iPhonewzealand » Steve

Telecom’s new Skinny sub-brand soft-launches, config profile available for iOS 5 devices

Steve — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:57:41 +0000

Telecom has begun to quietly roll out its new ‘Skinny’ sub-brand, which offers pre-paid mobile services over its XT Network with alternative pricing packages and a completely separate brand identity. Looking at the pricing and plans on the company’s website the service does appear to be geared towards calling and texting primarily, but a data add-on of $4 per week for 120MB of data (so roughly $16 per month for 480MB) may be of interest to some iPhone users. Skinny has posted a config profile on Geekzone that can easily be installed on your iPhone should you decide to make the hop, in which case you’ll also need to request a free MicroSIM which you can do through the website or by calling 0800 4754669.

The Warehouse to offer parallel imported iPads from Boxing Day [update: available 6pm today]

Steve — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:24:35 +0000

Something stood out on the junkmail yesterday: The Warehouse are going to be offering parallel imported iPads from Boxing Day. The advertised model is the black, 16 GB, WiFi-only model but it’s priced at $719 which is a significant saving over the standard price of $799. The ad doesn’t say whether other models will be available.

This might be cold comfort for any of you who have already bought one in time for Christmas, but for those of you still on the market for a new iPad this could be a deal worth considering.

UPDATE: According to their email mailer, this deal is actually available from 6pm today via the website.

Leading kiwi developers offering their time for free for one day only

Steve — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:03:57 +0000

Do you have a burning idea for an app but no coding skills to turn it into reality? Well, this could be your big opportunity. Leading kiwi developers Carnival Labs, who have worked with some of the world’s leading brands including Dreamworks, Intel, Air New Zealand and the New Zealand Herald, are running a competition where you could win their time for a day, during which they will turn your app idea into the real deal.

All you need to do is let Carnival Labs know what you want to do (the full details are set out in the press release below) and their panel of judges will decide the best one. The winner will win the source code and will even be able to upload it to the App Store. Entries close 20/12 so get your thinking hats on and keep reading for the full press release.

Online Apple Store sale event coming this Friday [updated: now live]

Steve — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 07:37:49 +0000

Generally speaking, Apple doesn’t really do sales or discounts but once a year it gets into the festive spirit and hosts a sale via its online store. This year, the event falls on 25th November (that’s this Friday) so mark your calendars and head over to the Apple Store to grab yourself some discounts on things that might be on your Christmas shopping lists. The actual discounts aren’t announced in advance so it’s a case of wait-and-see, although the graphic above does seem to indicate that a broad range of products will be included. Anything on your wish list? Share in the comments.

UPDATE: 9to5 Mac have published leaked information on the discounts in line for the US Store, which should be similar to what we see here.

UPDATE 2: The event is now live. The headline deals include:

$61 off iPad 2
$31.01 off iPod touch
$15 off iPod nano
$161 off MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and iMac

Accessory review: Opena Case combines man’s two greatest creations

Steve — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:00:26 +0000

If you love iPhones and you also happen to love beer, be prepared to reach for your wallets. Chillicase have begun to sell the Opena, a hybrid iPhone-case-slash-bottle-opener, right here in New Zealand. Stick with us for a tour of an engineering feat which combines two of the greatest passions known to man!
Read More

Vodafone breaks the silence, announces pricing and midnight launch

Steve — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:34:06 +0000

Vodafone have finally broken their silence on the iPhone 4S and have this afternoon announced handset pricing, subsidies, plans, and confirmed that they, too, will be hosting a midnight launch at the following stores: Queen St, Auckland; Lambton Quay, Wellington; George St, Dunedin; and Riccarton Mall, Christchurch. It will then be available in all Vodafone retail stores from 9:00am. The handset-only price is $1049, but subsidies and contracts appear (with just a cursory glance) to be similar to Telecom’s offerings. Keep reading for the press release and full pricing details.

© Steve for iPhonewzealand, 10/11/2011.
17 comments
Post tags: 4S, iPhone 4S, launch, launch day, plans, pricing, subsidies, Vodafone
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iPhone 4S launches in New Zealand November 11th, pre-orders open Friday

Steve — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:21:39 +0000

After a short but agonising wait, Apple has confirmed this morning that the iPhone 4S will launch in New Zealand on November 11th with pre-orders opening November 4th. Pricing has also been confirmed with the 16GB model priced at $1,049, the 32GB model at $1,199 and the 64GB at $1,349. Keep reading for the full press release.

