May 20 - 11:05am EDT   Apple is continuing to negotiate contracts for the next-generation iPhone, even as an anticipated announcement at WWDC approaches, information from New Zealand reveals. Using its Twitter feed, Telecom New Zealand has stated that it is not only in negotiations with Apple, but "very focused on the 3rd gen iPhone." The accuracy of the tweet has been reinforced by the carrier's retail chief, Alan Gourdie, who tells New Zealand's National Business Review that TNZ is in "deep discussions" with Apple. [full story]

February 19 - 12:50pm EST   Microsoft is preparing to sell a red-colored version of its Xbox 360 console, a company memo has inadvertently revealed. Sent to retailers and the press in New Zealand, the memo nominally revolves a special promotion in which gamers will gain a free copy of Halo Wars if they buy a 360 between February 26th and March 26th; the game will otherwise cost $100 NZD. Also mentioned, however, is that the bundle "does not apply to the Red Xbox 360 Elite console which is exclusive to EB games." [full story]

January 27 - 3:55pm EST   (Updated with correction) A used iPod bought by a New Zealand man, Chris Ogle, has been found to contain critical US military data, according to reports from the region. While unable to play music, the $15 iPod was found by Ogle to contain 60 pages of material related to US personnel, mission briefings and equipment deployments. The information mostly dates back to 2005, but contains names and personal data that remain relevant. [full story]

October 13 - 1:25pm EDT   A New Zealand-based Apple reseller, MagnumMac, has recently purchased a new building for occupation. Construction has already begun on the new storefront, which will be located in the center of Auckland's Newmarket shopping district, on the corner of Broadway and Khyber Pass. The location will serve as a replacement to a previous site in Newton, for which the lease expires in December. Existing customers have raised some concerns about the area's bad parking, but are claimed to understand the appeal of such a high-profile location. MagnumMac says it hopes to model the Newmarket shop after Apple's successful US-based stores, where the customer experience is highest priority. [full story]

July 10 - 12:15pm EDT   The first iPhone 3Gs have gone on sale in New Zealand, early reports say. The information comes courtesy of "iPhone Jonny," who claims to be one of the first in the world to buy the device, having waited several days in line in front of a Vodafone New Zealand outlet. The wait is said to have been particularly unpleasant, as New Zealand is currently in winter and it recently experienced one of its coldest days this year. Vodafone is charging a standard $199 NZD for an iPhone. [full story]

July 8 - 1:50am EDT   With a little over three days to go before the iPhone 3G sees its launch, Apple has clarified a time where customers can find the device in its retail stores, while potential New Zealand and Mexican iPhone customers can now browse official rates. Apple silently placed a notice on its retail homepage, saying that customers can get the long-awaited device at its US retail stores at 8AM on July 11th, coinciding with AT&T's previously announced morning launch. [full story]

July 7 - 6:20am EDT   Vodafone New Zealand revealed on Monday that the iPhone 3G in New Zealand will be priced at $199NZD (around USD$150) when purchased with a 24-month contract. With stocks expected to be "strictly limited," the company has to disclose the its rate plans for the new device, but is expected to announce a significant tariff restructuring in the next few days, moving away from the traditionally high data costs seen in the country. Previous price plans have seen charges of up to NZD$10 per 1MB of data, with dedicated 200MB bundles costing NZD$35, however, this is expected to drop to a more manageable cost of around NZD$10 per 10MB used for casual users. Like O2 in the UK, ... [full story]

June 11 - 1:40pm EDT   Despite a series of conflicting news releases, Vodafone has confirmed that there will not be a pay-as-you-go version of the iPhone 3G available in New Zealand. NZMac.com first spotted the confusion in statements from Vodafone and Apple New Zealand which announced both contract and prepaid versions of the iPhone in various press releases. Vodafone cleared things up this morning, saying only the contract versions will be available in New Zealand and Portugal beginning in July 11. [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]

March 28 - 10:30am EDT   An expansion to New Zealand's cellular networks may open the way for the iPhone, a research firm observes. TeleGeography says it has learned from Telecom New Zealand's director of mobile operations, Martin Butler, that it is a "good inference" that the company will bring over the iPhone. It is in the middle of building a new, $300 million NZD ($241.2 million US) GSM/EDGE network, which should support the 850MHz frequency of the iPhone. Commercial rollout of the network is expected sometime in November, and should reach 97 percent of New Zealand's population. [full story]