australia

Nokia Lumia 710 and 800 priced in New Zealand and Australia

February 2, 2012 | By Surur

The Nokia Lumia 800 is due to his Australia in March, and Nokia Australia has just confirmed the unlocked price of the handset will be AUD$699.

Similarly Telecom in New Zealand have released the price but not the launch date of the Nokia Lumia 710 and 800. The Lumia 710 will be sold for $549 and the Lumia 800 for $899. Deals for customers buying the devices on contracts won’t be announced until closer to the launch, although a Telecom representative says buyers can take some guidance from the discounts offered on similar devices.

Nokia New Zealand managing director Chris Carr says the Lumia will change the way people think about Nokia.

"It signifies a new beginning for the company, bringing together the very best of Nokia’s handset design and services with the latest Windows Phone software.”

Telstra puts up a page to allow users to register interest in the Nokia Lumia 800

February 1, 2012 | By Surur

lumia-eoi-400x300

If you are Australian and have been waiting breathlessly for the Nokia Lumia 800 to arrive there, you can now register with Telstra to be informed as soon as official news of its release becomes available.

Telstra has said on their facebook page that they will be one of the first countries to get the 850 Mhz band Lumia 800 handsets, but had nothing to say “yet” about the Nokia Lumia 900, hopefully meaning that a future release is not ruled out.

See the page at Telstra here.

Thanks Chris for the tip.

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Samsung Omnia W launches in Australia on Telstra–first second generation handset down under

January 23, 2012 | By Surur

omnia-w-slider Many of our Australian readers have been complaining about the absence of second generation handsets down under.

It seems that situation is finally changing, with WPDownUnder reporting that the Samsung Omnia W is launching on Telstra today.

While I could not find the handset myself on Telstra’s website, Sheeds reports the device will retail for free on the FreedomConnect $59 per month 24 month contract, and also had the handset early for a thorough review, which can be found here.

He concludes:

So what’s the wash-up? The more I used this handset over my week of testing, the more I came to like it! From initially feeling too small and light in my hands – by the time of writing this review the Omnia W actually managed to make my Focus feel a little “awkward” in the hand! Whilst sitting firmly in the mid-range of feature sets (screen size, storage, premium design elements, LTE etc.) – this handset excels at nearly every task thrown at it.

Windows Phone “Mango” absolutely shines on the device – and I see this handset having no issues in “smoking” any other modern smartphone for both task activities (messaging/social media etc.) and speed and responsiveness of the OS. Storage aside, there is not really any other significant weak spot in this device. Make sure you get into a Telstra store and have a feel of the unit, demo it – as it is surprisingly good device, and more than a competent replacement for the HTC Mozart in the Telstra line-up.

Read his full review here.

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Nokia Lumia 710 coming to UK February 1st, Lumia 800 to Switzerland now and both to Australia eventually

January 15, 2012 | By Surur

nezealand Nokia has announced the Nokia Lumia 710, the cheaper Nokia Windows Phone, will be released in UK on the 1st February 2012.

The handset will come in 6 different colours and is confirmed for Three as well as Orange, although T-Mobile and Vodafone are expected to stock it too. More at Pocket-lint here.

Separately the Nokia Lumia 800 is now available in Switzerland on MobileZone, and will be available in all three colours. Read more about that at MobileZone here.

Lastly the Nokia Lumia 710 and 800 also seem to be on their way to Australia, probably on the same time scale as their South Eastern neighbours New Zealand in February 2012.

Thanks Hypi and Vinodh for the tip.

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HTC Radiant LTE Windows Phone pictured

January 4, 2012 | By Surur

radiant

Pocketnow have just posted this picture which purports to be HTC’s first LTE Windows Phone 7 handset.

The device still has a massive 4.7 inch screen, but appears subtly thicker, likely to accommodate a larger battery to power the LTE radio.

According to earlier leaks the handset is not expected to reach AT&T stores at the same time as the Nokia Lumia 900, which is rumoured for an 18th March appearance, but will show up on AT&T some time afterward.

Pocketnow notes that according to their tipster this device will not be confined to USA, but should also hit antipodean stores on Telstra Australia.

Read more of our HTC Radiant coverage here.

Via Pocketnow.com

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HTC Mozart on Telstra finally gets Internet Sharing

December 15, 2011 | By Surur

Telstra was the first company to give us hope that Internet Sharing would in fact come to Windows Phone when they said, all the way back in August 2010:

“Tethering is a feature we want. We will be on Microsoft’s case as well!”

