iPhone Pricing in New Zealand

With the new iPhone 3Gs being released shortly, I am again thinking of getting one.  The camera has been improved, the capacity increased and it is now a lot faster (2x apparently).

The problem is that with Vodafone, you only get 3G in the main cities in New Zealand as the iPhone doesn’t support 3G on 900mhz.

However, Telecom XT has a nationwide 3G network on 850mhz which the iPhone does support but Telecom haven’t announced they will be selling it yet.  Therefore you need to get one from Vodafone and port it over to Telecom XT.  Without a phone subsidy the total cost over the contact is a lot more.  See:

Cost wise, Vodafone obviously wins due to the phone subsidy.  However, without full 3G support nationwide, is it enough to have 3G only in the city (I probably spend 95% of my time in the city)?

Hopefully Telecom will get the iPhone as its contact is a lot better.

I will update once the 3Gs prices are released.

* the prices are based on the current iPhone 3G 16g at Vodafone, not the iPhone 3Gs.  It would be cheaper to get a parallel import one to use on Telecom since Vodafone probably wont support the warranty if you use it on Telecom.

Africa Photos all uploaded

It has been a while but I have finally got all my Africa photos online at Flickr.  The picture below links to my Africa set and there are links on that page to each separate country set:

TDI07: Gorillas in the mist

This day in 2007:

We got up to see the Gorillas today.  The weather cleared for us and luckily the Gorillas were in a clearing so I managed to get some good shots (it was very glary so it was hard to meter the shots right with their black hair).  The group we saw had a Silverback, 4 large females each with babies, the youngest being just 3 weeks old.

For more shots, set the Rwanda or Africa sets at Flickr.

This is a bit delays to this will be my last TDI for a while.  To see all my Africa shots go to this post.

TDI07: The road to Rwanda

This day in 2007:

Uganda, Africa: We set off in vans on our way to Rwanda, passing right by where the Congo, Uganda and Rwanda intersect.  What is amazing about the photo of the kids above is not the photo but their attitude.  What you cant see is these kids are refuges from the Congo living in a UN tent camp.  What is sad about it is that one year later and the Congo still has refugees. The two photos below are the country side just before the Rwanda boarder and a girl selling Bananas.  She was their two days in a row with wonderful smile. Click through for more photos of Africa or Uganda.

 

 

TDI07: Candy, the international language

This day in 2007:

Uganda, Africa: A lollipop makes every kid smile.  And below, a Ugandan sunrise, unfortunately we were on the truck travelling to out next destination. Click through for more photos of Africa or Uganda.

 

TDI07: Chimp Island

This day in 2007:

Uganda, Africa: From Entebbe, we drove to Lake Victoria and caught a boat across the lake (and the equator) to Ngamba Island, a refuge for Chimps.  They still have to feed them as the forest on the Island is only enough to support 1 chimp full time, but all the chimps have been rescued so it is a better life from what they would other wise have had.  This the old guy of the group, if you couldn’t tell from the grey hair.

 

The bird below is the Ugandan Crown Crane, their national bird and the little monkey is from the zoo on the shore of lake Victoria where we caught the boat from. Click through for more photos of Africa or Uganda.

 

TDI07: African drive through fast food

This day in 2007:

Uganda, Africa: We pulled at a road side market and our truck was swarmed by people trying to sell us Chicken and beef on skewers.  It was straight from the grill, cheap and tasty.  The whole time we were there, there was a constant flow of trucks and busses stopping on their way through for food. Click through for more photos of Africa or Uganda.