Here’s what we are watching:

• Mozilla has released Firefox for Android Beta. It’s new update sees improved performance, a new design to tie in with the Android interface and native support for Flash. The beta is available in the Android Marketplace now, so go check it out.
• Research from the Harvard Business Review has found that university students no longer have to search for book reviews by professionals as Amazon reviewers are “every bit as good as professional book critics.”
• Once camera giant Kodak, had a secret nuclear reactor hidden in a US research facility for over 30 years. The nuclear reactor had weapons-grade uranium used but posed no risk to employees. The nuclear reactor was decommissioned in 2006 as Kodak wanted to pursue other methods of research.
• A tattoo artist in New Jersey has surgically attached his iPod Nano to his arm. Using four magnetic studs on his arm, his iPod Nano magnetically slots into place on his arm allowing it to be used as a watch. The tattoo artist has posted a How-To video on YouTube just in case you want to do it.
• Finally, Apple has had to repair a pretty serious Siri bug which would respond with Nokia Lumia when asked “What is the best smartphone?”. It simply gathered the results from WolframAlpha which ranks the Lumia 900 phone as the ‘best’ phone based on customer reviews around the web.

Since Tom and Terence are writing these things, it’s only logical for me to write one about Sydney! Since the iOS App Store has a huge range of Apps available to download, it’s sometimes hard to pick the right App for what you need. This post will attempt to ease that frustration and help you pick the right up for getting you around the public transport system in Sydney.

TripView Sydney

TripView Sydney is probably the best App to download for finding your way around Sydney. It provides timetable information for Trains, Buses and Ferries. It’s really quick to show you the nearest station or bus stop and then show you a map to assist you to get there. You then pick a destination and it will show you the next train, bus or ferry instantly.

The best thing about TripView is it’s ability to show you if there are disruptions on the network. When viewing a timetable, it will work out if any disruptions on the network will affect your journey and let you know about it.

TripView Sydney is $2.99 off the App Store and it’s well worth it. There is a fully featured free version but it won’t save any of your trips.

Transport Info 131500

The Transport Info 131500 app is the newest contender to the App Store. It’s been made by the NSW Department of NSW and uses their Journey Planner technology. Upon opening the app, it will work out your location and instantly show you all the next services. While looking slightly complicated, tapping on a service will display more information and a map.

Of course, the app allows you to plan out a trip without using location services. It allows you to choose a mode of transport or you can allow it work out the best and fastest way to get there. I did find some of this complicated but the App is only new.

The Transport Info 131500 app will show you service interruptions but only if you ask it to. So you may run into problems there…

It is a free app and there are no ads.

CityRail Mobile Website

Of course, if you are so inclined to, you can use the CityRail Mobile Website. It has the ability to show you Service interruptions, Trackwork on your line and a highlight events feature which shows you any events happening around Sydney and how to use CityRail to get to them.

The Next train service and Trip Planner links redirect to the 131500 mobile website and looks much like their App – so it’s probably better just downloading the Transport Info 131500 app.

Of course, it’s free and probably a quick way to find out Service interruptions or trackwork if you’re not near the station.

That’s all the apps I could round up, if you know of an App that I have missed. Be sure to let me know.

Here’s what we are watching:

• Google is try trying hard to get Google+ out there and being used. As an improvement. they have made their gmail notifications more interactive. From right in your inbox, you can +1 emails, photos and more. Email responses to things will also look like real time comments on the Google+ Website. Very interesting idea but will it work?
• Apple are testing iOS like notifications on their iCloud website. The message “Default Title for English- This is a test message description,” is displayed on the website, so it’s quite obvious Apple have let this one slip but what could it be used for? OS X Mountain Lion will include a notifications feature, so it’s unclear why they need a web based one.
• Apple have released iOS 5.1.1 for your iOS device with some small updates which include HDR photo fixes, AirPlay bug fixes, iPad network switching issues and purchasing issues. Just a small update so it’s probably not worth going through the trouble of updating your iOS device.

Check out the full review after the break.

