Vodafone Australia today announced that 4G services have been activated in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle and Wollongong, with plans to triple its 4G footprint by the end of the year. The fast mobile broadband service is available now to existing Vodafone customers with compatible mobile devices, with plans for new customers to launch next month.
TPG has removed all but one of its sim-only mobile plans, leaving its $17.99 option as a one-size-fits-all for mobile customers. The Aussie ISP previously had four options available, including a cheap $9.99 option and a $45 plan which included 5GB data and $3000 worth of calls.
Two years ago, when you bought your last phone, there's a good chance you thought about buying the Samsung Galalxy S II before spending your money on an iPhone. This may not be the case again this year. The South Korean manufacturing giant has been through an immense brand evolution in this short time, so much so that the Galaxy S4 is probably at the top of your new phone shopping list.
The end is nigh for Australian mobile provider 3, as Vodafone has finally announced its shut down date for the network. The 3 brand in Australia will officially be farewelled on the 30th of August, meaning any existing 3 customers will need to abandon ship before the network is switched off.
Australian mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Vaya has acquired 100-percent of competitor Live Connected for an undisclosed sum, with plans to continue running both mobile businesses as separate entities. The move adds Live Connected's 25,000 subscribers to Vaya's books, with the combined subscriber base for both MVNO businesses in excess of 70,000.
The Commonwealth Bank has expanded the functionality of its Kaching! payment app for iPhone with the addition of a QR code reader to be used in conjunction with with new codes on BPAY compatible bills. The new feature is available now from the Apple App Store, and the QR code payment option will be on Australian Power & Gas and Sydney Water bills shortly. IT's easy to imagine more codes popping up quickly given how cheap and easy they are to create.
The Nokia Lumia 520 is a super-affordable smartphone from Nokia. Running on Windows Phone 8, it offers the smartphone experience to folks who are either unable or unwilling to spend large amounts of money on a new device, but who are still after a reliable smartphone experience.
In 2013, smartphones are all about the features. HTC has Boomsound, Blinkfeed and the Zoe camera, while Samsung has a plethora of S-branded apps, including a health monitor and universal TV remote. Meanwhile, we've seen mostly incremental changes in hardware, with slightly faster processors, bumps in RAM and larger screens.
Optus held a network event today in which it announced its recent 3GPlus accomplishments and outlined plans for 4G expansion in the near future. The overall focus of the last few months’ worth of data was to do with 3GPlus coverage and consolidation across most of Australia, with particular attention paid towards increasing indoor coverage.
With bill shock from international roaming still affecting thousands of Australians each year, consumers have been frustrated with the lack of solutions offered by mobile providers. Now, Telstra has announced it will be taking action to minimise bill shock experienced by customers using their phone overseas.