09/23, 9:40am
More than 30 WM 6.5 phones due before 2010
More than 15 phone manufacturers will release over 30 new smartphones running on Microsoft's upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system before the end of 2009, the copmany's GCR Mobile Team Unit senior director Benjamin Tan said recently. Tan was speaking to a group of reports at the time, according to a Wednesday Digitimes report. Among the phone manufacturers slated to introduce models are HTC, Acer, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and HP.
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09/09, 9:45am
Chicago, others to get 7Mbps AT&T 3G
AT&T this morning provided more definite plans for its promised rollout of 7.2Mbps 3G on its network. Only six cities will receive the upgraded HSPA-based network this year and will focus mostly on the southern US: Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami will all see the doubled download speeds at first. Expansion in 2010 will have 25 of the 30 largest markets receive the update, while about 90 percent of AT&T's entire service will have been upgraded in 2011.
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05/05, 4:30pm
Palm Pre Aussie in August
Palm's next stop with the Pre after Sprint may be Australia. Pointing only to insiders in its rumor, the Pacific nation's Smarthouse asserts that Telstra has landed a three-month exclusive for the phone on its network that would start from August. The phone maker's national manager, Brett Murray, doesn't mention a date but partly corroborates the report by confirming a second-half 2009 launch window for the Pre in Australia. He also can't confirm exclusives, though Sprint itself is separately rumored to have a three-month deal of its own.
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04/07, 10:30am
Australia 100Mbps National
The Australian government today set out to improve the country's Internet access by unveiling a plan to roll out a nationwide, fiber-to-the-home Internet service. The network would provide 100Mbps access to about 90 percent of the country's population and would reach the remaining 10 percent through long-range wireless. Completing the network will take about 8 years and a cost of as much as $43 billion AUD ($30.6 billion US) over that period.
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02/26, 1:10pm
Aussie web censorship plan
A mandatory Internet censorship plan in Australia proposed by the government is facing stiff opposition, with an independent senator's decision to block legislation that would start the blockage of certain websites with morally questionable content, the Thursday edition of the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The Green and Opposition parties have blocked the measure and have been joined by independent Senator Nick Xenophon, who changed his position on the mandatory ban. All now believe a filter would not be effective at blocking unsafe content and would slow Internet access while carrying a risk of blocking legitimate websites.
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02/11, 5:15pm
Ericsson to demo 42Mbps
Ericsson on Wednesday announced it will perform the first demonstration of the second implementation of its HSPA+ multi-carrier technology that allows for maximum download rates of 42Mbps at the Mobile World Congress next week in Barcelona, Spain. The multi-carrier technology lets users receive data on two frequency channels at the same time, thereby doubling the user data rate in HSPA network coverage areas. Australia's Telstra, Ericsson's partner, uses an early HSPA+ network that allows for up to 21Mbps downloads.
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02/09, 10:20am
Vodafone Hutchison in AUS
Vodafone and cellular provider 3's parent label Hutchison today said they would combine their operations in Australia, creating a much larger carrier. The move gives the entity about 6 million cellular customers on the island nation and is being made to compete against incumbents Optus and Telstra, both of which have outpaced Vodafone's Australian wing. A combined Vodafone and Hutchison will have about $4 billion Australian dollars in revenue per year and match Optus in size.
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01/15, 11:30am
Vodafone HSPA Plus Trial
Cellular carrier Vodafone on Thursday said that it has successfully run a field test of HSPA+ on its network to pave the way for deploying the 3.5G service. A trial conducted in Spain has managed 16Mbps downstream speeds in peak but real-world conditions, or more than double the theoretical-only 7.2Mbps peak for regular HSPA. The test comes despite using a single-antenna reception setup that limits the potential bandwidth on the network.
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01/12, 12:10pm
HTC Android Palm Killer
Senior officials from Australian carrier Telstra claims on Monday that HTC is developing a smartphone that would trump devices from Apple and Palm. The executives, who observed some of the competition at CES this past week, say HTC has a touchscreen device in the works which is "better and more functional" than either the iPhone or the just-unveiled Pre and should have both a larger display than existing HTC phones as well as custom software written by the phone maker itself; the inaugural T-Mobile G1 currently uses only Google's stock software.
