Lucas Burnett
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Posts by Lucas Burnett
Optus to launch the Motorola CLIQ/DEXT?
Mar 17th
Optus have started to roll out training for what they describe as “Project Revolution” which in their words is an exciting new Smartphone device that will be exclusively available to Optus. Due for release early next month, could this be the Motorola DEXT?
After some digging, i found that Optus had been also being referring to the project in different materials as “Project Revolution MotoBLUR”, which got me thinking. MotoBLUR of course is Motorola’s Social Widget UI that is pasted over the top of selected Motorola Android devices, eg the CLIQ/DEXT. So i did a search for MotoBLUR which led me to the CLIQ/DEXT Wikipeida page, which in turn had this lovely piece of information about release dates: “On 23th January 2010, Motorola sold CLIQ/DEXT to Singapore in Asia exclusively and it was also sold to Singapore Telecom, Singtel exclusively.” BINGO!!!
So from a little bit of digging, i would assume its safe to say that Optus will be bringing to Motorola DEXT to Australia early next month, however is it really going to be revolutionary?
LG BL40 “Chocolate” shows up in the Allphones catalogue
Feb 9th
LG’s newest addition to the “Black Label” line of handsets, the BL40, has shown up in Allphones Buyer’s Guide. Sporting that extra long 4″ HD screen and 21:9 aspect ratio, this has to be one of the strangest forms made by a mainstream company. With pricing and availability still to be confirmed, let’s hope it’s not another shocker for LG, much in the same vain as there other Chocolate handsets…. yes i’m talking to you KG800.
Nokia X6 to come Down Under sooner rather then later and the N97 mini has been delayed
Feb 2nd
It seems as the trouble Nokia have been having with the N97 in regards to software issues has forced the delay of the “mini” Apparently this delay is to make sure that the issues that have plagued the N97 don’t also plague it’s little brother. While all this is going on Nokia have released another update to the N97 software, increasing the version from 20.0.0.019 to 21.0.0.045, Nokia have noted that this update improved scrolling, and call reliablity. As of yesterday this hadn;’t filtered through to Australian’s N97 variant.
Nokia’s latest XpressMusic range, the X Series, is coming to Australia. At this stage it is currently being tested by networks and is planning for a first half of the year release. Network availability and pricing is yet to be confirmed and also will depend on whether the Comes with Music version is taken or not. As more information comes to hand, I will update with details.
Editorial: Apple’s iPad – The Good and The Not So Good
Jan 30th
So this morning Apple announced their highly anticipated tablet, The iPad, strangly enough, Apple don’t actually hold any trademarks or domains featuring iPad name, but like the iPhone, which was owned by Cisco, that should change fairly soon. So onto the device, the iPad itself is an extremely polished device in way of design, very much in the Steve Jobs vain, sporting a 9.7″ Multi-Touch, multi angeled IPS LCD screen, 16GB-32GB-64GB variants, WiFi only or WiFi and 3G. It comes in at 9.56 inches (242.8 mm) High, 7.47 inches (189.7 mm) Wide and 0.5 inch (13.4 mm) Thick, which is really amazing considering 
its power and speed. Under the bonnet of the iPad is the Apple A4, a 1Ghz Samsung made, Apple designed SOC that contains the Processor, Graphics, IO, Memory all on the chip, this allows the iPad to render 720p HD video with ease and also flick through photos, play 3D games and change orentation with breaking a sweat, it’s also extremly low power, giving the iPad 10 hours battery use with 30 days standby. Positioned to take on netbooks head to head, this could speel the end to the netbook category that has helped a number of PC manufacturers capture a significant portion of market share in the portable computing space. Can Apple again dominate a market with it’s first product in a new market? Their track record certainly seems so.
We Were Down But Now We Are Back!
Jan 26th
As you may have seen, we were down for a few days due to issues we have been having with our server. Hopefully these issues have been sorted and if not we will be switching hosts. Some things are a little different but we should be back to normal in no time. Thanks very much for patience and bring on Apple’s event!
Apple’s Tablet to finally see the light of day? Or iPhone 4.0 to take centre stage?
Jan 19th
Invite to Apple’s rumoured Jan 27th event were sent out this morning, confirming the event and also sparking massive speculation that this is going to be the date that Apple reveal it’s much hyped Tablet. There have been reports by Clayton Morris that the event will showcase the much anticipated Tablet, iPhone OS 4.0 and iLife. In all of this the only thing I’m really interested to see is the iPhone OS 4.0, I’m excited to see what news features or tweaks Apple are looking at adding to the iPhone platform. Dont get me wrong, I’m extremely interested to see what Apple have done with this Tablet of theirs, but knowing the price range its going to be in I’m extremely confident I wont be getting one any time soon, plus I already have a iPhone 3GS so, the announment that seems most relevant to me of course is the iPhone OS update. I’ll be up at 2am my time ready and waiting for all to be revealed.
