Other News
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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Merry 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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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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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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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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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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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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#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
A slice of Apple comes to the core of Christchurch
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.…
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Where to buy the Steve Jobs biography in New Zealand
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.…
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iTunes in the cloud now available from New Zealand store
Amongst other updates that are coming with iCloud, Apple has quietly updated the iTunes Store on iOS 5 to now allow for iTunes in the Cloud, meaning the music you purchase in iTunes appears automatically on all your devices and you can also download your past iTunes purchases.
It needs to be activated by going to “Settings >> Store” and then you will see that under Automatic downloads there is now a Music option. This will likely already be there once you download iOS 5 if you are not a dev and don’t currently have it. Once you have done that you will see purchases in the iTunes app and you will be able to download your pas purchases.
Unfortunately iTunes Match is still only available for U.S account holders. Image gallery after the break…
Hat tip to JarrodM for the heads up…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Other News
iCloud now open to all
A short while ago Apple removed the beta and developer tags from iCloud.com and the iCloud preferences in the latest version of OS X Lion (which is still only available for devs right now). iWork won’t work fully just yet as it requires an update to the iWork apps, which we assume will be available tomorrow along with iOS 5 and OS X Lion 10.7.2. Anyway, hit the link above to start your transition to iCloud, oh and you may want to read some of the FAQ’s first: MobileMe to iCloud Transition FAQ’s…
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iTunes 10.5 now available
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!…
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Steve Jobs has passed away aged 56…
It comes with great sadness that we are writing this post, however we have just heard that, as reported by Apple, Steve Jobs has passed away today at the age of 56. Like many of you, we foolishly hoped that this day would never come. His departure is a massive loss not just to Apple but the entire industry. Our condolences to Jobs’ family and to all of those whose lives he touched.
From Apple:
If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, please email [email protected]
Rest in peace.…
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Reminder: Tomorrow is iPhone announcement day. Give us your predictions!
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!…
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iPad 2 – Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + 3G?
While standing in the checkout queue of my favourite Apple reseller a few weeks ago, I found myself helping a young lady decide which iPad 2 option was most appropriate for her needs. She was specifically interested in the cheaper Wi-Fi only version and asked about the ease and reliability of tethering to her iPhone 4. I’m not sure which option she eventually chose, but I remember grappling with the decision myself before selecting my own iPad 2 and figured that what I’ve learned since may be of help to others.…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, Other News, Reviews
