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July 01, 2008
Telstra joins the iPhone craze
We'd love to have been in on the negotiations - both Apple and Telstra tend to see negotiations as a zero sum game, and what with both offering music downloads, both offering video downloads etc., it was scarcely a match made in heaven - but the Aussie Gorilla has at last done a deal with the Cupertino Killer , and you'll be able to get an iPhone on the NextG network come the official launch in 10 days time.
We see it as one of those watershed moments for Telstra, because once its iPhone customers realise that if they use their glamourous new device the way the advertising suggests it should be used, they'll be up for thousands of dollars a month, the screams will be deafening. Telstra is making a token gesture towards practical utility: plans include free Wi-Fi access at Telstra hotspots, so during the mandatory 24-month contract, there will be times iPhone users will be able to use the features they've paid for.
The NextG iPhone plans start at $30 a month, with the 8GB model costing $279 and the 16GB version $399. If you want the hardware "free", you'll have to sign on for the $80 per month plan (that gets you the 8GB iPhone) or $100 (at which point you get to choose). And how much data will you get for that? We're still waiting to see the fine print on that, but we somehow doubt that it will fall within the definition of "unlimited".
So are you going to buy one ... or perhaps move to Hong Kong? There are a couple of things - aside from the data charges - that hold us back: the interface is great, but into the second generation, you still can't cut and paste. And using the onboard keyboard will almost certainly drive you crazy. We still have problems with the iTouch after months of trying to adjust for parallax error or whatever it is that makes it devilishly tricky to get the character you actually want.
The real loser in this deal seems to be HTC, which has just launced its Touch Diamond model on Telstra ... for $999. So the screaming will probably be starting early in Taiwan, where HTC has its HQ.We won't bother asking if you're likely to buy a Touch Diamond, given the price differential.
Posted by cw at July 1, 2008 06:07 PM
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