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Australia posts

First iPhone worm rickrolls jailbroken phones

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 8th 2009 @ 10:48PM

We sort of knew this would happen as soon as we heard about that iPhone wallpaper hack in the Netherlands -- a hacker named ikex has created what's apparently the first iPhone worm, and it's currently infecting jailbroken iPhones across Australia. The "ikee" worm, as it's being called, takes advantage of the fact that jailbroken iPhones with SSH installed all have the same default root password of "alpine," and once in the system it changes your wallpaper to an image of Rick Astley and then tries to install itself on other jailbroken iPhones on the network. Sophos says it hasn't confirmed any infections outside of Oz, and to be clear, this worm can't get to stock iPhones or jailbreak owners who haven't installed SSH -- but if you're running a hacked phone we'd say you should change that root password just to be safe right away. Get to it, kids.

[Via PMP Today; thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Australian government tells Telstra to split up... or else

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 15th 2009 @ 4:41PM

Australian giant Telstra is being given the ol' Ma Bell treatment this week, getting slapped with a breakup order courtesy of the government with a steep penalty for failing to comply: blockage from future spectrum acquisitions and a forced sell-off of its cable television business and its 50 percent stake in satellite operator Foxtel. We're no MBAs around here, but that certainly seems like a strong-enough motivator to get moving on a logical breakup of Telstra's many businesses, including Australia's largest wireless provider (and largest everything, come to think of it). As a final warning, there's a threat of a AUD $10 million (about $8.6 million) fine for anti-competitive misbehavior, so all things considered, Optus and Vodafone should be feeling pretty good about the situation at the moment.

[Thanks, John]

BlackBerry Bold gets Telstra's Blue Tick for having the signal strength of a champion

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 30th 2009 @ 8:41PM

Say you're in the middle of nowhere -- in Australia, by the way -- and you have an urgent need to, say, download and view an Excel spreadsheet in your inbox. What's a fellow to do? Well, one option would be to take a gander at that Palm Treo Pro that has received Telstra's coveted Blue Tick certification for awesome reception in the boondocks, but the problem is that it's so hard to look at the Treo Pro with a straight face these days in light of the fact that the Pre's now an ever-constant presence in our psyche. No worries, though, there's another solid option: Telstra has now awarded the Blue Tick to the BlackBerry Bold, which means even the hardest-core road warriors should have no issue handling email from some of the harshest environs Australia's cell tower-equipped landscape has to offer.

Telstra rolling out seven Next G phones this month

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 8th 2009 @ 7:08AM

Australian carrier Telstra's taking the "go big or go home" approach with its latest announcement, dropping no fewer than seven phones this month compatible with its Next G HSPA network -- table scraps for a Japanese carrier, granted, but a bounty by any other standard. Among the phones in the new lineup are the Xenon, Viewty Smart, and the Windows Mobile-powered GM730f from LG (the first version of the GM730 to launch anywhere, interestingly), the Touch Pro2 from HTC, and Sony Ericsson's W508 and W995. All will be available before the month of July draws to a close for prices ranging from AUD $30 (about $24) on contract for the W508 up to a mind-numbing AUD $1,499 (about $1,190) contract-free for the Touch Pro2.

Telstra keeps pushing, moves to 5.8Mbps on the uplink

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 29th 2009 @ 8:29AM

Want to run a Miley Cyrus fansite over a data card? We might recommend you emigrate to Australia, where Telstra has just upgraded its already-impressive HSPA+ network to a whopping 5.8Mbps on the uplink, which it estimates means that customers could see speeds as high as 3Mbps in real-world use. In conjunction with the upgrade, the carrier's also letting customers know that its Turbo 21 USB modem can be updated to take advantage of the higher data rate, which refreshingly means you won't have to plunk down for any new hardware. Cheers to that.

Nokia's Ovi store makes soft landing in a few markets, might be headed to your neck of the woods soon

by Paul Miller posted May 25th 2009 @ 12:02PM

With that May launch window closing fast, it looks like Nokia might get Ovi Store in under the proverbial wire: it just went live on Vodafone in Australia, which was soon followed by other carriers, and then Ireland and Singapore. According to a post that was subsequently pulled from Nokia's Conversations blog, Nokia confirmed the rollout and said that it was progressively moving the Ovi Store to "production servers," and that we could "expect a broader announcement and consumer availability soon." Unfortunately, since that post has been pulled, we're not really sure what to expect, but at least the lucky few with Ovi can beam back important missives on their Twittix apps about what life is like in the future. Above are shots of the store live on an N97.

21Mbps Next G mobile broadband comes to Hong Kong's CSL Limited

by Darren Murph posted Apr 1st 2009 @ 2:50AM

21Mbps down seems a bit sluggish compared to Ericsson's 56Mbps HSPA+ demonstration, but it's still pretty speedy compared to what's offered in most corners of the globe. As of this week, CSL Limited customers in Hong Kong have access to the same Next G network that Aussies have been enjoying for months on end through Telstra. The launch marks the world's first SDR-based HSPA+ All IP network in Hong Kong, and if you're looking for new devices to take advantage, the operator's currently offering the HP Mini 1110TU (Mobile Broadband Edition), as well as the Express 21 USB modem. Oh, and we totally can't close this post without quoting the new service's motto: "Next G: Time is the Enemy, Fight Back."

