August 12 - 9:00pm EDT   New figures show a sharp increase in Apple's market share in Australia over the past year, according to ZDNet Australia. Two analyst firms, Gartner and IDC, came up with different figures, but both showed a dramatic increase in Mac Sales. Garner says Apple's market share in the second quarter of 2008 was 5.3-percent -- up from 3.8-percemt in the same period of 2007. IDC says Apple's Market share hit at 6.2 percent during the first quarter. [full story]

August 4 - 5:50pm EDT   In the US and Canada, iPhone owners have only one choice for wireless service; as of Monday, Australia now has four. Virgin Mobile Australia has confirmed that it has become the fourth wireless company to offer the iPhone 3G, joining a market already crowded by Vodafone, Optus and Telstra. Virgin is apparently off to a fast start: a check of its website shows both the 8GB and 16GB models are already "out of stock." [full story]

August 4 - 3:40pm EDT   The grand opening for Apple's second retail store in Australia is set for Saturday morning in Sydney, according to an announcement. A celebration is planned, with free t-shirts for the first 1,000 people through the door. The Chatswood Chase opening comes less than a month after that of Australia's flagship store, which is found elsewhere in Sydney on George Street. A third store is currently under construction in Melbourne. [full story]

July 10 - 1:05am EDT   Friday creeps ever closer, bringing the iPhone to dozens of countries worldwide, and the press reviews are thus far turning out well, with one journalist claiming he is giving up his BlackBerry 8300 in favor of Apple's smartphone. Macworld Australia writer Matthew Powell gives the iPhone 3G an overall rating of four out of five, citing its ease of use, "speedy" web browsing, and great media playing functionality, but noted the Mail client needs just a bit more work. [full story]

July 8 - 10:45pm EDT   Carriers around the world are expecting shortages of Apple's iPhone, with saying they will be sold out in "minutes" and others indicating that the crunch could last for weeks. In a cautionary message to potential iPhone buyers, Britain's O2 says a rush of customers, ordering as many 13,000 per second, brought down its online orders for iPhone 3G: "We just weren’t prepared for this unprecedented level of demand," the company said in a memo. "No website is." The British carrier, however, said that stock is limited due to the simultaneous launch of the iPhone in 22-nations -- and while Apple's head of retail Ron Johnson has tried to allay concerns -- especially in the US, ... [full story]

July 3 - 8:50am EDT   Australian mobile carrier Optus on Thursday announced an extensive range of price plans for the iPhone 3G, in preparation for its July 11th launch. Pre-pay deals see the 8GB iPhone 3G marked at $729, and the 16GB model at $849; unlike most countries, there is also an option to fully unlock the device for use on other networks, for an additional $80. [full story]

June 30 - 9:30am EDT   Telstra has confirmed earlier reports and announced sales of the iPhone 3G, according to the Australian carrier's website. The phone will take advantage of Telstra's Next G broadband network, which has the broadest coverage in the country in part due to support for the 850MHz band; the company has otherwise announced very few details, with customers being expected to register interest in a particular iPhone, along with any accessories they might be curious as about such as a Bluetooth headset, a "dual dock," and a TTY adapter. [full story]

June 27 - 10:10am EDT   Wireless carrier 3 Australia has received a strong surge of interest in carrying the iPhone 3G, a corporate blog claims. On Thursday the carrier posted a message explaining that it has contacted Apple about carrying the 3G, but that it is seeking public response on the issue as a means of getting Apple's attention. Hundreds of mostly positive comments have since been posted on the site, and visitors can currently sign up for e-mail notifications about the iPhone. [full story]

June 19 - 11:35am EDT   Australian phone carrier Telstra will sell the iPhone 3G, but may be late in joining its peers, writes The Australian. The newspaper cites "people close to the company," who say that while Telstra has perpetually refused to confirm any plans for the iPhone, it has in fact signed a deal; this may be announced by chief Sol Trujillo as soon as next week. Telstra's retail head, David Moffatt, is said to have toured the new Sydney Apple Store last week with a team of executives. [full story]

June 17 - 11:30am EDT   Apple has taken the wraps off of its soon-to-be-opened Sydney store, exposing details of its construction. The building has three floors, and uses a glass facade similar to that of the Boston Apple Store, which in turn makes reference to the company's flagship Fifth Avenue location in New York City. Internal photos show extensive display areas for products like the iMac and the MacBook, and backlit promotional images that dominate their corresponding rooms. [full story]

June 9 - 10:20am EDT   Dates for the Australian and South African iPhones have allegedly been confirmed, according to a site in the latter country. The South African phone is said to have been announced for July 20th, sold by Vodacom, in which international carrier Vodafone is a majority shareholder. In May Vodafone announced plans to launch the iPhone in 10 new countries, including South Africa amongst the likes of Italy, Portugal, Greece and India. [full story]

June 4 - 10:10am EDT   Work on Apple's flagship retail store for Australia has been completed, says a local publication. The shop, located at the corner of George and King in Sydney, is said to merely be awaiting a handover to Apple at the end of the week, which could signal that it will be open in the very near future. Apple has a number of tasks remaining, primarily cleaning and outfitting the store, as well as filling stock; it is rumored though that this may be complete in time for an opening on June 19th, which could also allow it to launch with the 3G iPhone. [full story]

June 3 - 8:25pm EDT   Apple on Tuesday further expanded its international iTunes U offerings into four new countries: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. According to Macworld, the free resource provides students with access to a wide variety of educational rich media from colleges and universities around the world, including UC Berkeley, University of Melbourne, Texas A&M, MIT, Yale, and Trinity College Dublin, among many others. [full story]

May 26 - 9:20am EDT   Further progress is being made on Apple's flagship Australian store, a MacNN source says. Located on the corner of George and King in Sydney, the store now has a large blue billboard, asking city residents to "drop in soon." Previously, the site had only a uniform black shelter. Also a part of the new exterior is an illustrated wave of iPod nanos, spiraling out towards the viewer. [full story]

May 14 - 9:10am EDT   Various images have emerged for two of Apple's major new retail locations: the Boylston Street store in Boston, Massachusetts, and the first store in Sydney, Australia, located on the corner of George and King Streets. The Boylston store should open this Thursday at 6PM, and is comprised of three floors and 20,000 square feet. As the photo below reveals, Apple has also chosen to go with a glass exterior reminiscent of the flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York City. [full story]