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Oonagh Reidy

Its On: Vodafone Ramp Up Coverage 40%

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Vodafone ramps up mobile coverage flicking on 1,200 new 3G sites

Vodafone announced a massive 40 percent expansion of its mobile coverage across regional Australia, today.  

Regional coverage areas including Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, North Queensland and NSW North Coast now have Vodafone mobile coverage for the first time. 

It has switched on more than 1,200 new 3G and 3G+ network sites. 
By the end of the year, Voda will have 72% more coverage than in 2010, when its ‘Vodafail’ issues were at its peak.
“We entirely rebuild the Vodafone network” a spokesperson told Smarthouse today. 
The new network sites are: North Queensland, South West Queensland, NSW North Coast hinterland and Central West, South East, South West, Central and Western Victoria, South-eastern South Australia, Kalgoorlie and the Great Eastern Highway in Western Australia, and WA’s South West and Coral Coast.  
“Vodafone has added half a million square kilometres to its mobile coverage areas in regional Australia, with more than 1,200 new regional network sites,” Vodafone Technology Chief Benoit Hanssen, said.
 

“We’ve always had a strong presence in metropolitan Australia, coupled with a firm belief people who live outside the major cities should have choice when it comes to their mobile phone provider,” said Hanssen. 

Customers can check out the new Vodafone regional coverage areas by visiting www.vodafone.com.au/aboutvodafone/network/checker

Forget Android: Google To Tackle Asteroids?

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Google are taking to space along with Titanic director James Cameron.


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Larry Page, Google CEO, along Sergy Brin and Exec Chairman Eric Schmidt have backed a space venture, which is tipped to be lurking for asteroids and other natural resources.

Microsoft’s Charles Simonyi and Ross Perot, Jr are also in on the venture which will examine the earth’s resource base.

The start up ‘Planetary Resources’, announced yesterday, will examine “two critical sectors – space exploration and natural resources – to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP.

“This innovative start-up will create a new industry and a new definition of ‘natural resources’,” according to a statement.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Planetary Resources will explore the feasibility of mining natural resources from asteroids.

The multi million dollar exploration venture also includes space entrepreneur Eric Anderson; former NASA mission manager Chris Lewicki and astronaut Tom Jones, Peter H. Diamandis will lead the commercial space venture “with a mission to help ensure humanity’s prosperity.”

Planetary Resources will create a new industry and a new definition of ‘natural resources’, it says, although was scant on precise detail, reckons it will save humanity.

 

All will be revealed at a news conference scheduled for tomorrow Tuesday, April 24 at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, however:

“Join us to learn about our mission and how we plan to revolutionize current space exploration and help ensure humanity’s prosperity for generations to come.”

London Calling: Foxtel Unveil Olympics Prog

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Eddie and Rove, over 3,200 hours of coverage including 1,100 hours live.


Image: Herald Sun

There’s 100 days to go until the London 2012 Olympic Games commence, and Foxtel has revealed its eight dedicated Olympic channels.

The eight channels that will be free to residential sports subscribers and will air in both High Definition and Standard Definition.

With around 1,100 hours of live events, and over 3,200 hours of total coverage, FOXTEL will showcase all the drama, electricity, joy and despair of the 2012 Games.

The channels are:

LONDON 1 Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo

LONDON 2 Cycling – Track, Cycling – BMX, Cycling – Mountain Bike, Cycling – Road

LONDON 3 Gymnastics – Artistic, Gymnastics – Rhythmic, Gymnastics – Trampoline

LONDON 4 Athletics – TrackLONDON 5 Athletics – Field

LONDON 6 Equestrian – Jumping, Equestrian – Eventing, Equestrian – Dressage, Fencing, Table Tennis

LONDON 7 Rowing, Canoeing – Sprint, Canoeing – Slalom

LONDON 8 Beach Volleyball, Sailing, Football, Hockey, Weightlifting

The remaining sports will be shown across a range of channels depending on the competition schedule. Foxtel will release a full guide including all broadcast times by July 1.

