and Video Ezy franchises, representing over 900 entertainment retail and rental businesses across Australia and New Zealand.

New Telstra Service Simplifies Messaging

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Telstra will now allow users to combine email, voicemail, picture messaging, SMS, and multimedia communications in one online and mobile service.

Called MyConnect, this new service aims to break down the traditional barriers between multiple messaging systems, allowing users to manage their phone messages and emails from any mobile phone or online.

Group Managing Director, Telstra Consumer, David Moffatt said, “With MyConnect, customers have access to a truly integrated mobile and online messaging system. Sending email on your Next G mobile phone is now as simple as sending an SMS – using a single messaging folder for easy access.”

“When a customer receives a picture message on their mobile phone and they are sitting at their PC using the internet, they can view the message on their computer screen in MyInbox. Similarly, if they’re out and about, they can still receive important emails on their Next G handset,” he added.

 

MyConnect includes three new integrated services:

  • MyInbox – an online message, contact and calendar management centre where customers can access email, picture messaging, voicemail and videomail as well as send SMS, MMS and email – no subscription costs and access included in your Telstra or BigPond membership/plans.
  • MyEmail – provides access to up to five existing email accounts plus alerts of incoming mail on compatible Telstra Next G mobile handsets – $7 per month.
  • MySync – automatic daily backup of contacts from compatible Next G mobiles to a secure on-line website, and synchronisation with MyInbox – just $3 per month.

MyConnect hosts all your MyInbox and other synchronised information in an online server, kept secure on Telstra’s networks.

It is available now for Telstra Next G, BigPond and Telstra.com customers.

See: www.telstra.com

New Samsung Business Notebooks Offer Security Features

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Samsung announced a new line of business notebooks that offer various security features to safeguard your data.
The P-Series features the top of the range P580, and the highly affordable P530. Both include advanced, automatic safety functionality to provide peace-of-mind to executives looking to ensure their information is safeguarded day and night.

Samsung Australia’s National IT Product and Marketing Manager, Emmanuele Silanesu said, “By incorporating strong security elements into our new range, we’re meeting the demands of our customers looking for a notebook that couples connectivity and performance with safety they can completely rely on.” 
The Samsung P580 features the latest Intel processor technology to ensure fast boot-up times and quick access to applications. The notebook is also equipped with a performance-class NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics accelerator, has a 15.6-inch HD LED anti-reflective display, and comes with advanced safety features, including a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), allow easy file encryption and digital signature protection for total peace of mind. Certification information saved within the TPM module protects data and signatures from unauthorised access at all times.
 

In addition, Samsung has also launched the P530 – a sleek notebook capable of withstanding hard knocks. It comes with a combo port for USB and eSATA that allows rapid file transfer speeds of up to 3GB per second, has three USB 2.0 ports, a 3-in-1 memory card reader, and an HDMI port.

The Samsung P530 also features FailSafe software which offers the ability to track a lost or stolen notebook and encrypt, retrieve or erase data remotely. 

The Samsung P580 and P530 has an RRP of $1,299 and $999, respectively. 

ViewSonic Rolls Out New Mini PCs

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Viewsonic announced a new line of mini-PCs that takes up less space compared to big PC towers.


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The Viewsonic PC mini 550
The ViewSonic PC mini 550 is equipped with the new Microsoft Windows 7 operating system, an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz CPU processor and Centrino platform for a quieter, more energy efficient operation than traditional desktop PCs.

The PC mini 550 includes 4GB of RAM, 320GB hard drive, and has a Blu-ray combo disc drive built-in. It also supports Windows MCE and includes a full featured remote control, making it ideal for connection to a home entertainment system with a big screen LCD TV.

The PC mini 132 is designed for general family and personal use. It weighs just 0.45kg and is only 0.6L in size – 50% of the surface area of an A4 sheet of paper. The PC mini 132 also includes Microsoft Windows 7 operating system, a dual core Atom 330 processor and 2GB of RAM. An optional VDD100-DVD super multi recordable DVD drive is also available, with the unit sporting the latest Nvidia ION video chip.

Finally, the company has also launched the PC mini 120, a mini PC designed to address the needs of SMB and SOHO that require simple operation, easy maintenance, space-saving design and power-saving features.

The PC mini 120 has a small profile, weighs 0.55kg, comes with Microsoft Windows XP operating system, 1GB DDR2 memory, 160GB SATA hard drive and offers multiple connectivity options with four USB ports.

The ViewSonic PC mini 550, PC mini 530, PC mini 132 and PC mini 120 will be available with the following RRPs:

– PC mini 550 (VOT550) – $1,499
– PC mini 530 (VOT530) – $1,099
– PC mini 132 (VOT132) – $799
– PC mini 120 (VOT120) – $499

Optional super multi recordable DVD drive VDD100 – $199

Internode Slashes Fibre To Home Broadband Price

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Internode has slashed the price of its Fibre To The Home broadband plan but will now count both downloaded and uploaded data in monthly quotas.From today, Internode is cutting 35 per cent from the price of its 100 megabit per second (Mbps) FTTH plan with a 100-gigabyte (GB) data quota – which drops by $65 to just $119.95. The company has also introduced three new fibre plans with 200 GB data quotas, costing from $129.95 to $159.95.

