Oonagh Reidy, Author at Smart Office

OZ Retail Sales To Rise: Deloitte

December 31, 1999 by Oonagh Reidy

Retail spending on a go slow but will rise 2.2% in 2013
Deloitte Australia predict retail sales to grow 2.2% in 2012-13 and will soar further in years ahead, inflation-adjusted.

The retail forecast today also warned retailers to keep costs under control saying it is “imperative” given current tough trading conditions.

“While discounting can assist sales in the short term, it is often at the expense of profit margins. In order to keep prices low on a sustainable basis, and remain competitive in the market, cost control is the key,” Deloitte said in a statement.

While the start of 2013 may see soft demand, there are some positive signs on the economic horizon including low interest rates (although “have yet to fully work through”), rising consumer confidence, housing activity lifting and the household savings rate has finally levelled out.

Retail growth may lift marginally in 2013-14 (2.5%), before improving to 3.6% in 2014-15 as broader economic conditions and housing activity improve.

Future consumer spending growth should at least match income growth, Deloitte believes.

It’s On: Google Internet Music To “Access All Areas”

December 31, 1999 by Oonagh Reidy

Listen Up iTunes, Spotify: Google music streaming will access all areas

And with millions of Android users – now miles ahead of rival iPhone (runs 60% of all smartphones globally) – it could be on the right track with Internet streaming service Google Play Music All Access

“This is radio without rules. It’s as ‘leanback’ as you want to, or as interactive as you want to,” used across any Android device, declared Chris Yerga, Google’s engineering director at Google 6th annual Google I/O developer conference kicks off in San Francisco, yesterday.

Over 6,000 of Google faithfuls (developers) were in attendance as the tech giant unveiled a monthly music subscription service called Google Play Music All Access, new Maps and Chrome that speak to you.

Internet streaming service Google Play Music All Access has millions of songs that joins its Play store and music locker, according to Google blog.

But its not just iTunes, Spotify (priced at $6.99/$11.99), which has a massive market here in Australia that may also feel the pinch of Google streaming service that will be likely very soon on all Android hardware, smartphones, tablets and is hitting a “special” Samsung Galaxy S4 next month, which also comes with other Google updates.

You can create a radio station from any song or artist, browse recommendations from Google music team or explore by genre. Google Play Music lets you combine your G Music with your own tunes in one single library.

It’s $9.99 a month, and Google are letting doubters try it free for the first month. You can store 20,000 songs for free in the cloud.

A “special” Samsung Galaxy S4″ hitting US on June 26, will have Google Play Music All Access preloaded, available with no contract for $649.

Maps Redrawn

Google has also redrawn its Maps service making it “smarter”, customising maps for every user and draws tailored maps that highlights only the road and landmarks you need.

Search results are labelled directly on the map with brief place descriptions and icons that highlight local amenities (recommended by your Google+ friends, if you have any).

“Like a friend drawing you a map to her favourite restaurant, with only the roads and landmarks you need to get there, the new Google Maps instantly changes to highlight information that matters most” writes Bernhard Seefeld, Google Maps Product Management Director & Yatin Chawathe, Google Maps Engineering Director, via blog.

But Google Maps wants something back – your data.

“The more you interact with the map, the better it gets. When you set your Home and Work locations, star favourite places, write reviews and share with friends, Google Maps will build more useful maps with recommendations for places you might enjoy” (Ooh, we scent privacy issues).

It also now includes local business listings like restaurants, bars, information and ratings – with help from Google Zagat ratings service.

Foxtel $46K Fine Dodgy “Sale” Ads

December 31, 1999 by Oonagh Reidy

Beware of the fine print: Pay TV giant forced to fork out $46,200 for “misleading” Christmas Sale ads.

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The offending ads promoted Foxtel’s “Christmas Sale” which claimed users could get a TV subscription for $55 a month on a six-month contract.

However, the Christmas Sale ads also contained a small asterisk with fine print terms and conditions beneath, which effectively locked customers into a year contract with the cost of the “deal” increasing to $77 per month after the 6 months – a $22 hike.

The ads which ran nationally in November to December last were believed to be “misleading” and “false” and contravened Australian Consumer Law, according to the consumer watchdog, the ACCC.

Foxtel’s ad campaign, which ran on television, radio, newspaper and magazine, also online and in brochures, has now cost the TV giant $46,200 in infringement notice penalties paid to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims warned companies “the inclusion of an asterisk or a fine print disclaimer does not remove the potential for a headline to be misleading.”

“Companies must ensure that they do not use misleading headlines about the price and other key terms and conditions of the services being offered.

“It is not enough for a company to try to correct a misleading headline using fine print text,” Sims added.

