2.5G war starts to warm up

Vodafone has announced its pricing schedule for its next-generation cellular network, GPRS. $30 per megabyte which seems steep compared with its existing model of $0.39 cents a minute. But as Vodafone spokeswoman Alison Sykora points out, one megabyte is equal to about 100 text-only email. Using the example of a truck driver reporting their location - a month's worth of these simple text messages under GSM would cost nearly $400, while the same amount of data under GPRS would cost only $30.

Across the iron curtain, Telecom has declined to announce pricing for CDMA, it's equivalent network, although migration manager Nicholas Horton says it will be"extremely competitive" with Vodafone.

Telecom has released details of its launch phones - Kyocera, Samsung and Hyundai phones will be leading the charge. While not exactly household names in New Zealand when it comes to phones, the units Telecom have on show look the part and have added functionality like an MP3 player built in to one. None of them have Bluetooth on launch, however, and that's something Vodafone will have through its Ericsson handset.

So if you're thinking about upgrading your phone, I'd wait for a month or so - by the end of July you should have two new networks to consider and by the end of the year they will both be offering much higher speed data delivery.

Vodafone defends GPRS pricing - IDGNet

Telecom selects phones for CDMA network - IDGNet

Handset, system makers unite on multimedia messaging - IDGNet

Vodafone to charge $30 a MB for GPRS - IDGNet

WAP gambling application wins award - IDGNet

This is the story of a local company made good, using WAP.

Use your cellphone to buy a Coke - IDGNet

Only in Singapore but how far away can it be from New Zealand?

ISOCNZ AGM looms large

Was it really only a year ago that this happened last time? The Internet Society (ISOCNZ), doyen and haven for Machiavellian wannabes, is to have its annual get-together to decide the future of its constitution, council and general membership.

This year the whole thing will be online live and uninterrupted and could make essential Friday night viewing, considering it's up against Maggie's Garden Show. Just set your browser to: http://www.isocnz.org.nz/agm.ram and make sure you have RealPlayer 8 installed. Members will also be able to send in questions via email and vote on motions as well.

Will this new broom sweep the society clean? I don't know. I thought last year was the end to the shenanigans but it proved not to be. Rather than promoting the internet as a great idea and something we should all be involved in, the society has spent the year defining and defending its position in an online defamation case that it is at least partly responsible for bringing to court. Worthy and worthwhile work on the registry system and internationally with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) have been largely ignored by members and users alike in favour of the lurid details in court and that's a shame. The society did make one statement on a subject other than itself - users should avoid Microsoft products because they're inherently insecure when it comes to things like viruses and worms.

Keen interest in ISOCNZ council positions - IDGNet

ISOCNZ takes AGM online - IDGNet

ISOCNZ issues warning on Microsoft software - IDGNet

Commsoft - Always look on the bright side...

Telecommunications software seems to be a shaky business to get into. Only weeks ago we talked about the failure of Telemedia which went to Sydney looking for funding, become a A$700 million company briefly and now owes A$13 million to creditors. Now we have the tale of Commsoft, listed on both Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges and facing mounting losses even after firing dozens of staff.

The company makes software that manages and monitors voice calls as well as data and also sells a CRM package that farming portal RD1.com was trialing, although RD1 is now part of the giant dairy merger and there is a lack of certainty about which way the company as a whole will jump.

New managing director Mark Lunt is putting a brave face on the whole thing saying the worst is behind the company and the future looks rosy. Only time will tell I suppose.

More gloom as Commsoft's optimism takes a dive - NZ Herald

Commsoft looks to future - IDGNet

Commsoft flags A$17m loss - Stuff