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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.

App Reload: Facebook ‘2X Fast’ On Droid

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Facebook app for Android has just got rebirth and is double as fast for chores like uploading images and has spanking new menus.


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The update (version 1.8), announced today, means Facebook is far easier to navigate on Android, an app which has been reported as lacking in the past, and has more similarities to the iOS app for Apple. 

Messages and notifications are now at the top of the screen and Droid’s can respond to friends and stay updated without leaving their current page.

News feed, groups, games and apps are now on a new, left-hand side menu.

Uploading are now twice as fast to upload than the old version and “it’s also easier to share photos, view comments and edit captions on the go,” Facebook said on its blog.

Read: Twitter’s 500% Faster Upgrade

What’s in version 1.8:

1.    Navigate anywhere, fast: Get to your groups, apps, pages, and settings with a single press

2.    Search and you will discover: Look through friends, subscribers, apps, and pages

3.    See your friends tags on pictures and zoom: New photo viewing experience

4.    Faster notifications: Get alerted in real time with new push notifications

5.    Games & Apps: Play games and access your favorite apps on the go

 

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6.    Access to mobile timeline (If you already have a timeline)

7.    Access to friend lists and subscriptions


Steve Jobs Ghost Haunts Samsung Trial?

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He was the Father of Apple, but Steve Jobs should not influence the upcoming trial, a US judge said.


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As the patent trial between Samsung and Apple inches closer, Samsung is arguing declarations by Apple’s deceased CEO Steve Jobs should be included in evidence to prove the “bias” Apple has against its tech rivals.

Apple’s former CEO declared “thermonuclear war ” on Android and pledged to “spend Apple’s last penny”, to “wrong this right” after it launched a rival OS in 2010, believing it was copying Apple’s mobile innovations.

Samsung is arguing the quotes, revealed in the ‘Steve Jobs’ biography released in 2011, “speaks to Apple’s bias, improper motives and its lack of belief in its own claims in that they are a means to an end, namely the destruction of Android.”

Apple argued the quotes were inadmissible and asked they be removed as evidence in the trial evicence.

The US District Court judge Lucy Koh agrees.

“I really don’t think this is a trial about Steve Jobs,” she declared,
Reuters reports.

Jobs was said to have been ‘livid’ when HTC launched its Google Android OS touch phone, vowing to destroy its rival at all costs.

Samsung was later to launch a slew of Android based smartphones and tablets, and overtake Apple as the largest smartphone maker in the world.

“I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this,” Jobs said.

Cupertino went on to sue the Taiwanese phone maker, HTC for alleged patent infringements and Samsung, accusing the latter of ‘slavishly copying’ the look and feel of their iPhone and iPad as well as infringing upon Apple’s owned patents.

The legal stoush between the tech two tech titans, Apple and Samsung, is taking place in over 10 countries globally and hit Oz last year.

 

In Australia and several other nations including US, UK and Germany Android powers over 50% of all smartphones.

The Apple V Samsung trial is to kick off in the US on July 30.

Read: It’s ‘Thermonuclear War’: How Jobs Went Ballistic At Google

Tough Love: Telstra Users Boost But H2 Profits Set To Slide

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Love ain’t cheap as Telstra are to find out this week. The top telco is to record a “double digit decline” in profits as it feels the pinch after its $1 billion bid to win back flavour among disillusioned Aussies, known as Project New.


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Telstra’s makeover strategy, first unleashed last year, included treating the customer to round the clock service (only today it took to Twitter to remind users of this), new mobiles, 4G wireless mobile technology announced yesterday and other extras like alerts when users exceed mobile data or cap limits. 



Telstra’s net profit for the year end June 30 2011 is estimated to lie in the vicinity of $3.134 billion, according to several analyst estimates, reports AAP. 

If so, this represents a massive drop of 19.3 per cent compared to a year ago. 

 But despite this predicted slump, its short term pain for long term gains strategy appears to be working – its subscriber base has jumped again, analysts believe, although at a slower pace than H1. 

And UBS analysts in an earlier research note this month, also believe earnings will turn a corner in 2011/12 period and show considerable improvement,  reaping the rewards of Project New as well as lower redundancy costs.  

“During 1H11 Telstra overspent as a result of strong subscriber growth and associated subsidies,” CBA Institutional Equities analysts said in a research note on August 5.

“Risks exist that Telstra has continued to overspend in 2H11, however this should not necessarily be viewed negatively, depending on growth achieved.”

 The telco’s full year earnings before tax (EBITDA) guidance was a high single-digit decline, flat revenues and a 28 cents per share fully franked dividend. 

In February, Telstra’s Chief, David Thodey, said it acquired over a million (1.05m) new customers over the previous six months – 919,000 mobile and 139,000 new broadband subscribers. 

 

However, this was on the back of a 36 percent profit drop during the same period. 


And, Telstra’s shareholder vote on the NBN is also unlikely to take place by October’s AGM, analysts believe. 


Asus Tab Puzzle: Pad Or Phone?

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There’s a new rebel in tech town. Asus wants to “break the rules” with a pad and phone… in one possibly?


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The notebook giant looks to be launching four new products in all according to the latest post on its Facebook page yesterday, declaring “break the rules: pad or phone?

