We’ve had rumours. We’ve had speculation. Now, after over a year of waiting, we have our first fact: Vodafone will be launching the iPhone in Australia at some point this year.
Sadly, that’s about all they’ve said. They’ve sent out a press release stating that they’ve signed an agreement with Apple to release the iPhone on Vodafone in 10 countries, including Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey.
There’s no word about exclusivity, pricing, release date or whether it will be the new 3G version, although speculation is already running rampant that the other major Australian carriers will have the device as well, and that we’ll definitely see the 3G version.
Russell Hewett, CEO of Vodafone Australia, offered this comment to whet our appetite for the inevitable stream of iPhone related news we’re about to get:
“Vodafone Australia is enormously pleased to be included in the agreement to sell the iPhone to our customers later this year. The iPhone will be the perfect addition to Vodafone Australia’s mobile handset range. The iPhone’s Australian launch is well-timed to coincide with our plans to deliver an enhanced mobile internet and entertainment experience to customers. The iPhone has already proved to be extremely popular with customers in other parts of the world and Vodafone is confident that today’s announcement will be well received by all Australians who are keen to get their hands on their own iPhone.”
The brief press release is in its entirety below:
At some date in the not too far future, HP’s MediaSmart TVs and its soon-to-be- released MediaSmart Connect receiver will get the ability to play YouTube videos stretched to full-screen HD. We’ve shown you the MediaSmart Connect in the past under its more formal name x280n. The Connect and the sl4278n and sl4778n MediaSmart LCD TVs will have searchable, browsable client software for accessing all YouTube videos already converted into the Apple-friendly H.264 codec. Warning: Not all YouTube videos should be viewed full-screen on HDTVs, but you’re a grown-up (or something), so you’ll just have to sort it out for yourself. Press release down below.
The Zune 2.5 Spring update launches tomorrow, and with it comes purchasable TV shows and even more social networking functions. The big part is more tightly-integrated social stuff—like being able to see your friends’ Zune cards inside of the Zune software instead of heading to your browser—the upside of which is automatically getting the full tracks that your friends have recently listened to if you’re a Zune Pass subscriber. This takes up about 100 megs per friend card. There’s also improvement in the player itself, like the return of auto playlists and the introduction of gapless playback. Wee!
Here’s a old but good idea in honour of Fuzzywuzzymodo: power a toy car by hamster. The Flintstones would approve. I personally think its a better use of hamster power to rig a traditional gerbil wheel with a generator capable of charging a battery which in turn can charge a USB device. I mean, how else are the vermin going to pay their rent? Vid after the jump. [PetGadgets]
You don’t give a shit if you lose or destroy it. Blam’s fingers turn into sprouts of butter while frolicking in the ocean, especially if they’re gripping expensive, ruggedised cameras that can otherwise withstand brutal acts of man and nature. Buttons are also hard to press. The Flip only has one you need, and with this cheap underwater housing, Blam could film dolphin sex with 10 Flips Matrix-style, or simply have a small army of semi-disposables ready to die for the price of a single higher end camera. (Cheap disposable cameras are different for you and me than for even budget Hollywood flicks, after all.) [Dethroner]
Remember those Brighthandle Alfa Door handles that would glow green or red depending on whether or not the door was locked? Yeah, that was a pretty clever idea—and clever ideas often don’t need much improving. It appears that the folks at Lervik Design don’t subscribe to that philosophy considering that they have “improved” upon the concept to include the entire door. My guess is that this concept won’t ever see the light of day for many reasons—not the least of which being that it would waste power and make a good night’s sleep damn near impossible. [Lervik Design via DVICE]
To be honest, I can’t say that I am surprised to hear that the government has allocated US$1.5 billion to inform 17 million citizens about the digital TV transition. After all, those uninformed few would undoubtedly take up arms if they missed out on sports broadcasts and NBC’s Thursday lineup. However, I was a little surprised to hear that the total proposed budged for literacy education in 2009 stands at a paltry US$574.6 million. Once again it seems that our government does not have its priorities in order. That having been said, does this represent a proper allocation of taxpayer money in your opinion? How does broadband access fit into the mix?
The Gadget: Samsung Access, the second (and cheaper) phone launching AT&T’s mobile TV service.
If you’re anything like us, your zipper always has a hard time staying in the up position. Button fly jeans are a horrible solution, because you end up peeing all over yourself in an emergency. Enter the ZipHolder. It’s a little elastic loop that attaches to the top of your zipper and hooks to your button. No more embarrassing exposure incidents during movies, job interviews and jury selection. How could we say no? [Zip Holder via Smart Stuff via Oh Gizmo via New Launches]
Having been in the business of making incredibly safe vehicles for decades, Volvo is going one step further and making a “virtually” injury-proof car by the year 2020. “Virtually,” because it will ensure all occupents survive all but the craziest wrecks. Not only is Volvo making the car more resistant to crashes, but they’re putting stuff like radar and sonar in order to automatically force the car to brake when a collision is imminent, lowering death rates by half with just a 16 kph decrease in smash speed.
