Optus has had to deal with a lot of beef from customers and the media over alleged outages not only for its 3G network, but also for its phone and internet services. August apparently saw numerous complaints about 3G network interruption in a few of the country’s locations.

continue reading "Experiencing 3G Outages on Optus? Telco Says It’s “Normal”"

RIM’s first flip phone is now available in Australia under Optus. While RIM failed to make a killing with the Pearl Flip due to mere entry level features, I’m sure at least a couple of you, readers, are interested. Optus and RIM teamed up with MTV to endorse the product hoping the young and the hip would like the phone enough to actually buy it.

continue reading "Optus Offers BlackBerry Pearl Flip for Oz"

When the iPhone 3G was first released in Australia, consumers at least had a choice between plan and prepaid phones. It hasn’t long been since, but Optus’s prepaid plan seems to have (almost) vanished.

continue reading "Prepaid Optus iPhone, an Endangered Species"

It seems there’s trouble in iPhoneland, Australia. No, I’m not talking about faulty or spotty 3G connections (although yes, that is a problem) and similar typical iPhone 3G stuff. I’m talking about iPhone customers getting billed ten times more than what they’re supposed to pay.

continue reading "When Bill Hits the Fan; Optus and Vodafone Shock iPhone Customers"

The rumor’s been going around these past few days that Virgin Mobile is also picking up the iPhone 3G for Australia. That rumor is now confirmed: Virgin Mobile WILL BE, indeed, releasing the iPhone 3G in the country perhaps as early as this Friday although no official date was mentioned.

continue reading "Virgin Mobile Australia Picking Up iPhone 3G Too; Data Galore!"

By now, everyone and their mother would have already known about RIM’s latest darling (at least until the BlackBerry 9500 comes out), the BlackBerry Bold. All that remained is the Australian release which already happened yesterday.

continue reading "BlackBerry Bold Launched in Australia"

Optus has launched its new unlimited call plans it’s calling “Timeless.” There are a few options available to choose from which already include unlimited MMS, SMS, and calls for its Australian customers.

continue reading "Optus Launches Unlimited Mobile Plans"

I won’t bat an eyelash if ever there are a lot of you new iPhone 3G owners who’re grumbling about the lackluster battery life especially when you tend to use the 3G functionality. Of course, you can always turn everything off to preserve battery life, but then you might just use an old-fashioned mobile phone and it’ll be the same.

continue reading "Battery Packs Extend iPhone 3G Usage; Optus Claims Highest iPhone Sales"

Yes, yes, the time has come; the iPhone 3G will be launced officially in Australia tomorrow. Will I be braving Melbourne’s wintery conditions to score one of the first in the land down under? You betcha!

Despite all the hype and glam surrounding the iPhone 3G, there’s a lot of confusion around its pricing. In response to this, I’ve created a spreadsheet / table that compares the basic price offerings of Australia’s three authorised iphone 3G telco companies; Optus, Vodafone and Telstra. Take note that these are all 24 month contract plans:

Vodafone Plan: Not very enticing especially since they were the last to release their pricing. Even though the total outlay after 24 months is cheaper than Optus’ it fails in call/SMS/data benefits.

Optus Plan: Overall best value for people looking make the most of downloading from the web and emails. Call charges are fairly decent too.

Telstra Plan: Up to now they haven’t released any iPhone 3G data specials. Not surprised that the basic plan comes with a paltry 5MB of data. If you’re in and about a Telstra HotSpot all day, the free access here may be very attractive. If you incorporate the higher data plans, Telstra definitely comes out to be the most expensive, however despite this, many, including myself will bite-the-bullet and go with the big T because of the more extensive coverage and faster speed. Hoping Telstra will give us incumbent iPhone 3G owners some data-loving today with some sort of announcement.

Hope this post was of use for you! Please share if you know others in Australia about to make the iPhone 3G leap too.

Need your input:
Should I sleep in front of Telstra Melbourne store for my iPhone 3G or get up at 4am?

So, we all know by now the gist of Telstra’s price plans for the Apple iPhone 3G. Now it’s Optus’s turn to reveal its own iPhone 3G price plans, and unlike Telstra’s announcement, this one lays it all out for everyone to see.

continue reading "Optus iPhone 3G Price Plans Revealed!"