A slice of Apple comes to the core of Christchurch

Steve — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:47:01 +0000

This Saturday marks the opening of Christchurch’s new temporary city mall, a development project called Re:START. Made from modified storage containers the mall will be located on both the north and south sides of Cashel Street in the spaces occupied by now-demolished buildings. As both Cantabrians and iOS addicts, the part that excites us the most is that Apple reseller YooBee will be among the list of tenants.

Where to buy the Steve Jobs biography in New Zealand

Steve — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 08:08:22 +0000

In case you were unaware, Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography has been released internationally and is now available to purchase. There have been several unauthorised Steve Jobs biographies released in the past, but this is the first official and authorised publication and promises to be a great read. I thought I would provide a quick wrap-up of how and where you can purchase the book in New Zealand and how much it will cost.

© Steve for iPhonewzealand, 25/10/2011.
25 comments
Post tags: Biography, Books, eBook, iBook, Physical Book, Steve Jobs
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The floodgates are open: Apple launch a barrage of updates and new apps

Steve — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:49:47 +0000

I hope your broadband data cap is in good standing, because it won’t be by the end of the day! As well as the long-awaited iOS 5, Apple have released a barrage of updates for both Mac and iOS apps as well as launched some brand new ones. Keep reading for a summary of what’s new.

© Steve for iPhonewzealand, 13/10/2011.
17 comments
Post tags: Airport Utility, Cards, Find My Friends, iMovie, iOS 5, iWork, Lion, Remote, update
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iTunes 10.5 now available

Steve — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:36:39 +0000

iTunes 10.5 is now out of beta and available to download. It seems a bit hit-and-miss as to whether it will pop up on Software Update but going to itunes.com seems to be the best source. The download weighs in at 103MB and you should grab it now in preparation for iOS 5 and all the goodness that has to offer. Enjoy!

Today’s iPhone 4S announcement and what it means for New Zealand

Steve — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 06:20:26 +0000

After all the hype and the months of insufferable wild speculation, it pains me to say that if today’s announcement could be summed up in a word it would be: yawn. This will certainly go down in history as one of the least exciting iPhone keynotes (in my opinion at least), but for New Zealand in particular there is even less to be excited about. Why? Keep reading.

© Steve for iPhonewzealand, 05/10/2011.
63 comments
Post tags: 4S, announcement, Apple, iCloud, iOS 5, iPhone, New Zealand
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Reminder: Tomorrow is iPhone announcement day. Give us your predictions!

Steve — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 06:49:06 +0000

No doubt about it, the past few months have been ridiculous in terms of rumour and speculation surrounding the next generation iPhone. Thankfully, we don’t have to put up with it much longer because tomorrow morning at 6am NZT Apple will be unveiling the real thing on home turf in Cupertino, California. Unfortunately, it won’t be possible for us to live blog the event this time but all the usual iPhone blogs such as TUAW, 9to5Mac, The Loop and This is my next will be, so if you’re getting up early head to your site of choice and get ready to refresh like you’ve never refreshed before. We’ll provide a wrap-up later in the day with any New Zealand-specific news, should any materialise.

Will we see a slightly tweaked iPhone 4 revealed as the iPhone 4S? Or will the tear-drop shaped iPhone 5 debut? Maybe 2degrees or Telecom will become official carriers, or Vodafone will actually hold a launch party? Share your thoughts in the comments!Read More

Apple to hold iPhone event October 4th (US time)

Steve — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:58:10 +0000

Finally, after months of rumour, we have a date! As reported by The Loop, Apple has begun sending out media invites for an iPhone event to be held at the company’s Cupertino headquarters on October 4th (October 5th in NZ). The invite specifically says “Let’s Talk iPhone” so there seems little doubt that next generation of the device will be unveiled. Other than that, details remain under wraps as per usual. So, what are your predictions? iPhone 4S? iPhone 5? Both? Hit the comments!

Why consumer groups in NZ are barking up the wrong tree with complaints about Apple iTunes pricing

Steve — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 22:04:13 +0000

This morning, Stuff is running an article where they bemoan the price of digitally-distributed goods (i.e. music, movies and apps) in New Zealand with a heavy focus on what Apple is charging in the iTunes store for the same titles in the NZ store versus the US. Sadly, Fairfax have done a hatchet-job on the facts and this isn’t helped by the fact that some local heavy-weights have also weighed in, but they’re all missing the point. How? Keep reading.