Optus' HTC Dream spotted, photographed passionately

by Darren Murph posted Mar 9th 2009 @ 4:41AM

Low light, candles in the corner -- seriously folks, these shots are downright sultry. Optus' HTC G1, er, Dream has been spotted and photographed in some random corner of the world, and while it basically looks like every other G1 you've ever seen in this hue, we're absolutely certain that Australians in attendance are more than happy to have a look. You know where to head for the rest.

[Thanks, Tom]

Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo leaving, heading back to America on June 30th

by Darren Murph posted Feb 27th 2009 @ 12:15AM

Great job, thief. Just days after Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo had his HTC handset stolen at Mobile World Congress, the guy has decided that enough is enough. All kidding aside, Sol Trujillo has indeed announced his intentions to vacate his seat and return home to the United States. During his four years as head honcho, the Australian operator has managed to do quite well for itself, and as they say, there's no better time to leave than while on top. He has vowed to keep pressing on until June 30th, after which he'll hop a (presumably first class) flight back to the US of A and watch Telstra attempt to fill his shoes -- probably from a sweet shack in Key West, if we had to guess.

Kogan shows off Agora prototype, promises retail model will be way cooler

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 23rd 2009 @ 9:29PM

So, what's up with Kogan these days? It's just been a few weeks since the Australian shop went back to the drawing board with its Android-based Agora series, but Ruslan Kogan himself is talking up big plans for the redesigned version -- whenever it gets around to launching. According to Gizmodo Australia, Kogan says he wants the retail Agora to feature a 3.8-inch full touchscreen in concert with Cupcake's virtual keyboard place of the physical portrait keyboard he'd originally envisioned; cool, yes, but sadly, he'll have to play second fiddle to the Magic at this point. In the meantime, he's carrying around his original prototype, which looks... shall we say, not ready to ship. Then again, a hand-built Android set is better than no set at all, eh?

Hutchison and Vodafone to merge in Australia, become VHA

by Darren Murph posted Feb 9th 2009 @ 8:18AM

So, how does one successfully snatch away market share from Telstra and Optus? If you're Hutchison or Vodafone, you merge! Announced today, two of Australia's smaller operators have decided that an equal joint venture would be the best approach to moving on up, and while they aren't suggesting that the current economic conditions influenced the decision, many analysts are suggesting that the tie-up could help the newly formed VHA fend off adverse effects from slowed spending on mobile communications. Once together, the combined group will have a local market share of around 26 percent, and Hutchison Australia's current chief executive, Nigel Dews, has been chosen to lead the new venture. Under the agreement, VHA will market its products and services under the Vodafone brand, though it will retain exclusive rights to Hutchison's "3" brand in The Land Down Under.

[Via MobileBurn]

Optus bringing G1... er, HTC Dream to Australia later this month

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 5th 2009 @ 8:35AM

While Telstra's busy bragging about Android sets from HTC that don't yet exist, Australian rival Optus is making stuff happen. How? Easy: T-Mobile's G1 is being repurposed as the HTC Dream down here -- one of the phone's rumored names prior to its original release, you might recall -- featuring 2100MHz HSDPA, WiFi, and everything else you've come to know and love / hate about the world's first retail Android device. It'll launch February 16 on plans starting at $59 Australian (about $38) per month, so it'll be pretty accessible. Sure, Telstra, you may have some awesome devices in the pipeline, but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, if you know what we're saying.

[Thanks, Adin K. and justme]

Nokia's Comes With Music goes on European tour, Asia next, Americas deemed too boring

by Tim Stevens posted Jan 21st 2009 @ 8:17AM

It was just yesterday that Reuters predicted Nokia's Comes With Music service was headed for something of a pilgrimage through the wilds of Europe, and now we have the official confirmation of this "pan European" expansion. The company has secured partnerships with music licensing and publishing big-wigs in Spain, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and Norway, and is indicating that Singapore and Australia are next on its to-do list. Alas there was no mention of other nations getting any sort of attention, meaning Nokia handsets in the New World are unlikely to come with anything but guilt for the forseeable future.

Nokia's Comes With Music service plans world tour

by Darren Murph posted Jan 20th 2009 @ 3:01AM

Nokia's all-you-can-eat Comes With Music service has been humming along quite nicely across the pond, but until now, we've been left in the dark about its plans for world domination. No more, as a recent Reuters report has it that the unlimited music service should be headed to Australia, Asia and Singapore later this quarter and Latin America / USA sometime this year. We're also told that more corners of Europe should get served in the future, though no window of time was handed out there. It should be interesting to see if any carriers jump in to subsidize these, but our gut feeling says they'll be sold for a premium unlocked at your nearest Nokia flagship.

[Via UnwiredView]

Optus support documents hint at G1 release in Australia

by Darren Murph posted Jan 19th 2009 @ 10:46PM

Now that hopes of a Kogan Agora are as good as extinguished, we reckon that Aussies are grasping at any possible lead of getting an Android-powered handset onto their soil without paying eBay / import prices. Technical support documents corralled by ZDNet's Australian branch show quite clearly that the HTC-built G1 is on the way, but it's tough to know how long the wait will be -- and if this isn't just some tease that'll never actually come to fruition. Yeah, we're cursing the mere thought of the latter option as well.

[Thanks, Ben]