Well fast forward more than a year, and those words finally become reality, as we have received reports that an update for the HTC Mozart on Telstra is rolling out which brings Internet Sharing at long last to the device.

Let no-one say Telstra does not live up to their promises

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Zune Pass now available in Australia

November 15, 2011 | By Surur

zune7 Right on schedule the Zune Music Pass has become available in Australia, offering a library of 11 million music tracks free to stream.

Unfortunately the offer does not include the old 10 tracks to keep, but at $11.99 a month or $119.90 per year it is still a pretty good deal.

While the service is now available, it still does not include features such as local album art or Zune Podcast support, but we know Microsoft is working on equalizing service levels all round the world, so I am sure it will not be long in coming.

Via Winrumors.com

Thanks Brendon for the tip.

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Zune Pass with streaming and music purchasing confirmed coming to Australia

October 31, 2011 | By Surur

Istartedsomething has managed to clarify the status of the coming Zune service in Australia, which are expected to go live on the 16th November 2011.

He was able to confirm that the Zune Music Pass in Australia will cost $11.99 per month, giving users unlimited listening capability on their Zune software, Xbox and Windows Phone devices to a library of about 11 million songs at launch and also that there will also be the ability to individual purchase songs and albums from the Zune marketplace at launch. The last part has been in question until recently.

The news is a good sign that Microsoft is able to roll out equivalent services to more of its markets, and we hope the trend will continue for many more Windows Phone users in many more countries.

Telstra doubtful about Windows Phone 7 demand in Australia

October 12, 2011 | By Surur

An article in Channelnews.con.au quotes an unnamed Telstra executive speaking about an upcoming Nokia Windows Phone 7 handset, which Nokia has been shopping around to carriers.

"It is very smart and visually appealing" they said. "The issue will be whether consumers are prepared to invest in a Windows based model. They haven’t in the past"

The statement is interesting given that Australia is seen as one of Windows Phone 7’s stronger markets and suggests some resistance at carrier level to the introduction of new Windows Phone 7 handsets there.

The article did not reveal if Telstra in the end agreed to carry the Nokia Windows Phone 7 handset, but even if they did the lack of enthusiasm suggests this may not be accompanied by much promotion.

How do our Australian readers feel about consumer attitude to Windows Phone 7? Let us know below.

Via WPCentral.com

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Telstra also ready to start rolling out Mango “in the next two weeks”

September 22, 2011 | By Surur

Now that Microsoft have made their official announcement carriers are also jumping on board with confirmation that they will be rolling out updates for their Windows Phone 7 handsets. The news is welcome in particular from Telstra, which was one of the slowest to get the NoDo update out to their customers.

Via WPCentral.com

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Telstra have now also approved the Mango update

September 15, 2011 | By Surur

Telstra have now also joined the club of Australian carriers ready to roll out the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update, with Vodafone declaring yesterday and Optus this morning.

The update is expected in “Spring” which had me worried for a second until I remembered they were Down Under.

While Spring is in theory 3 months long, there is increasing evidence we will see something today, or at least before the end of September.

See the Telstra page here.

Thanks Dawookie and Chris for the tip.

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Vodafone Australia ready to roll out Mango for the HTC 7 Trophy

September 14, 2011 | By Surur

Rather casually in a blog post Vodafone Australia revealed that, amongst its pending Android OS updates, they also have an update ready to roll for the HTC 7 Trophy, just waiting for Microsoft to push the button.

In the status update they way “Testing for Windows Phone Mango firmware update has been completed and approved. Awaiting Deployment from Microsoft.”

Seems that September 15th date may not be that far fetched after all.

Thanks Dawookie for the tip.

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Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets only coming to Australia in 2012

September 13, 2011 | By Surur

More bad news for those who are holding out for a Nokia Windows Phone 7 handset. If you are in Australia you may have to hold out a bit longer, with Nokia telling WP7r.com there:

We won’t be releasing a Nokia on Windows Phone until Q1 of next year. Can’t be more specific than that sorry!

The news is on the back of earlier reports that even some European countries like Portugal will not be included in the initial distribution of Nokia’s first Windows Phones, meaning it will likely only be the “big 5” in Europe who will get their hands on the Nokia Sea Ray on release.

Thanks AG for the tip.

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