Is your business weather, sickness and disaster-proof? There are apps for that.

Steve — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:25:50 +0000

Snowstorms, earthquakes and tornadoes: mother nature just keeps throwing curve-balls at New Zealand this year and there’s no telling when she’ll do it again. All of these events cause massive disruption for not just people but businesses too and a study by LogMeIn shows that up to 68% of small businesses and 32% of corporates are unprepared to deal with events that could cause loss of access to the office. If you’re reading this blog it’s a fair bet to say that you own at least one iOS device, so keep reading and make sure that you’re tooled up to avoid being part of these statistics.

© Steve for iPhonewzealand, 22/08/2011.
One comment
Post tags: accounting, apps, banking, business, collaboration, iOS, join.me, logmein, New Zealand, Remote, tips
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iOS 5 beta 6 now available to developers

Steve — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:28:54 +0000

Apple has seeded iOS 5 beta 6 to developers this morning, along with iTunes 10.5 beta 6. The update is available as either a full download or OTA delta update (which appears to be nice and easy this time around, unlike beta 5) and appears to be a bug-fix release rather than one that adds any major new functionality.

App review: Time to Call by Vonage

Steve — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 08:28:18 +0000

You’d be forgiven for thinking that most of the innovation to be done in VOIP apps had already been done, but US-based Vonage has other ideas. A few days ago Vonage announced their new Time to Call app and to be completely honest I ignored the press release as my understanding of Vonage was that they were a US company providing services to US customers only. That’s not so with this app, which is a truly innovative VOIP solution that can be used in New Zealand and is a god-send in both terms of convenience and cost-of-use when travelling not just overseas but even within NZ.

The MobileMe-to-iCloud transition is now open for developers (Updated)

Steve — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 02:31:49 +0000

Several sites including 9to5Mac and MacRumors are reporting that a transition tool for developers is now available allowing MobileMe accounts to be converted to iCloud. Until now, developers have had to use a separate account to try out iCloud. The tool is apparently available now at me.com/move however I’ve not been able to confirm this as I have no current MobileMe account to test it with. Remember, this is for developers only so don’t go trying to use this tool unless you’re a paid-up member of Apple’s iOS developer program.

Update: You will also want to install Lion 10.7.2 beta and iCloud beta 6 before doing this otherwise you may get errors on your Mac when accessing your MobileMe account via email, calendars and contacts.

iOS 5 beta 5 now available with slightly messy OTA option

Steve — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:56:28 +0000

Apple has release beta 5 of iOS 5 to developers this morning which can be applied as either a full build or an OTA delta update. The OTA update for beta 4 was incredibly convenient, but it’s a different story for beta 5 as in order to begin the update you’ll need to head into the Settings menu and erase and reset all of the content on your device. Icky! There’s also a new iTunes 10.5 beta to go with it. Have fun!

(Thanks, Blair!)

Skype for iPad goes live (UPDATED: back again)

Steve — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 02:11:13 +0000

Wow… busy day! Skype for iPad has gone live in the last few minutes, giving those of you with an iPad 2 a shiny new app to get to grips with. We’ve not tried it yet, but why don’t you give it a go (iTunes link) and let us know what you think in the comments? Thanks to Paul for the heads-up who is totally on the ball today. You saw it here first, folks!

UPDATE: ….And it’s gone again. Skype tweeted earlier to say that it was release prematurely. D’oh!

UPDATE 2: It has now officially been released and is available in the app store here

No aliases or ability to add additional mail account into iCloud mail?

Steve — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:33:52 +0000

Unless this is just a beta thing, there is no ability to add either aliases to your free @me.com email address under iCloud or add an additional POP mail account. In MobileMe, users could add aliases (additional @me.com addresses that all share the same inbox) and also add another account via POP3 (e.g. mail from your old ISP account). In the above screenshot of the preferences panel from iCloud mail, there was a ‘+’ button in MobileMe where the red square has been drawn.