When designing your home theater, it can sometimes be hard to have all your equipment in the same place. If you’ve got a lot of gear, it can take up valuable space as well. This is where the Belkin ScreenCast AV4 comes in. It’s great for situations where you want all your AV gear (set top box, gaming console, blu-ray player etc) in a cupboard at the back of the room and simply have the TV wall mounted at the front. The Belkin ScreenCast AV4 allows you to stream up to 4 devices from anywhere in the house (up to 30 meters) to your HDTV. Utilizing the 5GHz Wi-Fi spectrum, the Belkin ScreenCast AV4 is able to stream your devices in high definition 1080p and provide superior video and audio quality. It work’s with Blu-Ray protected disks and even 3D.

Setup

The setup of the Belkin ScreenCast AV4 is easy. You’ll receive a Transmitter and a Receiver, both quite small in size (the receiver being smaller than the transmitter). The transmitter includes 4 HDMI ports, a USB port for future updates (USB cable included!) and the IR blaster port. The receiver should be placed with the TV and includes a single HDMI port which should be plugged into your HDTV (HDMI cable included).

During my testing, I plugged in my Xbox 360 console, set top box and computer into 3 of the HDMI ports at the back of the Transmitter. I haven’t changed any settings on each of the devices, I’m just expecting  each device to behave normally. The only real struggle is attaching the IR blaster kit to each of the devices. In my case, I only had to attach it to the set top box since the Xbox 360 doesn’t use IR and my computer doesn’t have a remote. I just used a small piece of tape to attach the IR blaster to the set top box.

I then went ahead, turned my HDTV on and turned on the receiver. Using the extremely small remote, I had to go through a small setup and then I was up and running. I had clear, 1080p content streaming to my HDTV from over 10 meters away. I then used the Set Top Box remote to change channels which worked as it should. Changing the source is usually quick and only takes a few seconds, however, in some cases it did take up to 15 seconds for the source to change. I changed to my Xbox 360, picked up the controller and started playing a game. I was extremely surprised at the quality being streamed to the TV. It’s as if the Xbox 360 was directly plugged into my HDTV. I then switched input to my computer and attempted to play a 1080p movie and the Belkin ScreenCast AV4 was able to handle it flawlessly.

Interference

Being driven by Wi-Fi you would think that interference would be a huge problem. However, it wasn’t. While watching video I decided to fire up my laptop and start browsing the internet – the Belkin ScreenCast AV4 was able to continue streaming in 1080p quality without a single break in video. I also had a long conversation on my mobile phone (over 2G and 3G) to see if that interfered with the transmission and it didn’t.

Conclusion

The Belkin ScreenCast AV4 is a very easy to setup solution to people who dislike having to run cables between their AV gear and their TV or have a difficult  setup they wish to use. Setting up the Belkin ScreenCast AV4 is no different to setting up your HDMI devices normally and there is absolutely no difference in quality of the picture and audio. The Belkin ScreenCast AV4 will work with any HDMI device including computers, tablets, HDMI enabled mobile phones etc. Overall, a fantastic device.

Today Facebook have released the newest version of their Facebook Messenger. Just as you thought your life wasn’t connected enough, the new update includes two major features, Read receipts and message locations. If you send a message from your phone and have location services on, the app will send across your location. The read receipts is pretty self explanatory, once the other side has read your message, it will tell you! Gone are the days wondering if someone has read your message….

With the release of BlackBerry 10 development tools to developers, RIM has made a huge promise to BlackBerry developers. Alec Saunders, RIM’s VP of Developer Relations today announced that RIM guarantees that developers will earn $10,000 in their first year of sales and if you don’t quite reach $10,000 then RIM will pay you the difference.

Sounds enticing to make a BlackBerry app now doesn’t it? However, there is a catch – the app must pass BlackBerry’s new stringent quality certification guidelines to ensure your app isn’t crappy. So that means no fart apps will qualify for this offer. Once the app has passed verification and is published to the store, the app must first generate $1,000 on it’s own before RIM will jump in and cut you a cheque.