The payment of an infringement notice penalty is not an admission of a contravention of the Australian Consumer Law, according the ACCC.

Nexus Now: Optus Gung-Ho Galaxy Prime ‘Exclusive’

December 31, 1999 by Oonagh Reidy

Yes, Optus are going hell for leather on new 4.65″ cult that is Galaxy Nexus and are looking to grab exclusivity as soon as possible. That’s according to Austroid, who cite ‘sources’ who say Optus are looking to nab exclusive carrier deal, ahead of Vodafone and Telstra.

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Optus was non contactable at the time of writing and no formal word from officialdom as to when Nexus is hitting Down Under, although, Vodafone have confirmed they will stock the highly anticipated Nexus.

One HTC Desire S user I spoke to yesterday could not contain their excitement for the new Galaxy, announced last week by team Google and Samsung.

“It sounds like my ideal phone, when I read the specs I was like when can I get this phone.” (So, its bye bye HTC, then).

So how Prime is Nexus? Samsung’s new Galaxy Nexus sports 4.65 inches of screen with 720 x 1280 pixels on brighter than bright AMOLED display, potent 1.2GHz dual core processor (same as Galaxy S II) and 1GHz of RAM

Oh, and running Google’s newsest platform – Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, the tablet and smartphone combo OS.

Other nifty Nexus extras include HD video chat via Google Voice and Android Beam, which lets Droid’s and Near Field Communicaiton capable devices share contact information by simply tapping two smartphones together.

Galaxy’s have done well here in Australia with Samsung’s Galaxy S and S II expected to announce 20 million handset sales in total, later this week for Q3 – beating Apple rival by 3 million.

But its not just Samsung that Optus has eyed up – it managed to score exclusive on the wafer thin Motorola Droid Razr 2.3.5 “Gingerbread”, out here next month.

Allphones $45K Sting For Contempt Of Court

December 31, 1999 by Oonagh Reidy

Phone franchise has been fined over attempts to block franchisees wishing to exit its network.

Allphones, which has bases throughout Australia, has been stung with a $45,000 fine for contempt of court by Justice John Nicholas in the NSW Federal Court yesterday.

The Federal Court penalised Allphones Retail Pty Ltd $45,000 for contempt of orders following action by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the body confirmed today.

Justice Nicholas found that the conduct by a number of Allphones’ senior personnel was both ‘serious’ and ‘deliberate’, having breached two undertakings given to the court in October 2008.

These prohibited the company from withholding consent to the assignment of an Allphones franchise, if the franchisee would not sign a deed releasing Allphones from liability.

An order also required Allphones to give the ACCC 7 days’ written notice of its intention to withhold consent to the assignment of an Allphones franchise, on the basis that the new franchisee must enter into a new franchise agreement.

At the time the previous case was heard in 2008, Allphones was involved in another legal action with the ACCC for unconscionable conduct, which it was found guilty of and fined $3 million, which was to be shared between 55 franchisees, SMH reports.

“This decision sends a clear message that the ACCC and the Court regard breaches of court orders very seriously,” ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel said today.

“Those who act in contempt of court can expect to be vigorously pursued by the ACCC,” he warned.

Allphones website contains the following advertisement looking to attract potential franchisees: “This is a chance for highly motivated, dynamic people to invest in a business with an established customer base, proven product and service offering, strong market position and a well recognised, highly valued brand.”

The mobile giant acknowledged that its conduct was both wrongful and culpable, and apologised to the Court and franchisees.

Justice John Nicholas found the company breached the 2008 court orders on four occasions and fined $15,000 for each breach.

”The conduct engaged in contrary to the undertakings was deliberate. It was engaged in by a number of the respondent’s senior personnel who – it may be inferred – were aware at all relevant times of the terms of the undertakings provided by the respondent to the Court,” the judge said.

Listen Up: DAB+ Sales Higher Than 2M?

December 31, 1999 by Oonagh Reidy

AS DAB+ radios sell like hot cakes, it seems sales may be even higher than reported.

The 2 million sales of DAB+ radios since 2010, announced yesterday, may be even higher as it excludes digital radios sold online only.

“The DR Industry Report does not include generic brand DAB+ products sold exclusively online,” a Commercial Radio Industry spokesperson told SmartHouse.

Although the latest radio sales figures includes branded radios like Pure sold online through retailers like Harvey Norman, it excludes generic brand sold only online.

The figures, released by CRA, for the first time now include number of new vehicles sold in Australia with DAB+ radios, or taken up, by car buyers.

Sales of digital DAB+ devices from the likes of Pure, Bush hit almost 200K (193,00) in last four months alone, according to 2013 Digital Radio Industry Report.