You can see a screenshot of the MobileMe counterpart with the additional ‘+’ after the break. It’s possible that since this is a free service Apple have decided to cut out some of the whistles and bells, or it could just be that this is to be added at a later date. After all, this panel is kind of pointless unless you can actually add other accounts or aliases. What do you think?Read More

Apple TV update adds Vimeo support

Steve — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:19:01 +0000

An Apple TV update is available this morning (iOS 4.3) that adds Vimeo support. The same update also adds the ability to buy and stream TV show episodes, but this feature is only available in the US. Still not got an Apple TV? The Apple Store NZ have refurbs for $145 again: get one. Enjoy!

Apple triples the length of song previews on NZ iTunes store

Steve — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 20:28:03 +0000

Apple has rolled out ninety-second song previews on the iTunes Store here in New Zealand, along with several other territories including Australia, Canada and the UK. This triples the amount of a song you can listen to before buying and makes it far easier to get a feel for the complete track. Thirty seconds was never really enough and previews would often cut off just before the chorus, leaving you in doubt as to whether you actually like it or not. The change is live now and affects both iTunes for Mac / PC as well as the iTunes app on iOS devices. It follows the same change being made to the US iTunes store in December of last year.

From the forums: How to stop a thief turning off ‘Find my iPhone’

Steve — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 08:02:57 +0000

Today, we’re launching a new regular feature on the site: From the forums. Why? Because you guys are smart and awesome, and some of the things you discuss in the forums are front-page worthy. So every now and again, when a post catches our eye, we’re going to link to it from the front page. We’ll turn the comments off on the post, but if you’re registered with the site (and why wouldn’t you be?) you can carry on commenting within the actual forum post itself.

The first ‘From the forums’ post is a tip from reader AndrewNZ who has realised that there is a way to actually stop a thief from disabling Find my iPhone (or iPad or iPod touch). It’s incredibly simple but, I’m guessing like many of you, it never occurred to me before. Click here for the thread to check out the tip and be sure to join in the discussion. While you’re there, if you’ve never explored our forums before, this is the perfectly opportunity to acquaint yourself. Enjoy!

iPhone 5 rumours: Why we haven’t posted about any… yet

Steve — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:04:36 +0000

By now you’re probably starting to notice a distinct lack of posts about the iPhone 5 (if that’s what it will even be called) and you’re probably starting to wonder why that is. Are we getting lazy? Are we not interested? Are we failing to keep up with developments? I’m glad to say that it’s none of those things. Keep reading to find out why we’re keeping mum on speculation over the next iPhone.

Official Facebook for iPad app is ‘hidden’ inside iPhone app

Steve — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:54:54 +0000

Yup, you read that right. We’ve been waiting since the launch of the first iPad for an official Facebook app but it appears that there’s been one sitting right under our noses in hidden code right within the iPhone app. The secret app was discovered by TechCrunch and looks fantastic in the screenshots.

There are some simple instructions right here to enable the iPad app without jailbreaking, but just like almost everybody in the comments I have been unable to get it to work. It’s very likely that Facebook are now blocking access via the (modified) app but hopefully Zuckerburg & Co will shortly realise that the cat’s out of the bag and just give everybody what they want. If not… you could always start a Facebook group!

Kiwi app quick look: Gaptionary

Steve — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:18:23 +0000

Now here’s a blast from the past: an app version of a good old classic ‘party’ game. High technology meets retro low-tech fun. You’ll have played this a dozen times already (perhaps at school). You know: the game where you’re asked to choose a noun or a name or a verb and your choices are inserted into a story. It’s right up there with with taking it in turns to draw sections of a picture on a piece of folded paper, only to reveal a hideous man-robot-fish-thing at the end of it all. But is it as fun as it was back then? Read More

Mac OS X Lion still caged

Steve — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:32:44 +0000

It had widely been rumoured that the iOS-inspired Mac OS X Lion would launch today (14/07 in the US), but now several blogs including MacRumors are backtracking a little and claiming we won’t be seeing it this week after all, pointing to the fact that Apple have only just called for developers to submit their Lion-compatible apps to the Mac App Store. Added to this, we note that the Mac App Store’s weekly refresh of header images and featured apps has gone ahead today without any sign of Lion. All we know for certain is that it will be out in July, but the wait is excruciating! We’ll keep refreshing and let you know as soon as it drops.

iOS 5 beta 3 released to developers

Steve — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:45:41 +0000

Apple have just begun seeding the third beta of iOS 5 to developers along with updated betas of iTunes and XCode. Unfortunately there’s no OTA update as previously hoped but we’ll keep you posted if we find any new goodies. You can do the same in the comments.