Subscribers will be able to see every single Gold Medal event live and in full and over the 17 days of competition Foxtel will broadcast all sessions and matches of sport in full, with all major sports shown live. And with the Foxtel iQ or iQHD, viewers can record, pause and rewind live TV so they see all the action at a time that suits them.

Extensive coverage that will be broadcast live from two Foxtel studios based inside London’s Olympic Park, one of which will run 24 hours a day.

Eddie McGuire will headline daytime coverage, alongside former Olympic sprinter Matt Shirvington, broadcaster Tracey Holmes will team with FOX Sports cricket host Brendon Julian; while former Olympic swimmer Lisa Forrest will host with SKY News’ James Bracey.

Fronting Foxtel’s second studio will be former track and field athlete and SKY News presenter Tiffany Cherry and FOX Sports presenters Adam Peacock, Sarah Jones and Jason Dunstall.

It will also have a team of roving reporters on the ground in London, including comedian Rove McManus, Rove will present daily stories covering every aspect of the Games – from the colourful streets of the Olympic city to the various sporting venues and the athletes’ village, as well as catching up with some favourite athletes.

 

The Olympic commentary team includes: James Tomkins (Rowing), Kerri Pottharst (Beach Volleyball), Scott McGrory (Cycling), Liz Chetkovich (Gymnastics), Debbie Watson (Water Polo), Andrew Gaze (Basketball), Jane Flemming (Athletics), Peter Donegan (Athletics), Daley Thompson (Athletics), Damian Brown (Weightlifting), Mike Murphy (Diving), Lucinda Green (Equestrian), Rechelle Hawkes (Hockey) and David Wansbrough (Hockey).

Throughout the 17 days of competition, Foxtel’s subscribers will also be able to watch the eight dedicated channels on the  London 2012 Olympic Games tablet app, streamed via both WiFi and 3G.

Foxtel’s ground-breaking coverage of the London Games will go live on July 25 to include live coverage of the 14 football matches that precede the Opening Ceremony. Competition will commence on air at 6.00pm on Saturday, July 28 (AEST).

Vodafone Fight Back: iPhone 4S $29 Cap

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Voda has revealed its iPhone 4S plans – its cheapest going for just $29 – hot on the heels of rival Tesltra who unveiled its plan, earlier today. The telco has just opened pre-order for the cult iPhone 4S, which has already sold one million pre-sales globally – and revealed 12-month plans for Business and consumer Caps and Infinite plans.


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‘Cap’ plans vary from $29 to $79, while Apple’s iPhone 4S will be available on there Infinite plan(calls, text) deals ranging from $45-$100, Vodafone has announced.

However the $49, $59 and $79 caps come with generous 1.5GB, 2GB, 3GB data, meaning you can download data ’til the cows come home (well pretty much).

The cheapest iPhone deal from Vodafone is the $29 cap which comes unlimited Voda to Voda calls, 200MB data and the handset is free, regardless of whether its the 16GB, 32GB or 64GB model.

Telstra’s cheapest deal, in comparison, is its $59 Freedom Connect plan, introducing the company’s $79, $99 and $129 offers, while Optus are offering the new iPhone on a $49 option. 

Voda’s Infinite deals also comes with decent data allowances, particularly on the $65 (2GB), $85 (3GB) and $100 (4GB) and free calls and texts to any network in Oz, while Telstra’s data allowances, although on the faster network, are notably lacking especially on higher priced plans.

Aside from $29 cap, on all other plans, handset instalments range from $8 to a whopping $57 monthly  – depending on the plan, although iPhone 4S 64GB appears to be the priciest option, while the 8GB model has minimal fees.

Read ‘Secret Is Out’: Coy Telstra Kick Off iPhone 4S

But Vodafone have just announced another $30 prepaid Cap recharge aimed at the younger market, with $450 credit that can be used on standard and international calls, but also gives ‘Infinite’ texting, social networking on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Linked in & My Space , plus 500MB data, in Australia.

Users can still use their Infinite texts for the length of their 30 day recharge, even if their balance is zero.

And Voda will even deliver the iPhone 4S to your door this Friday, when the device will go on sale nationwide at 8am.