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12/05, 9:30am
Telstra HSPA Plus Now Live
Telstra today said it has switched on the world's first HSPA+ network. Also known as HSPA Evolution, the early 3.5G network promises to be about three times faster in downloads than the best regular HSPA networks, which top out at 7.2Mbps in peak conditions. The Australian carrier's service should theoretically allow downloads as quick as 21Mbps and should also help with uploads; the speed is enough to rival many landline Internet connections, the company and its launch partner Ericsson boast.
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11/07, 12:40pm
Windows Mobile 6.5 a go
Cellphone buyers and owners should expect to see another major update to Windows Mobile 6 before a complete overhaul, Microsoft's CEO has confirmed. Steve Ballmer disclosed the information recently during the 2008 investor briefing for Australian carrier Telstra, which supports a variety of Windows Mobile phones. "With releases we'll make this year," he began, "releases we'll make with 6.5 next year, Windows Mobile 7, I think we have a pretty interesting roadmap." Prior to this, Windows Mobile 6.5 had not been announced by Microsoft.
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11/06, 2:50pm
Ballmer criticizes Android
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on Thursday said at an annual Telstra investment meeting that the Google-designed Android operating system debuted in the T-Mobile G1 handset won't make the company money. According to a report originating from an event held by Australian cellular provider Telstra, Ballmer believes Google is essentially telling its investors the new product has no revenue model; he doesn't understand the strategy.
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10/06, 11:50am
Telstra 21Mbps eHSPA Soon
Australian cell carrier Telstra this morning said it was on track to be one of the first providers in the world to use Enhanced HSPA, or eHSPA. Also known as HSPA+, the feature will give peak Internet download speeds of about 21Mbps per second, or about three times the best 7.2Mbps speed on regular HSPA devices. The move is made possible in part by having a new Ethernet-based network backbone and should supply 'true' mobile broadband across the island country.
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08/20, 9:50am
Palm Treo Pro Official
Palm today corrected its premature launch yesterday with a more formal introduction of the Treo Pro, including its launch information. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone is the first major redesign of GSM-based Treos and sports a normal headphone jack, a Wi-Fi toggle button, and a hardware ringer switch like the iPhone. It also becomes the first Treo to support tri-band HSDPA for 3G access on AT&T and similar carriers and uses true GPS for navigation.
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07/16, 12:10pm
Ericsson 5Mbps HSPA Evo
Ericsson and the Italian division of cell carrier 3 today said they have successfully tested the world's first 3G network based on enhanced High Speed Packet Access (HSPA). The trial of the new service gives uploads to the network at up to 5.8 megabits per second in peak conditions and is faster even than downloads on most existing services, which in ideal conditions would offer 3.6 megabits. The new technology also cuts back dramatically on the lag that hurts video calls, multiplayer games, and other time-sensitive features.
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06/30, 9:30am
Telstra to carry iPhone 3G
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.
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06/19, 11:35am
Telstra late on iPhone 3G?
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.
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05/23, 7:50am
3G iPhone 42Mbps
The next-generation iPhone will allegedly support a 42-megabit advanced 3G connection when it becomes available in Australia, a senior official at Telstra claims. Having also claimed to have seen the device itself, the anonymous official tells ChannelNews that the phone will "by Xmas" support a planned upgrade to the advanced HSPA+ wireless standard on Telstra's 3G network. This will help drive sales, as the connection will actually be faster than many fixed-line broadband services and potentially the fastest iPhone data service anywhere, the executive asserts.
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05/12, 10:10am
Telstra 3rd iPhone carrier
Telstra on Thursday announced it would be the third Australian iPhone carrier, and that the company's expected June launch date could indicate that it will carry the 3G iPhone. CNET reports that the carrier joins Optus and Vodafone, and will allegedly offer a multi-frequency HSDPA-compatible device, allowing it to work on both competitors' networks and its own Next G network. Telstra declined to comment on the arrangement, but it would potentially be announced before the end of the month.
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05/01, 9:55am
Aussie iPhone confirmed?
The iPhone is indeed coming to Australia, an anonymous source is said to be confirming. CNET is citing an "industry insider," who claims that an Australian iPhone launch is expected in the last week of June, and with the regional carrier Optus. The company is expected to make the announcement in mid-May, just a few weeks before Apple's WWDC conference on June 9th, where a 3G version of the iPhone is expected to be publicly revealed. The source says he cannot confirm that Australia will get the 3G phone, but that Optus is expecting it regardless.
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