The 5800’s little brother – 5530 XpressMusic touches down in Australia, along with the E72
Nov 30th
The little brother to Nokia’s 5800 has finally landed in Australia. This nice little handset has already got the “kinetic scrolling” software on it, like what the N97 got in an update not long ago, and the same update the 5800 is yet to get. The update in question, changes the scrolling to be more iPhone-esque and in turn more accurate and easier to use. The 5530 XpressMusic on first glance is quite a nice handset, it has a great finish which shows good quality, something the 5800 lacked. Sporting a 3.2 megapixel camera + video, WiFi, 2.9″ resistive touch, built-in Facebook app and 4GB MicroSD included, it comes in 2 colour variants, White with Blue and Black with Red. The only downside of this handset is, it’s only 2G. Look for these to be south of the $250 mark. Definitely a good handset for a Christmas present.
Next is the E72, successor to the popular and well received E71. The handset is coming in 2 colours, Gold and Black, with the Gold colour being exclusive to Allphones for release. Packing a 5 megapixel camera, GPS with compass, 3.5mm stereo jack, WiFi, HSDPA 10.2Mbps, 4GB MicroSD included, optical track button instead of standard D-Pad (works exceptionally well BTW) and the standard S60 suite of apps, it also has a redesigned QWERTY keypad, borrowing heavily from the E63 which means, bigger keys. Virgin are really headlining this handset, bringing it out for $0 on the $49 Rollover Cap, this is cheaper then any of the major networks in Australia, all charging extra for the handset.
Nokia’s “Booklet” netbook and N900 not coming Down Under
Nov 28th
It has been heard that Nokia’s netbook, the “Booklet” and its Maemo touch handset, the N900 will not be making their way to Australian stores due to lukewarm support from networks. The major factor for the Booklet would have to have been lacklustre sales and poor public reception of the netbooks deals currently offered by carriers now, including Optus’ Samsung NC10 and Vodafone’s Dell Inspiron mini 9. If the networks could get the Booklet down to free, which at the moment is a big ask, considering Optus charge you extra for their premium modem which doubles your accessible speed from 3.6Mbps to 7.2Mbps with 2Mbps HSUPA, I certainly can’t see them providing a netbook at a free price. But this is what the market needs for these things to be viable. They can subsidise a $500 handset and give it away for free on a $30 plan, but can’t get a netbook for less than $20 on top of existing wireless broadband plans that start at $40. Crazy!
The N900 on the other hand, I have no clue as to why Australian networks don’t want it. This just seems absurd, it would run on both Vodafone’s and Optus’ dual band 3G networks without an issue, it’s a full touch handset with sliding keyboard in the same vain as the Motorola Droid, it runs Maemo 5 – Nokia’s platform of the future, 32GB internal memory with support for up to 16GB via MicroSD, 5 mega pixel camera with video. This thing is a beast, a far better handset then the current flagship, the N97. Maybe cost was an issue, maybe it had to be subsidised too heavily to appeal to the masses, either way, I’m still holding out for this to all be a dream and to hopefully wake up and be able to get one of these and the Booklet in Australia, guess we will have to wait and see.
Nokia N97 mini & 6760 Surge hitting Aussie shores…
Nov 26th
Nokia N97 mini is due to hit our shores in February of 2010. It has been approved for use by Australian networks and pricing as well as availibility should come closer to that date. I have had a play with a “mini” and the build quality is very nice, it seems to be a much more refined and robust product then its bigger brother. Size wise there isn’t a great deal of difference but the “mini” will seem to appeal to those who want a full featured handset like the N97 but without the price tag or the extra bulkiness. Sporting the same hardware as the N97 except for it having 8GB of internal memory rather then 32GB, it also has a smaller screen and no FM transmitter. With 3G operating frequencies of 850/900/1900/2100mHz, this handset will work on all networks in Australia including Telstra’s Next G. Whether that means it will be a different variant of the ”mini” we will just have to wait and see.
The Nokia 6760 Surge on the other hand is now starting to hit Australian shops, starting out on $29 Caps across a few carriers and for $399 AUD outright. This handset is quite pleasing to operate, although at first glance not the most pleasing to look at. The slide is of excellent quality with a nice fluent gentle motion unpon first use, running S60 and shipping with the standard range of Ovi apps such as Maps, Store and Email along with Facebook. Packing HSDPA 900/2100mHz which makes the handset suitable for Optus and Vodafone’s Dual Band 3G Network, 3.2 Megapixel camera with video, expandable memory upto 8GB and FM Radio.
Jason Calacanis – A Man On A Mission
Nov 19th
A number of weeks ago Jason Calacanis laid down a challange to angel groups (Keiretsu Forum in particular) who charge start-ups to pitch, to drop the “Pay-to-Pitch” busisness model within 30 days or he would start a competitive angel group that would not only be free of charge for start-ups to pitch but would also quite possibly run and operate on the same days and in the same venues as its competitors. That deadline expired on the 16th of this month and surprise surprise, this practice had not stopped and the wheels started to turn. Jason asked for logo and website ideas to be submitted to him for the Open Angel Forum via his Twitter account and within minutes logos started knocking on his door for free and the #oaf Twitter tag began to run wild.
