Australian Phone Report » Vodafone

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 now on sale through Optus, Vodafone

Kimble Young — Tue, 04 May 2010 08:39:00 +0000

Xperia X10 credit on Optus' website

Today both Optus and Vodafone have just listed the Sony Ericsson Xperia 10 on their website. Their launches coincide with the heavily publicised launch on the Telstra network today. This comes as a pleasant surprise to those wishing to buy a current generation Android as Telstra were expected to be the exclusive carrier.

The Xperia is available on Optus for $0 upfront on a $99 plan. On Vodafone it’s available on a $79 cap but the upfront price is unclear and their website is still showing the phone as out of stock. As covered earlier on the Australian Phone Report the Xperia X10 will be available on Telstra for $0 upfront on a $110 a month plan.

Full specs are on the Sony Ericsson website and TechRadar have written up a fantastic in depth review of the device.

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Vodafone to sell iPad in Australia

Kimble Young — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:12:45 +0000

Vodafone have confirmed that they will be offering iPad pricing plans and carrying the new device from Apple in Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK at the end of May. Rumours also abound that they will pick it up in Australia too.

Earlier we speculated that we’ll see free ipads on 24 month contracts and while this may not happen for the launch at the end of May, while Vodafone try to make as much as they can out of early adopters. We think there will certainly be a quick move to sell them at appealing upfront prices on long contracts as soon as possible.

Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

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Blackberry Storm 2 and Bold 9700 Australian Release

Kimble Young — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:25:39 +0000

APC are reporting that the new Blackberry Storm 2(9520) and Bold will be availabe exclusively to Vodafone Australia. The new devices just announced by Research In Motion (RIM) and Vodafone UK should keep RIM in the smartphone race.

The orginal Storm was heavily criticised for its Suretouch technology which meant the whole screen moved when the user pressed the screen. This system has been replaced by an electronic feedback system.

The updated Bold should sport enhanced screen and camera resolutions.

Whether businesses and professionals will take these phone up in droves is still to be decided. The iPhone and even to some extent Nokia’s E-series phones which have many of the email features of the Blackberry have stolen a huge chunk of the Blackberry market in Australia. Although both phones, especially the iPhone lack many enterprise features outside of the ability to synchronise with Exchange.

[Via APC Magazine]

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Vodafone 3G coverage extended to 94% of Australians

Kimble Young — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:21:59 +0000

Vodafone has turned on 3g coverage in hundreds of areas and now claim coverage of 94% of the population. These areas include the Hunter Valley and north coast region, west of the Blue Mountains, the south west, Snowy Mountains, south coast and Canberra.

In order to take advantage of the upgrade you will need a phone that operates on the 900mhz 3G band of which Vodafone already offer 18 handsets for a wide variety of prices on both contract and prepaid.

Previously coverage was limited to metropolitan areas and was available to approximately 80% of the population. The extended coverage areas are listed below and have been taken from the official press release:

NSW: Sydney and surrounds, North Coast (from Newcastle to Evans Head), the Hunter Valley Region, Byron Bay, Lismore, Ballina, Kiama, Central North (including Tenterfield, Moree), Northern Rivers (including Lismore and Grafton), Northern Tablelands (including Armidale, Glen Innes and Inverell), the Blue Mountains, west to Orange, Bathurst and Parkes, Albury, the South West (around Goulburn and Yass), Snowy Mountains (including Comma and Perisher Valley), Central South (including Wagga Wagga, Yass and Young), Far South Coast (stretching from Sussex Inlet to Eden), Wollongong, Bowral, Nowra and Broken Hill

Victoria: Melbourne and surrounds, Geelong, Phillip Island, Mornington Peninsula, South Coast (around Colac, Lorne and Apollo Bay), Gippsland (around Sale, Traralgon and Stratford), Central West (around the Grampians, Horsham, Stawell and Nhill), West (around Warrnambool and Portland) and Central (around Shepparton, Seymour, Bendigo, Wodonga)

Queensland: Brisbane and surrounds, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, from Noosa to Gladstone, Caboolture, Ipswich, Cairns, Port Douglas, Townsville, Toowoomba, along the coast from Mackay to Cairns (including Rockhampton, Emerald) and Central Queensland (around Roma and Mt Isa)

Western Australia: Perth and surrounds, including Mandurah, south including Bunbury, Busselton, Dunsborough, Margaret River, Augusta, Albany and Esperance, east including Narrogin, Northam, Merredin and Kalgoorlie, north including Geraldton and West End, Kalbarri, Carnarvon, Karratha, Dampier, Port Hedland, Broome (including Cable Beach) and Kununurra.
South Australia: Adelaide and surrounds, the Barossa Valley, along the coast (from Mt Gambier to Victor Harbor), around the Spencer Gulf (including Whyalla), the Riverland (from Berri to Mildura) and the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula (including Port Lincoln)

Tasmania: Hobart and surrounds, Launceston, Wynyard, Devonport, Ulverstone, Exeter, Ross, Burnie and Deloraine

Northern Territory: Darwin and surrounds, Alice Springs, Uluru, Katherine and Jabiru

Australian Capital Territory: Canberra and surrounds

Vodafone has an excellent set of coverage maps and they show a huge increase in the number light up regions.

Remember, if you want to take advantage of the extended coverage you will need to make sure your phone supports 3G on the 900MHZ band.

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