This was the cryptic teaser placed online by Asus -ahead of its forthcoming launches at Computex next month. Maybe the EeePad makers couldn’t decide between building a snazzy smartphone or tab so decided to combine the two.

And in this tough tabs market any unique feature is a strong selling point as Android clones invade.

The pad/phone combi looks to be where the Taiwanese make appears to be heading for its tab design if this teaser is to be believed following hot on the heels of its Eee Pad Transformer, a detachable notebook tab on Honeycomb, which was well received by reviewers.

Read Asus Eee Pad Transformer review here

Underneath it had a reference to Computex 2011 show which is kicking off May 31 – June 5th in Taipei.

And its certainly not the first time Asus have come over all cryptic over tabs in its bid to become No.2 in the market.

Earlier this year Asustek CEO Jonney Shih hinted of a ‘secret weapon’ in relation to its new batch of Eee Pads, which many believed was a reference to NVIDIA Tegra 2 core processor.

 

“We will try to provide a ‘secret weapon,’ something we have not shown at this time but closer to the launch time we will show.”

And combos appear to be the order of the day over for the Taiwanese brand with a new Eee Top PC model also to be debuted.

There are no specs listed online but the touchscreen device promises to be an “intuitive and interactive PC” giving “versatile mobility anywhere at home.”

For those heading to Computex all will be revealed at NanGang Exhibition Hall M1009.

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.” 

OZ Retailers Lag In M- Revolution: Google

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Ok, so we all have smartphones. But how do we use them?


Mobiles are no longer for just calling – they’re a shopping device, says Google.
Australia’s love affair with the smartphone is continuing with a whopping 52% now clutching a handset – be it an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or other device.

But it seems we’re not willing to part with them in a hurry. In fact, almost 25% of us would rather part with our  TV set than a smartphone.

That’s according to a study by Google Australia, which reveals 3 out of 4 of us don’t leave the house without our beloved mobile, which Google says is “especially significant” in a country that loves free-to-air TV and cooking shows. 

Australia’s smartphone penetration is now 52%- one of the highest in the world – representing 40% growth in a year.

But we love to shop also and a whopping 94% of us researched a product from a smartie and almost a third have purchased items via mobile shopping.

However, retailers are falling behind the mobile curve, warns the Internet giant.

The vast majority (79%) of Aussie businesses don’t have a mobile-optimised website, the Google study indicates.

 “The mobile revolution isn’t ‘coming’ – it’s already happened,” warns Jason Pellegrino, Head of Mobile Ads, Google.

“Mobile is no longer optional: businesses need to develop a mobile strategy now, or risk getting left behind.”

This is especially urgent since 61% of mobile users surveyed said they were unlikely to return to a site they had trouble accessing from their phone.

Online travel giant Webjet says bookings via smartphones have increased 27% monthly since October 2010.

But small business won’t lose out either by having mobile friendly sites, and will also reap rewards from having their site up to scratch.
 
Google’s research also shows that smartphone users are ‘multi-tasking’ on mobile, creating opportunities for advertisers to amplify their campaigns with mobile ads.

80% of consumers surveyed use their phone while doing other things such as watching TV or reading newspapers or magazines.

57% have actively searched on their mobile device after seeing an ad on TV.

“Businesses should complement their online and offline ad campaigns with mobile ads to reach their target audience on all screens their audience is looking at,” Pellegrino says.

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.

ACCC “Still Looking” At Data Breach

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ACCC has not yet established the number of people affected by the data breach and is “still looking”, an ACCC spokesperson told CN.On Friday, the Australian consumer watchdog (ACCC) said personal data collected from its websites was leaked online including email addresses of some subscribers to its alert services. 

The websites hit by the data breach included Recalls Australia, Product Safety Australia, SCAMwatch and the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission Public Registers website.
A third party or hacker were not the cause of the data leaking online, rather, a technical issue was to blame, with permission not set the way it was supposed to, the rep said. 
However, the data was not accessible via Google or online search, an attacker would have had to have been aware the vulnerability was there in order to access data.  

Betta Bucks Retail Slump

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That’s betta: 60% hike in income for the BSR group.

The results for the BSR Group, owners of Betta Living franchise, for the year ending 31 March 2012, announced yesterday reflects the solidity of the business and the increased income returned to members,” Betta CEO Graeme Cunningham said.

Cunningham also attributed the income lift to BSR’s alliance with buying group NARTA.

“The additional benefits arising from the alliance with NARTA and the Group’s direct arrangement with supplier-partners are being promptly returned to members, resulting in the highest return of income since the Group’s inception in 2006,” he said.

The return to retailers in rebates and direct costs including advertising and marketing also rose to 79.4% of total income, up almost 10% on a year ago.

“The return to retailers also included additional retail support funds that were set aside to assist the store rebranding initiative from Betta Electrical to Betta Home Living.”

However, Betta’s CEO also recognise the current “malaise” in the retail industry, which has seen several casualties, of late.

 

“To compound the wider economic malaise, the electrical goods retailing industry has experienced continued price erosion in a number of key categories and seen a number of specialist retailers fail.”

“When laid against this backdrop, the achievements of the Group and the growth achieved in the business, is all the more satisfying,” he said.

Betta also recently added 40 Retravision stores to its network and with the recent additions “we are well positioned for the future,” Cunningham added.