Matt Langtree

My new iPhone 3Gs 16GB is ordered and en route from Vodafone Australia.

My preference is towards the $69 plan (with 1GB data) from Vodafone over the Virgin $70 equivalent plan.

Vodafone is also the first Australian telecom provider to offer visual voicemail and is currently performing a $500M major national network upgrade to regional areas of Australia.

Virgin mobile operates on the Optus network which suffered major network outages on the east coast of Australia for several consecutive hours during August of last year.

In a predicted move from media giant Apple Co., the Australian iTunes store now contains TV shows. 

Australian iTunes users are now greeted with a selection from Australian networks, ABC and Nine Network along with US Movie studios ABC Studios, Disney Channel and MTV.

The news of TV shows on the Australian iTunes store coincides with other recent news that Australia is to be one of the first of 20+ countries to receive the new iPhone 3G. 

Source: MacRumors.com

Gizmodo Australia has published prices that they believe Optus will be charging for the new iPhone 3G in Australia.

Gizmodo claims that Optus Australia will be offering a $79 cap which includes 1GB/month of data and $300 worth of calls and SMS and a $99 cap includes 3GB/month of data and $400 worth of calls and SMS.

Prices for the iPhone 3G haven’t been announced publicly by Optus yet, so we cannot be certain that this is all that Optus will bring to the table.

A websites for registering your interest in the iPhone 3G has been set up by Optus Australia.

Vodafone today launched a page on their website for registering interest in the iPhone in Australia. There are still no links to this page from the home page or the Mobile Phones page on their website.

The pre-registration page for Australian customers wanting to purchase an iPhone through Vodafone is http://store.vodafone.com.au/iphone/

Optus has also released a website for registering interest in the iPhone for Australian Customers with the option for a $100 deposit to secure an iPhone when they are released in Australia.

On Tuesday 10th June at approximately 4am AEST Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple Co.) announced that the latest 3G version of their popular iPhone will be coming to Australia on July 11th.

Winning the contract for the iPhone in Australia are Optus and Vodafone.

Optus (the wombat) was quick to poke it’s head from out of the ground, and has put up a website for potential Australian customers to send 100 of their hard earned fully-refundable dollars to show their interest in the cause.

The optusiphone.com.au domain was registered just over a week ago. Optus Australia have made a slapdash attempt at getting customers excited about the new iPhone arrival with their banal marketing line “Get ready to be happy”.

Potential iPhone customers in Australia can register their interest at the Optus iPhone website: http://www.optusiphone.com.au/

Vodafone hasn’t provided any information about the iPhone on their website yet. I will update this page when more information comes to light.

Early this morning, Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple Co.) announced that the new iPhone will be available to over 70 countries. On July 11, customers from 25 Countries including Australia, Japan and New Zealand will be able to get their hands on a new iPhone for the first time. The new iPhone 3G adds features to the popular iPhone including a new case design, 3G network support and GPS support.

In Australia, Optus and Vodafone will be carrying the new iPhone 3G, and are expected to release new plans that will put Australian 3G prices more in line with 3G prices from countries around the world. AT&T in the US will offer the iPhone 3G for $199 (8GB Model) and $299 (16GB Model) on a plan. O2 in the UK is offering the 8GB and 16GB iPhone for free on many of their plans, including business plans.

As more information about iPhone 3G prices in Australia come to light, we will be posting them here.