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Announcement: iPhonewzealand is closing
With heavy hearts, the time has come for us to announce that we’re going to be closing iPhonewzealand as at 20th February, 2012. With some help from contributors along the way, we (Dan and Steve) have run the site with every ounce of the spare time that we have been able to sacrifice outside of our normal jobs and family lives. At times this has been quite gruelling, especially around the launch of new devices, so it’s fair to say that this action is also due to a desire to free up some of that precious time.
We’ve been operating since July 2009, back when the device was relatively new and had official support with only one mobile operator in New Zealand, so there was a need for a site like ours to help people get connected on other networks. Dan’s legendary carrier bundles made it possible for people to get going on the network of their choice quickly and easily.
We also helped spread the word about local apps and developers, keeping the ever-growing kiwi user-base up-to-date with news and reviews as an explosion of ‘big name’ kiwi apps such as TradeMe, Stuff and TVNZ hit the App Store.
As of now, new registrations to the site are closed. The site will continue to be here for a while, but with no further updates after this post. If you need to, you can get hold of us via the ‘Contact Us’ link until the site is taken down (in the event that it is not sold), or via our Twitter presence, @iphonewzealand, which will remain open (but mostly inactive) for a period of time.
We welcome any expressions of interest into buying the site or offers from anybody who might like to shower us with cash so that we can do this for a living — please feel free to get in touch with us via the ‘contact us’ button on the header of the site.
Steve Jobs once said that he just wanted to “put a ding in the universe”. That goes for us too, and we hope that on a much tinier scale we managed to do that.
All the best
Steve and Dan…
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Posted in All, Other News
Telecom’s new Skinny sub-brand soft-launches, config profile available for iOS 5 devices
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.…
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Posted in All, Telecom XT
The Warehouse to offer parallel imported iPads from Boxing Day [update: available 6pm today]
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.…
Read MoreMerry Christmas from the Team
Another year is quickly coming to an end and today is the last day for us before the Christmas break. We are going to be away for the Christmas and New Year breaks, but to all our readers, we’d like to extend our heart-felt wishes for a very Merry Christmas for you and all your families and a wonderful new year.
2011 really has been another fantastic (if not shaky) year for us and we really appreciate all the continued support you’ve given us. The positive feedback and support we’ve had throughout the year is what keeps us going, and we’ve really enjoyed giving something back to the kiwi iPhone community.
We’ll be raising our glasses in your honour and are really looking forward to 2012 and we hope you’ll be with us when we’re back in full swing in the new year!
Have a good one!…
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Posted in All, Other News
Leading kiwi developers offering their time for free for one day only
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.…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Other News
iTunes Match available now – no really it is! Still $39.99 per year
Ok so this time it’s for real… After yesterday’s shenanigans iTunes Match has gone live and is available to New Zealand as of right now. We’ve received confirmation from a number of users saying they have been succesful and have also confirmed it ourselves.
UPDATE: And now, to mitigate any concerns that this may be another mistake, we’ve had confirmation from Apple that the service is now officially available:…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Other News
iTunes Match available now, maybe?? – $39.99 per year [updated: looking like a mistake]
As reported on a number of other international sites today iTunes Match (the service that makes your entire iTunes music library available in the cloud) has been coming on and offline for most of the day for countries outside the U.S.
We have just taken a look ourselves and it would appear that whilst it is accessible to New Zealand we may be having the same issues as well. It’s possible that it going live is just a mistake or it could be that the servers are getting hammered. Either way at the moment even though we get a confirmation email to say we have subscribed it is erroring and asking us to sign out and in again. Once you have done that and you go back to your account it does say that you have a subscription and it will expire in a years time, but as yet I cannot get to the iTunes Match tab to actually use the service.…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Other News
iOS 5.1 beta 2 seeded to devs… you can now delete photos from Photo Stream!
I am not sure I have been this excited about a beta in some time. Normally they come and go and eventually you get your GM release. But this one had me at hello.
iOS 5.1 beta 2 is available for developers now and with it comes the ability to delete/remove individual photos from iCloud’s Photo Stream, something that I, and many others, feel should have been there from day one.
The update is available for all the usual suspects, iPhone (4, 4S and 3GS), iPad (1 and 2), iPod touch (3rd and 4th gen) and also the Apple TV 2. Keep reading for more or head over to the developer site to download.…
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Posted in All, Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
NZiDev is underway
NZiDev got underway today and if last year is anything to go by this is going to be a great weekend for iOS developers. As we previously said unfortunately we are unable to make it this year however if you are there and want to share your weekend with us then make sure you add the #NZiDev tag to your tweets and why not leave a comment below on your experience at NZiDev.
You can also post a longer articles on particular subjects to our NZiDev forum post.…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Other News
New Zealand Developers Showcased by Apple
We already knew that we had some great developers here in New Zealand and now, for AlphaSprite, Apple know it too.
You may remember back in September last year we took a look at CoachPad, an app for the iPad that allows you to sketch out and display formations and tactics all using your iPad in a simple and intuitive way. Well now that same app has been included in Apple’s latest iPad 2 television advert.
Airing in November 2011, it revolves around the emotive theme of ‘Love’ and how people engage with the iPad 2 on a daily basis. CoachPad appears at the beginning of the clip where a basketball coach shows a gameplay strategy to his team on an iPad 2.
Congrats AlphaSprite.…
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Posted in All, iPad, Other News
iOS 5.1 beta available to devs now
Apple have today released iOS 5.1 beta to the development community for testing. Along with it they have also released Xcode 4.3 beta which is required if you are wanting to develop and test your applications with iOS 5.1 devices.
According to reports there are a number of bug fixes and changes in this release including references to an iPad 3 and a new “geofencing” setting that apparently stops battery drain in the Reminders app when it’s not in use.
Head over to the developer site to download and see the full notes.
More info on 5.1 here: iOS 5.1 roundup: new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV references, minor tweaks…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
Online Apple Store sale event coming this Friday [updated: now live]
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
…
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NZiDev 2.0 coming to Auckland 3rd-4th Dec 2011
That’s right, NZiDev is back for another year [Last year was a massive success with over 100 iOS developers from all over New Zealand gathering to discuss everything iOS and we had the great pleasure of attending. Unfortunately this year we will not be able to make it, however keep reading to get the low-down on all you need to know about this years event.…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Other News
Accessory review: Opena Case combines man’s two greatest creations
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#4SonXT Launch parties how did they go? [video] [gallery]
As you may or may not have heard Telecom threw a couple of launch events last night to celebrate getting the iPhone 4S. Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch seemed to get the queues whilst Dunedin didn’t have much of anything. However in the other three centres a great time was had by all and, as far as we know, no one went home disappointed or empty-handed. Keep reading to see our launch party thoughts, video (nicely edited by Steve) and gallery of pictures.…
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Posted in All, iPhone, Other News, Telecom XT
iOS 5.0.1 goes live… promises to fix battery woes and more
This morning iOS 5.0.1 has gone live to the public and according to the release notes, among other things, will fix battery issues from iOS 5 and will improve voice recognition for dictation with an Australian accent. No doubt it will also seem a lot snappier, smoother and faster then any previously release of iOS as well… but don’t all new updates?? See below for full details of the update.…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
Vodafone breaks the silence, announces pricing and midnight launch
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.…
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