In addition, Internode has also boosted data quotas across its Fibre plan range, starting with a 10GB data boost to its entry-level $49.95 plan, which now has a 15GB monthly data quota. Finally, the new plans will also have increased upstream speeds for data flowing from home to the Internet.

However, the company said that in order to fairly account for the network capacity requirements of these increased upstream speeds, it will now “count both downloaded and uploaded data in monthly quotas on these new FTTH plans.”

Internode’s Product Manager, Jim Kellett said, “As this technology moves from novelty to normality, market forces are starting to kick in. With our partner Opticomm, Internode is learning how our customers use their FTTH services and what services they most want.”

“We are also starting to see increased business utilisation of our Fibre services, so we’ve made important changes to our range of SOHO plans such as introducing static IP addresses and offering quite radical upstream speeds, such as 16 Mbps for our 100 Mbps SOHO plans,” added Kellett.

Buffalo App Streams Stored Content To iPhone

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Buffalo has launched a free application which is able to stream content from its network attached storage to an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad.


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Buffalo Webaccess app for the iPhone

The company claims that the WebAccess app allows a user to view photos, listen to music, or watch videos stored on any Buffalo network storage solution via a Web browser, iPhone, iPod touch or iPad over 3G or Wi-Fi. Its multiple device support allow users to manage digital assets from multiple Buffalo NAS devices.

Buffalo Technology’s Group Manager, Southeast Asia and Oceania Group, Asia-Pacific Sales, Akihito Kondo said, “Buffalo’s new WebAccess i apps allow our customers to enjoy and share their digital life at any time from an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad, rather than tuck it away on a computer or external hard drive.”

Buffalo’s WebAccess i app for iPod touch and iPhone and WebAccess i HD app for iPad, are available free at the Apple iTunes Store. It is available for use in conjunction with any currently shipping Buffalo LinkStation (except the LinkStation Quad – LS-QL series) and TeraStation network storage device.

Viewsonic LCD Monitor With Fast Response Time

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ViewSonic has unveiled a new 27-inch LCD monitor that has a 1ms response time.


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The VX2739wm is a Full HD display that comes with DVI, HDMI, VGA ports, as well as a 4-port USB hub for convenient connectivity to external devices. Its 100,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (DCR) provides darker black levels and better overall front-of-screen functionality. In addition, the 100,000 DCR reflects true colours with 300 nits high brightness.

It also features aspect ratio adjustment that claims to eliminate image distortion by maintaining correct image proportions for both widescreen and native 4:3 content. Two audio speakers are also built-in, providing superior sound quality for all multimedia applications.

The ViewSonic X Series VX2739wm will be available starting this month for $799.

Epson Launches New Multimedia Projectors

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Epson has just unveiled its G Series of installation multimedia projectors that come with features and multi-level security designed for use in the education, hospitality and professional sectors.


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According to Epson, the G series of projectors (EB-G5100, EB-G5200W, and EB-G5350) are designed to interface and integrate more easily with sophisticated programming and controller applications, both IP and RS-232, and come with the components required to work seamlessly with modules and drivers for industry-leading systems that can include touch-panel screens and multiple content devices.

Epson’s Business Manager, Visual Imaging, Bruce Bealby said, “As the global and Australian leader in projectors, Epson provides a high level of expertise and support to its customers, and is committed to delivering innovative projectors with the latest technologies and advanced integration and networking capabilities. The G Series is designed to deliver reliable long term operation and a low total cost of ownership with minimal maintenance in high use and high traffic environments in venues typically used by the education, hospitality and professional sectors.”

 

The EB-G5350 is capable of wireless PC-free operation, supporting Windows Vista Network Presentation capability for easy presentation sharing over networks, and offers XGA resolution at 5000 ANSI lumens brightness and 1000:1 contrast ratio.  The EB-G5200W delivers WXGA (1280 x 800) widescreen resolution at 4200 lumens.  The Epson EB-G5100 offers XGA resolution at 4000 ANSI lumens brightness and 1000:1 contrast ratio.  All G Series projectors feature Epson 3-chip 3LCD High Aperture panels for more intense and sharper images.

The Epson G Series projectors have easy maintenance features such as one-touch filter removal and easy side lamp access, providing reliable and flexible operation and a low cost of ownership.

Security features include Kensington-style lock provision, anchor (metal) bar for security lock or cable, and anti-theft measures for the lens and wireless LAN module.

In line with Epson’s long term policy of reducing the environmental impact of its products, the G Series projectors have a higher light efficiency and lower power consumption using Epson’s patented E-TORL lamps, lead-free projection lenses, are packaged in recycled paper without using Styrofoam, and the projector case is paint-free for easy recycling.

The Epson G Series projectors are available now through Epson dealers with the following RRPs:

EB-G5100 – $5999
EB-G5200W $6499
EB-G5350 $6999

See: www.epson.com.au