 

“We are pleased to announce pre-order for the iPhone 4S on 12-month plans for Business and Consumer (Vodafone Cap and Vodafone Infinite) will commence today,12 October, 2011 at 10am.”

Vodafone also told SmartHouse yesterday consumer interest in iPhone 4S, announced by Apple just last week, has been strong:

“Australia’s love affair with iPhone continues. Since pre-ordering opened yesterday, the appetite we’ve seen for the iPhone 4S has been very strong,” declared Noel Hamill, Vodafone, Director of Sales.

“It’s the first time pre-ordering the iPhone has been available, and customers are definitely taking advantage of that to get in early.”

There are three ways to pre-order the iPhone 4S from the telco, in-store, online (www.vodafone.com.au/iphone) or call 1300 300 404.

Plan Manager: Telstra Online Portal To Eliminate Bill Shockers

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Telstra’s new phone haven manages bill spend and lets users view their usage, meaning bill shockers are a thing of the past.


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The new online portal, announced today, provides postpaid customers better “visibility and control” of their mobile spend, which they can access directly from their smartphone.

My Plan Manager, available for all Telstra postpaid’s tells users how much mobile data has been used, how many days left until the next bill and update BigPond settings.

Customers can also add a mobile data pack and purchase an International roaming data pack for the first time ever, the telco said  on its blog today.

Additionally, a ‘Daily Data Usage’ tab has also been introduced, which displays a view of all the day’s data activities, to alert of hitting quota ceilings or additional costs.

This new service is part of Telstra $1 billion makeover plan which includes ramping up its previously abhorrent customer service and comes jsut days after it launched a series of colourful ads in the media.

Earlier this year, it introduced an anti bill shock system, alerting users who were about to exceed data and plan quotas via text.

The My Plan Manager is on the “My” Tab on Telstra branded handset and is unmetered within Australia, so no fees for use.

More Australians than ever are using the mobile internet on their phones, with 61% now accessing the internet on their mobiles daily – making My Plan a handy tool to monitor the data consumption.

“We recognise that we need to provide you with more convenient ways to deal with Telstra for certain types of transactions – and at times and places that suit you,” Telstra’s Mobile Service Director, Nick Ruddock said.

 

And there’s more to come, apparently. “My Plan Manager is Telstra’s first step in delivering a comprehensive series of self help and service management capabilities to use directly from your mobile device.” 

iPhone 4S: Why Topless Virgins Are Best

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Cheeky Virgin has come running to give its tuppence worth to Aussies with tasty iPhone 4S deal as Telstra, Optus and Vodafone jostle for marketshare. Why, the iPhone can even be bought topless.
Virgin Mobile made its iPhone 4S strategy public today – unveiling $29, $39, $49, $59 ‘Fair Go’ caps as well as a ‘Topless’ iPhone 4S deal and the fledgling telco appear to be giving rivals a run for their money.

The cheapest, $29 cap comes with 250MB data and $17 monthly instalment meaning Apple cult phone will set you back $46 monthly for the 16GB model.

On comparison, Vodafone $29 and $30 cap appears to be still cheaper than Virgin (with unlimited Voda to Voda calls, 200MB data and the handset costs $15-$25 depending on16GB, 32GB or 64GB model) competes very well with Virgin’s cheapest deal.


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And Voda’s new $30 cap unveiled yesterday is also a pretty sweet deal on low budget offers $450 credit that can be used on standard and international calls, ‘Infinite’ texting, social networking, plus 500MB data. The telco also appears to be one of the only offering the cult handset on a 12 month contract.

But Virgin have also just this minute unveiled a ‘Big Cap’ $29 and $39 plans offering everything it can muster including – unlimited Virgin to Virgin, international calls, rollover and free voicemail as well as 250MB and 500MB data respectively. (Phew)

Meanwhile further up the scale, a 32GB model on $39 ‘Fair Go’ will set you back $57 on Virgin Mobile while on $49 cap will cost $62.

$39 and $49 caps are sadly lacking on Telstra with Freedom Connect starting at $59, while Optus iPhone 4S plans begin at $49.