UPDATE: You can finally add your own custom text tones. 9to5mac has the full change log here.

iOS 5 puts a newsreader in your pocket

Steve — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:11:32 +0000

One of the lesser-discussed but frankly downright amazing additions to iOS 5 is the addition of a new ‘speak selection’ option which will literally read out any selected text in an incredibly life-like newsreader-style voice. From a cheap-thrills perspective, this is a great novelty addition that will provide a few giggles (yes, it will read out swear words, too), from a more sober point of view it can work as a great convenience tool (by reading your emails for you as walk to work), and from a perspective that the lucky majority of us will never need to consider, this will be an absolute life-line for the visually impaired.

iPad + Parrot A.R Drone used to explore earthquake-ruined Catholic Cathedral

Steve — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:57:54 +0000

It’s a pretty amazing sign of the times when Opus engineers working on Christchurch’s quake-stricken Catholic Cathedral are able to buy an off-the-shelf iPad coupled with a $500 accessory from Dick Smith to carry out work that, in the past, would have required a massive investment in specialised equipment. An iPad, coupled with a Parrot A.R Drone has been used to fly inside and capture video footage of the interior of the Cathedral which is too dangerous for the engineers to enter themselves. Check out the footage over at the 3News website.

Thanks nz_Ark for spotting this one over in the forums

iPhone 4 now available unlocked in the US

Steve — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:46:22 +0000

For as long as this website has been around, we’ve been fielding emails from readers asking whether an iPhone bought in the US will work here in New Zealand, and the answer has always been ‘no’ as, unlike here in New Zealand, the iPhone has always been locked to AT&T in the USA… until now. Apple are now selling the iPhone 4 unlocked in the USA via the Apple Store retail outlets and online store, meaning it can be purchased and used on any compatible network anywhere in the world. But how much are they and how can you get your hands on one? Keep reading for the details.

How to save upto 25% off OS X Lion

Steve — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 20:13:10 +0000

If you’ve got a Mac and you’re planning on buying OS X Lion when it comes out, there’s a quick and easy way to save upto 25% off that purchase. Lion will be sold via the Mac App Store which is actually the same account (and therefore the same funds) as your iTunes account. To save, all you need to do is take advantage of any sales or special offers on iTunes gift cards between now and the launch of Lion. The biggest discount we’ve seen is 25% which is just what Harvey Norman happen to have off this very weekend – they are selling two $20 cards for $30. Lion will sell in NZ for $38.99 which is already a steal for a whole new OS, but with a further 25% it’s daylight robbery so get into it.

Yesterday’s iCloud introduction leaves lots of questions, few answers

Steve — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:22:04 +0000

Yesterday in the delirium of the WWDC keynote, iCloud seemed like the business – the all-syncing, all-dancing digital nirvana that we could have only dreamed of a few years ago. And we have a feeling that it will pan out this way in the long run, but right now the web is starting to fill up with questions from concerned Apple customers whose current modus operandi doesn’t seem to fit in with the way we currently understand iCloud to work. Questions like “Will my MobileMe account migrate to iCloud?”, “Can I still share my Apple ID with my family for app purchases and still use iCloud?”, “What happens to iDisk?” and “What about MobileMe Gallery?”. The perception is that Apple are suddenly telling us that the way we use our accounts and sync our phones has to change. Unfortunately, while Cupertino have given us lots of information about how wonderful iCloud is, they’ve neglected to provide answers to important questions like these that would inevitably be on people’s minds. So what answers do we have? Read on.

© Steve for iPhonewzealand, 08/06/2011.
23 comments
Post tags: Conversion, gallery, iCloud, idisk, iOS 5, mail, mobileme, Photo Stream, Transition
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iOS 5 announced: new feature round-up

Steve — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 20:00:47 +0000

Steve Jobs’s WWDC Keynote has wrapped up and I have to say that this is probably the most exciting and feature-packed non-hardware keynote I’ve ever seen him do. There are some incredible new features being packed into iOS 5 that will really wipe the smug smile from any face that might have been claiming that iOS was getting stale and falling behind the competition. After the break we’ll have a quick round-up of what’s new so read on.

