Optus have the handset available on a $79 Blackberry Cap plan over 24 months, which includes up to $300 worth of calls and text, and “unlimited” Blackberry email and internet.

Telstra customers looking for the new BlackBerry can grab the handset for $999 upfront, or $0 on an $85 Mobile PLUS plan, or on a variety of enterprise or fleet plans.

Finally, potential Vodafone customers can grab the handset from next week, according to David Flynn at APC, on either a $79 cap plan (with $550 worth of calls and text, plus unlimited Blackberry email and web) or a $99 unlimited talk and text plan that has 1.5GB of data, including use as a tethered modem.

It’s a very nice phone – if I was an email hound, it would almost certainly be my handset of choice at the moment…

I don’t know what is crazier: This video of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture played with 1000 mobile phones and 2000 messages, or the videos showing how the whole thing was made.

People from Vodafone New Zealand, I can’t wait for you to do other classics, like:

[Engadget]

They put four iPhones to work testing the big four: Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Three, running 150 individual speed tests in locations from Manly to Homebush, Annandale to North Sydney, and points in between.

The outcome?

Telstra blows away the competition with speeds almost double the next best network, while the best value data network Three delivered the slowest results. Indeed, Three’s best single result was slower than Telstra’s average.

Whether you’re just curious or need to confirm what you may already know about your chosen carrier, you can read the full report and download an Excel spreadsheet detailing the speedtest results here: The ByteBlog.

If you’ve conducted your own testing and it confirms or conflicts with those obtained by Seamus and his team, we’d love to hear about it in the comments.

The extended network – which is running on the 900MHz network has been flicked on today, so if you live in any of the towns listed below, expect a big speed boost – so long as your phone supports the 900MHz frequency for 3G. Vodafone reckon they have 18 handsets that will though, so it might be time to upgrade (or downgrade, depending on your handset). Still, considering they’ve jumped from 8% to 94% coverage, that new phone could be worth the cost if it’ll offer you a big boost in mobile speeds.

The full list of locations where the new service is available:

NSW: Sydney and surrounds, North Coast (from Newcastle to Evans Head), the Hunter Valley Region, Byron Bay, Lismore, Ballina, Kiama, Central North (including Tenterfield, Moree), Northern Rivers (including Lismore and Grafton), Northern Tablelands (including Armidale, Glen Innes and Inverell), the Blue Mountains, west to Orange, Bathurst and Parkes, Albury, the South West (around Goulburn and Yass), Snowy Mountains (including Comma and Perisher Valley), Central South (including Wagga Wagga, Yass and Young), Far South Coast (stretching from Sussex Inlet to Eden), Wollongong, Bowral, Nowra and Broken Hill
 
Victoria: Melbourne and surrounds, Geelong, Phillip Island, Mornington Peninsula, South Coast (around Colac, Lorne and Apollo Bay), Gippsland (around Sale, Traralgon and Stratford), Central West (around the Grampians, Horsham, Stawell and Nhill), West (around Warrnambool and Portland) and Central (around Shepparton, Seymour, Bendigo, Wodonga) and Bendigo
 
Queensland: Brisbane and surrounds, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, from Noosa to Gladstone, Caboolture, Ipswich, Cairns, Port Douglas, Townsville, Toowoomba, along the coast from Mackay to Cairns (including Rockhampton, Emerald) and Central Queensland (around Roma and Mt Isa)
 
Western Australia: Perth and surrounds, including Mandurah, south including Bunbury, Busselton, Dunsborough, Margaret River, Augusta, Albany and Esperance, east including Narrogin, Northam, Merredin and Kalgoorlie, north including Geraldton and West End, Kalbarri, Carnarvon, Karratha, Dampier, Port Hedland, Broome (including Cable Beach) and Kununurra.
 
South Australia: Adelaide and surrounds, the Barossa Valley, along the coast (from Mt Gambier to Victor Harbor), around the Spencer Gulf (including Whyalla), the Riverland (from Berri to Mildura) and the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula (including Port Lincoln)
 
Tasmania: Hobart and surrounds, Launceston, Wynyard, Devonport, Ulverstone, Exeter, Ross, Burnie and Deloraine
 
Northern Territory: Darwin and surrounds, Alice Springs, Uluru, Katherine and Jabiru
 
Australian Capital Territory: Canberra and surrounds

Tipsters Brendan and Ryan both alerted me to the fact that their phones (an iPhone and a Blackberry), when roaming on Voda’s 2G network, were telling them they were on EDGE rather than GPRS speeds. When I contacted Vodafone for confirmation, they gave me this response:

“Vodafone is currently upgrading its 3G network to reach areas covering 94 per cent of the Australian population, due for completion by Monday, 31 August 2009.

Vodafone’s regional 2G network will remain active and will switch from GPRS to EDGE technology, as part of the upgrade.”

So not only do Voda customers get a free boost to a 3G network, but when they roam onto Voda’s 2G network, they’ll get EDGE data speeds? I think I’ve found my next Aussie Telco…

[Thanks Brandon and Ryan!]

Unsurprisingly, the Telstra option, which bundles an Acer Aspire One with their NextG data plans, turns out to be the most expensive option on the table. Optus and Vodafone seem to be competing a bit harder for best value for money, but as always there are other factors worth considering like coverage and data allowances.

Head on over to Lifehacker for the complete analysis.

[Lifehacker]

Apparently Apple have said that they can’t produce enough to meet global demand for the device. Sucks to be them, then, doesn’t it?

If you are trying to pick up a new iPhone, your best bet is probably heading to an Apple Store rather than a carrier’s shop…

[The Courier Mail]

Vodafone best value in market with Prepaid Mobile Broadband# Starter Pack^

SYDNEY – July 27, 2009 –Vodafone Australia has upped the ante in the Prepaid Mobile Broadband# market, dropping the price of its Prepaid Mobile Broadband Starter Pack^ to $129 (was $149).

Vodafone’s Prepaid Mobile Broadband Starter Pack^ comes with a stylish USB modem internet stick and, if customers activate their Starter Pack^ between 22 July 2009 and 30 September 2009, they will also receive a huge 2GB of included data (normally 500MB included data).

Vodafone Prepaid Mobile Broadband customers can purchase Prepaid Mobile Broadband recharges for $19 (500MB), $29 (1GB) or $49 (3GB). Plus, unused data can be rolled over if customers recharge within 30 days of connection or their last recharge.

Helen Tuffy, Head of Mobile Broadband at Vodafone Australia said, “Vodafone’s Prepaid Mobile Broadband gives customers the freedom and benefits of mobile broadband without any strings attached. Now customers can enjoy the rewards of prepaid services and high-speed# wireless internet at an even more affordable price.”

For more information, please visit http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/mobilebroadband/mobile-broadband.htm

-ENDS-

[Lifehacker]