Aggressive Vodafone Hits Rural OZ

December 31, 1999 by Oonagh Reidy

Telco promises better regional coverage, trebling its network sites.

Vodafone says it is moving “aggressively” into its next phase of network building, announcing “significant regional coverage expansion,” switching on 1200 new 3G mobile network sites from July.

Voda move to treble the number of network sites, comes after its network earned the name ‘Vodafail’, where service drops out became the norm for customers, many of whom fled the network in disgust.

The network expansion spanning thousands of square kilometres across the country, is part of its joint venture with Optus.

The telco promise “much better network experience” on major roads, highways, and regional areas.

Vodafone will contact its customers directly in July to detail the areas in which the network coverage will increase.

However, Voda is the only of the ‘big 3’ telcos not to have souped up a 4G network in operation but are promising it will go live next month.

A Voda spokesperson would not be drawn on a date, when contacted by SmartHouse, but it’s looking like it won’t be for another few weeks yet, considering tomorrow is 01 June.

“Our customers have been very clear what they want from us,” Vodafone’s CEO Bill Morrow said yesterday. “They want a reliable network experience where they live, work and holiday.”

“Vodafone customers living in or visiting regional areas will notice much improved mobile coverage from July, as will those who are travelling for work or heading off on holidays.”

Vodafone has invested big in 3G and 3G+ network coverage, in the aftermath of Vodafail.

The telco says it currently has its six million customers.

NBN Satellite “On Track”: UN

December 31, 1999 by Oonagh Reidy

Take THAT Turnbull: Global powerhouse United Nations has rowed into the latest NBN fight, defending plans to launch two satellites to deliver broadband to remote regions

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Thy Turnbull doth protest too much? Image: Daily Telegraph.

The row emerged before a government joint committee on NBN in Sydney on Monday, where a bitter war of words broke out between NBN Co chief Mike Quigley and Shadow Communications minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Turnbull accused NBN Co of irregular and risky practices by purchasing two satellites prior to being allocated spaces in orbit by international agencies.

The two satellites are to deliver high speed broadband to remote areas covering 200,000 households, which Turnbull says is wasteful.

Ex- Alcatel Lucent boss Quigley denied the charges, insisting the practices were on par with regulations and had predecent.

But to back up Quigley, the UN communications agency informed the NBN Co that Australia are following the correct approvals process for its satellites, who quickly sought reassurance from big guns that it wasn’t acting like space cadets (without a shuttle).

“Advice received overnight from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) says it is not uncommon for a company such as NBN Co to purchase satellites before having finalised their positions in orbit over Australia,” NBN Co said in a statement today.

Geneva-based UN said: “It is possible for a company to purchase a satellite in advance of it being put into use and the orbital slots being finalised.

“In order to secure those slots the notifying authority, which in Australia is the Australian Communications and Media Authority, needs to (a) initialise the registration procedure with the ITU, and (b) resolve any major compatibility issues with operators of neighbouring satellites.

“So long as there are no regional objections and the ITU registration process is underway an operator can proceed with its launch plans.”

NBN Co has been proactively pursuing the ITU international frequency coordination process since August 2010.

“We expect formalities will be complete before the satellites are in orbit in 2015,” Mike Quigley told NBN committee this week.

Its Back: Internode Reboot ADSL2+ 200GB $49

December 31, 1999 by Oonagh Reidy

Internode reboots 200GB data quota on ADSL2+ broadband services.

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This means that Internode now has four high speed ADSL2+ plans, offering data quotas of 30GB ($49), 60GB ($59), 200GB ($69) and 300GB ($79).

However, bundle ADSL2+ broadband with a phone and you can get the massive 200GB allowance for $49, but the Nodeline phone will set you back another $30, totalling $79.90.

Internode, now owned by Perth based iiNet, reinstated the 200GB plan due to popular demand.

This follows removal of the 200GB plan earlier this month when it announced a $10 price cut on the 300GB data plan, which it appears was not as popular as the telco had anticipated.

The 200GB tier for Easy Broadband, Easy Bundle and EasyNaked plans is available now. Go to Internode for more info.

Choo-Choo: Samsung 4G Express Hits Town

December 31, 1999 by Oonagh Reidy

Budget 4G Express hits Optus Monday.

Samsung’s well spec-ed budget 4G smartphone, Samsung Galaxy Express aimed at the youth market, is on sale from Monday.

The 4.5-inch Galaxy has Super AMOLED Plus screen, 1.3MP (front) camera, 5MP (rear) and runs the latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS, has 8GB storage on-board, Bluetooth and a Micro SD Card Slot.