© Steve for iPhonewzealand, 07/06/2011.
18 comments
Post tags: Airplay Mirroring, announcement, Camera, Game Center, iMessage, iOS 5, mail, Newsstand, Notification Center, Reminders, safari, twitter, WWDC
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24 hours til WWDC: Time for a rumour roundup

Steve — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 20:55:15 +0000

We’re just one little day away from WWDC 2011 and while we now know for a fact that Steve Jobs will introducing iOS 5, iCloud and Mac OS X Lion, we know very little more than that in terms of what these new products will actually do (with the possible exception of Lion). And we all know that when facts are scarce, that’s when the rumour mill gets its cogs turning so keep reading for a round-up of what we might see tomorrow and what we would be announcing were we in charge in Cupertino!

iWork apps now available for iPhone and iPod touch

Steve — Tue, 31 May 2011 19:23:47 +0000

Apple’s iWork suite (Pages, Numbers and Keynote) have been updated into universal binaries this morning which means that they now work on the iPhone and iPod touch as well as iPad. This is great news as until now there hasn’t really been a solid productivity suite for the iPhone that you could call a “must buy” and the fact that it’s a universal binary means that those who already own an iPad can now download the apps to their iPhones or iPod touches for no further outlay. Awesome stuff! Keep reading for the press release.

iOS 5, iCloud and OS X Lion confirmed for WWDC

Steve — Tue, 31 May 2011 19:07:40 +0000

In a somewhat unusual move for Apple, the company have issued a press release this morning confirming ahead of time that Steve Jobs (yes, Steve Jobs!) will be unveiling not only Mac OS X Lion but also iOS 5 and the widely-rumoured iCloud which the press release calls “Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering” at Tuesday’s WWDC event. That’s a lot of reveals for one day but there could still be some surprises for the day… iPhone 4S, anybody? Keep reading for the full press release from Cupertino.

Read free eBooks on your iOS device the legal way, thanks to your local library

Steve — Sun, 29 May 2011 04:59:40 +0000

There seems to be a common misconception out there that because Apple hasn’t begun selling iBooks via its NZ iBookstore that the iPad is dead in the water in this country as far as functioning as an eBook Reader goes. Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong! There are a number of perfectly capable alternatives available here including the Whitcoulls and Kindle apps which both incorporate NZ-accessible stores, as well as several stand-alone reader apps including Stanza which will allow you to import your own books / pdfs. But, little did we realise until we saw this comment from nz_ark, there is also a fabulous app called Overdrive Media Console which will allow members of Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland libraries to ‘borrow’ eBooks for free.Read More

Winnie the Pooh goes MIA from NZ iBookstore, demands money from other territories

Steve — Thu, 26 May 2011 02:17:01 +0000

Ever-since the launch of iBooks, Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne has been supplied for free as a pre-installed starter title to show you what iBooks can do, complete with the original colour illustrations from the original publication. But following a comment from user Chiefie saying that he was unable to track it down, I went snooping through the minuscule NZ iBookstore expecting to find it easily and put him out of his misery. However, just as Chiefie had said, it was nowhere to be found.

Thinking it was probably just a glitch, I switched to my UK account and found that the title is no longer free in that territory, but £5.99! Obviously the agreement between Apple and Pooh’s publisher to provide this book at no charge has come to an end, and with no agreements in place to actually sell content via the NZ iBookstore this would explain its sudden absence here. But why? My bet is that the imminent release of Disney’s new Winnie the Pooh movie has the publisher hoping that renewed interest in all things Pooh will make them some money. What do you think?

Win one of three cases for your iOS device with thanks to Chillicase.co.nz [closed]

Steve — Mon, 23 May 2011 07:16:27 +0000

Is your iPhone 3G / 3GS / 4 or iPad 1 / 2 feeling a little tired? Does it need a nice new outfit to breathe some life back into it? Well, the lovely people at Chillicase.co.nz have you covered. They’ve supplied us with three snazzy cases, and all you need to do is tell us why you deserve to win one. Keep reading for details of what’s up for grabs and how to win.

Apple’s offer of free repairs for Japan quake victims does not extend to NZ because we don’t have Apple Stores

Steve — Sat, 21 May 2011 19:17:59 +0000

You may have recently read in some of the international blogs (such as Engadget) that Apple are offering those affected by the terrible events in Japan free repair of Apple hardware including iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. After receiving a number of queries from readers in Christchurch asking whether such a program existed for New Zealand, I contacted Apple to find out. The answer may surprise you.