However, Virgin’s $59 cap that really comparable with Telstra Freedom Connect equivilant $59 deal which offers 1.5GB of data, $550 in calls and MMS, unlimited text, and costs an additional $4, $8 or $13 for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB iPhone 4S, respectively.

Well tough luck Telstra, as Virgin appear to wipe the floor with you – the Optus owned telco is offering $59 Fair Go with a substantial $3GB data with $700 credit and either $10 (32GB) or $15 (64GB) phone fee.

And its Topless plan is going for $89 which gives unlimited standard calls/text as well as zero fee on 16GB or 32GB with a measly $3 fee for 64GB model, which appears to top Telstra’s $79 or $129 deals.

However, the edge Telstra has is its speedier 4G network, a feature its 3G rivals lack.

 

Read Telstra Reveal ‘Secret’ iPhone 4S Plan

And Aussies’ comparison website WhistleOut predicted as much:

“If the past year is anything to go by, it will be the smaller Virgin Mobile which will be most competitive on pricing as Virgin Mobile have had the most competitive prices on both the iPhone 4 and Samsung Galaxy S 2 for the past 12 months,” says Cameron.

However, Telstra has priced the new model far more aggressively than the original iPhone 4 model.

And if you’re dizzy from all the iPhone 4S plans, its hardly surprising: the iPhone 4S release has inspired a whopping 200 new plan combinations in total and pricing is far better than under iPhone 4 regime, say WhistleOut.

“At these price points, the new iPhone 4S model is definitely a better deal than the pricing on the original iPhone 4 16GB and 32GB models.”

Telstra’s new iPhone 4S prices in particular are squarely aimed at taking the fight to Optus and Vodafone and are far more competitive and evenly matched than before, even undercutting Optus on the iPhone 4S 16GB on the $59 Cap which has been one of the most popular and competitive price points,” says Cameron Craig, Director of WhistleOut.

“Overall, it is a great picture for consumers: when the original iPhone 4 prices do drop, there will be respectable price points for every category of consumer. The exception is the new 64GB variant which is the diamond of the iPhone range where the only $0 phone repayment options are $100 per month,” says Cameron.

 

While it looks almost identical to the iPhone 4, there have been significant internal changes, including a faster processor, a more advanced camera, and a new antenna design.

 “When it launched, the iPhone was a prestige phone, while now it is ‘mass-tige’, with an offering at every price point.
However, this is not necessarily a good thing as although it is now “accessible”, it is less “aspirational” Craig notes.

‘Highly Addicted’: Smartphone Users Confess Regular Habit

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Pictured: Ashton Kutcher glued to his mobile at SXSX.

Smartphones are the new drug of choice among people in the Internet age, Ofcom warned today.


Teens are major culprits with an ASTONISHING 60% of owners confessing to being ‘highly addicted’ to their iPhone, Android or other smart mobile. But adults are guilty also – with 7 % admitting they cant stay away. 
The survey, carried out among British users show over 25% of adults and almost half of all teens own a smartphone. 
But this is a new trend with most having bought these in just the last year. 
Smartphone owners make significantly more calls and send more texts than regular mobile users (81% make calls every day compared with 53% of ‘regular’ users).  
And teens are also ditching other activities like watching TV or reading as they surf the web or text from their multitasking phone.  
“The rapid growth in the use of smartphones – which offer internet access, email and a variety of internet-based applications – is changing the way many of us, particularly teenagers, act in social situations” says Ofcoms Communications market report. 
The vast majority of smartphone users (81 per cent) have their mobile switched on all the time, even in bed, and use it socialising, during meals and over 20% of adults admitted using their handset in the toilet. Teens came out worse here – with almost 50% confessing to their toilet habit. 
The line between work and social time is also becoming increasingly blurred, Ofcom research found.  Thirty per cent of smartphone users regularly take part in personal phone calls during work, compared with 23 per cent of regular mobile users.  
 

Teenagers are more likely to have paid for an app download than adults, with games and music being the most popular. 

Just a quarter (25 per cent) of adults had paid for an app compared to almost 40% of teens.