Mobile Phone News
Goodbye Crazy John's
One of Australia’s most recognised independent mobile phone retailers is effectively no more, with Vodafone confirming plans to shut down the Crazy John’s brand next month. All Crazy John’s stores will be closed entirely, or rebranded as Vodafone stores, by February 20th – meaning that from this date, no new customers will be able to sign up under the Crazy John’s brand. Around 40 of the 60 Crazy Johns stores in operation will be closed, with the rest being transformed into Vodafone outlets.
Vodafone Cuts Free Social Networking
UPDATE: Since this post, Vodafone has revised the decision to begin charging for data in 1MB blocks. The telco have issued a press release stating that, after many customers "expressed concern" about the proposed changes to how data would be billed, it would be dropping the minimum data session for prepaid customers from one megabyte to one kilobyte. The original change would have seen many prepaid customers' data usage and monthly plan costs go up significantly.
Adelaide Gets 4G LTE for Christmas
Optus announced today that it will be flicking the switch on a new 4G LTE network for its Adelaide users just in time for Christmas. 4G is quickly spreading across Australia, opening up a new world of super-fast wireless broadband for Aussies with speeds that are often in excess of landline broadband connections.
Lumia 920 Hands-On 1st Impressions
We finally have our very own Nokia Lumia 920 to play with, right on the heels of our Lumia 820 review. The Lumia 920, for those who haven’t been keeping up, is Nokia’s new flagship Lumia device for the Windows Phone 8 platform. As such, it should pack more of a punch than the Lumia 820 and impress us enough to offset its higher price and top-dog status.
When Will Optus' MVNOs Offer 4G?
With Telstra and Optus in the process of expanding their up-and-running 4G LTE networks, customers in metropolitan and some regional locations are already experiencing the benefits of crazy fast speeds and seamless browsing and downloading. Being the only two carriers with their own 4G network gives both companies a distinct advantage over rival telco Vodafone - still yet to roll out its billion dollar upgrade – and over the smaller providers (mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs) piggybacking Optus, Telstra or Vodafone coverage (not including the Optus-owned Virgin Mobile, who are offering customers 4G).
Optus' 4G Milestone Event, 2012
Optus held a small but lively event today outlining its network expansion so far in 2012 and some of its plans for 2013. Among the talk of the wireless broadband race and increased 3G reception were also some of the 4G LTE devices that Optus will be offering, or is already offering, on its new 4G infrastructure.
Lumia 820 1st Impressions Hands-On
We’ve finally got our very own Nokia Lumia 820 review unit and before we did the full-review we figured we might jot down some of our initial impressions. We already got a chance to play with one at the Lumia 920 and 820 Launch in Sydney last week, but that was a fairly quick affair with limited real interaction. This time we’ve had a few hours to play around with some new features, use the browser a bit more and get a general feel for the Windows 8 UI.
Crazy John's Change Mobile Plans
Changes are afoot at Crazy John’s – namely, the telco will be making some adjustments to their post-paid mobile plans. The company has tweaked their Value Plans and SIM-Only Value Plans, and also added new bonus offers for customers to take advantage of if they buy online. All of the revisions and new offers are effective from today (November 14) onwards.
Optus Launch Prepaid 4G Plans
If you're a smartphone user wary of post-paid or not wanting to be locked into a contract, time to get excited: Optus has announced that it will finally be making its shiny new 4G network available to prepaid customers. Optus' Managing Director of Marketing, Michael Smith, acknowledged the huge demand for 4G shown by customers since the network’s launch, stating that the company is ‘excited’ about giving prepaid customers to opportunity to enjoy 4G speeds.
Humble Bundle #4 on Android Review
The Humble Bundle is a game package-deal that crops up now and again. The idea is that customers pay as much or as little as they want for a pre-set pack of games that have proven themselves as popular in the recent market. Not only is the price chosen by the purchaser, but the distribution of the funds as well. How the money is split between the developer, charity and the Humble Bundle organisers is decided by the payer. As an added bonus, customers who pay above the current average payment are gifted with an extra game (sometimes multiple), adding more incentive for customers to pay slightly more and more as time goes on without actually enforcing anything.