You can now download files from Safari on your iPhone or iPad thanks to Dropbox

Steve — Thu, 19 May 2011 07:25:12 +0000

This afternoon I had a real wtf moment when I accidentally tapped on a link to download a .dmg file while using Safari on my iPhone. Up until very recently, tapping on files like this would result in a pop-up telling you that Safari couldn’t download it. Now, if you’re a Dropbox user (and if you’re not, you should be) and you have the Dropbox app installed on your iOS device, you’ll get an ‘Open in Dropbox’ button instead, which will whisk you into the Dropbox app where you can upload the file. The next time you sit down at your computer it will be there waiting for you. Read on for more.

Hardware review: Two iPhone alarm clocks do battle

Steve — Mon, 16 May 2011 20:52:17 +0000

iPhone-friendly alarm clocks are a great thing – as well as charging your device while you sleep, they also allow you to wake up to your favourite tunes. I’ve recently had the opportunity to try out two different alarm clocks designed for iPod / iPhone, both with what appears to be similar feature-sets but very different price-tags. The first is the Thomson RC59I at $79.95 and the other is the Panasonic RC-DC1 at $149.95. With one being almost twice the price of the other, I wanted to know whether this was simply a case of paying extra for a more well-known brand or if you really do get what you pay for. Stay with me to find out!

Opinion: TradeMe’s iPhone usage stats are encouraging, but it’s time for more features

Steve — Mon, 09 May 2011 08:17:28 +0000

Chris Keall over at the National Business Review has posted some stats today that were given to him by TradeMe and reveal just how popular the iPhone is in New Zealand and how it continues to grow and grow. The stats show that traffic via mobile devices now accounts for just over 1% of all TradeMe sessions and while that may not sound like a lot on the face of it, the iPhone app alone accounts for over a million sessions per month and has been downloaded from the App Store in excess of 100,000 times. But how can Fairfax leverage the platform to push mobile usage even further? We think we know.

Checking ‘Your Telecom’ on your iPhone now comes with less pain

Steve — Wed, 04 May 2011 06:46:45 +0000

This morning we noticed that checking Your Telecom (which provides your current account balance / free minutes / data allocation) over 3G no longer asks you for your user-name or password. A quick call to Telecom confirmed that enhancements to the platform have been made for smartphones (iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile) so that when visiting Your Telecom over 3G the authentication is done via the mobile platform itself, thereby bypassing the need for any user-name or password entry. Your login details are still required when on Wi-Fi, however. And unless we’ve just never noticed them before, there also seems to be some new options for topping up a prepaid mobile using credit card or voucher right from within Your Telecom, which should make topping up the credit on an iPad easier.

Official Royal Wedding Souvenir Guide now available for free on iBookstore (yes, even the NZ one)

Steve — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:01:04 +0000

Did your invitation to the wedding of the century go missing in the post? Yeah, mine too. But never fear, you can still grab a slice of history in the form of an iBook version of the Official Royal Wedding Souvenir Guide which is available for free right now on the iBookstore, courtesy of The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry. The guide has been sumptuously put together and includes the full text of the service along with maps, full colour portraits of the royal couple, and a history of Westminster Abbey. Grab it here right now, if only to keep that lonely copy of Winnie the Pooh company.

White iPhone 4 available in NZ from today (or tomorrow?)

Steve — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:49:11 +0000

Well, this has been a long time coming and you’d have to be a pretty staunch fan of the colour white to have stuck it out this long, but Apple have officially confirmed that the white iPhone 4 will be available in New Zealand from today. Pricing and specs are identical to the existing black model, and you’ll be able to order from the online store. The full press release is after the break but note that while the PR groups the NZ and US release date as 28/04, the Apple NZ website currently says ‘coming tomorrow’ and is still absent from the store itself so our guess is that we’re looking at a release date of 28/04 US time, which is of course 29/04 here.

UPDATE: The white iPhone is now available through Vodafone.

UPDATE 2: The Apple Store website is currently down. Expect to find White iPhone 4′s when it comes back up.

Stream any video file type to your Apple TV 2 without jailbreaking

Steve — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 06:12:51 +0000

In a recent post about refurbished Apple TV units being available on the NZ Apple Store, I casually mentioned that it’s possible to stream just about any video file type to the Apple TV 2 without jailbreaking via an app called AirVideo. Sparking quite a bit of interest, some of you wanted to learn more, so here goes. Stay tuned to find out how it all works.