There’s nothing I like more than a good fight. We have ourselves a bit of a duopoly doozy at the moment, with Telecom laying the iPhone smackdown. This morning, Telecom said “give us your poor, your tired, your huddled iPhone-carrying masses, and we’ll give you six hundred bucks”.

I can help but wonder if Vodafone saw this coming a few weeks ago when they announced a big freebie for iPhone owners out of the pure kindness of their hearts. The way Vodafone has been trumping Telecom lately, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a mole at the heart of the big T.

Of course this leaves you, the lowly consumer, scratching your head about which plan to choose. Thankfully a couple of enterprising local twatterers have got their geek on and compiled a spreadsheet.

I don’t pretend to understand a word of it, but I think it’s saying that Vodafone’s plans are still better value (especially if you add in the 3GB free data). Oops, no, after some confusion around TXT bundles, looks like XT is cheaper. The unfortunate truth remains that the iPhone will do better at a pure network transport level on Telecom’s XT network than Vodafone’s.

Ultimately, neither option saves a ton of cash, but I’m hoping that the outcome will be a permanent upgrade in data capacity or freebies. It’s just nuts that 3G data is a “premium” service in New Zealand at the moment.

Popularity: 14% [?]

A few days ago I reviewed the Generator laptop bag from Voltaic. I was not too happy about their claims regarding the bag’s ability to charge a laptop. They have responded with information that they are sourcing a more powerful battery pack, along with some further info. Basically it boils down to this:

Voltaic strongly recommends that all interested parties check with Voltaic or Solar Habit first make sure their laptop will charge with the bag.

More interestingly, the local supplier, SolarHabit have dropped the price to NZ$799 to allow for the new battery pack, and are also now planning to include a Magsafe adapter with each bag sold.

Read more…

Popularity: 2% [?]

And just like a bad dream, it’s over before you know it. The HTC Magic is back on sale at Vodafone. Although at the time of writing, the website is still reporting content unavailable.

Just what would cause a company like Vodadone to completely withdraw a product from the market for 24hrs? Your guess is as good as mine. It’s obviously nothing technical. Vodafone is being tight lipped about the reasons behind the withdrawal.

One thing I do know: whoever ordered the takedown has never heard of the Streisand effect.

Then again, maybe they have? There wasn’t a lot of press coverage around the launch. Was this one giant publicity stunt to give the Magic a free boost?

Popularity: 12% [?]

Update: NBR have backtracked on their original report that “supply issues” were the reason for the withdrawal. They are now reporting “commercial issues”.

Update: Computerworld picks up the story, with a quote from Vodafone that “Google is having a little problem”.

As of writing, the HTC Magic is nowhere to be found on Vodafone NZ’s website. After a big launch party, it seems peculiar that Vodadone would withdraw it, but this seems to be the case.

I’m guessing, but I did wonder about the Google logo on the bodypainted woman… will update when I know more.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Vodafone have officially announced the release date of the iPhone 3GS in New Zealand.

The iPhone 3GS will be on sale from Vodafone NZ from July 10. Pre-reg page up at www.Vodafone.co.NZ/iphone.

You can get your greasy little mitts on one on the 10th of July. While you wait, you can also pre-register on Vodafone’s website. There’s an annoying little price rise in there too unfortunately, but that’s the crap we have to deal with in a captive market like New Zealand.

On the upside, the remarkably talented hackers on the devteam are working on an unlock. This means any 3GS purchased internationally will work on both Vodafone and Telecom if you’re keen enough.

Popularity: 7% [?]