It’s a very interesting approach RIM is taking – Paying developers to make great apps. However, some speculate that this is RIM trying to gather market share again since BlackBerry is slowly but surely dying out… Apparently paying developers is one way to do it.

Here’s what we are watching:

• Microsoft is trying to clean up the marketplace with introducing new guidelines on their development blog. Microsoft suggests that you should not use trademarks in any part of the app to avoid having it pulled, to differentiate your app icons if developing multiple apps, to keep under the 5 keyword limit for apps as developers have been abusing keywords and limiting the sex apps on the marketplace. Maybe we might see better apps on the marketplace? Chris will be happy…..
• We saw finally what BlackBerry 10 looks like – and lucky developers managed to get a device running on the Alpha version. However, it doesn’t bode well when the device you gave out has no ability to make calls, or access wireless networks. Ouch – though, we’ve woken up with them, now we know how sucky that dev product was.
• If you’re a BlackBerry developer, you could be in luck. RIM has said to developers that they guarantee that you will make $10,000 in your first year of sales. If you don’t make $10,000 then RIM will pay you the difference… How good is that? However, there is a catch… The app must pass RIM’s new stringent app certification guidelines, meaning, no crappy apps will be able to score $10,000 and the developer must make at least $1,000 on their own before RIM swoops in.
• Google Australia reported a loss. Yes, a loss – it only managed to get $3.9 million revenue in this financial year. Now-owned-by-Google Motorola Mobility also reported a $86 million loss and device shipments are also down – and remember, they exclusively produce for Android. They might be struggling to compete with Samsung, HTC and other players.
• And finally, an 11-year-old student managed to $36,000 in damages to a school. Why? He urinated on the class’s MacBook laptops. You would have thought Apple would fix it, but they won’t go anywhere near it since they think its a biological hazard – plus why would you want to fix something that has been peed on.

An update for the all popular iPhone is available to day. The update will add Japanese language support to Siri, a number of bug changes, improved camera features and much more. The update is available right now on  iTunes and Over the air on your iDevice. Check out the change list after the break.

This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

• Japanese language support for Siri (availability may be limited during initial rollout)
• Photos can now be deleted from Photo Stream
• Camera shortcut now always visible on Lock Screen for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (4th generation)
• Camera face detection now highlights all detected faces
• Redesigned Camera app for iPad
• Genius Mixes and Genius playlists for iTunes Match subscribers
• Audio for TV shows and movies on iPad optimized to sound louder and clearer
• Podcast controls for playback speed and a 30 second rewind for iPad
• Updated AT&T network indicator
• Addresses bugs affecting battery life
• Fixes an issue that occasionally caused audio to drop for outgoing calls

A few weeks after Optus announced their Lumia plans, Telstra have unveiled their plans on the NextG network. If you don’t know what the Nokia Lumia 800 is, it is the first Nokia phone to be powered by Windows Phone 7. Dubbed to be the “First real Windows Phone”, it features a 3.7-inch AMOLED display with curved bending and a 1.4GHz single-core processor with hardware acceleration and a graphics processor. It will also feature 16GB of internal storage and an 8-megapixel rear camera with a Carl Zeiss optic lens and LED flash.

Consumers will be able to purchase the Nokia Lumia 800 for free upfront ($0) on the $59 Freedom Connect Plan which includes $550 of calls, unlimited SMS and 1.5GB of data. Business customers can purchase the Nokia Lumia 800 for $0 upfront with the $70 business plan which includes unlimited SMS and free voice calls to anything on the same account.

The phone will be available from the 13th of March in Black at any Telstra store. The white version will be available from the 20th of March.

Telstra to launch Nokia’s first Windows Phone smartphone

6 March 2012 – Nokia’s first Windows® Phone 7.5 smartphone is coming to the Telstra Mobile Network, Australia’s largest and fastest mobile network, from 13 March.

Andrew Volard, Director, Telstra Mobile said the new Nokia Lumia 800 – powered by the Windows Phone operating system – provides easy access to popular Windows software and apps.

“Lumia 800 is one of the best-looking handsets to launch this year and its simple user interface will make navigation, composing Outlook emails and accessing entertainment on the move incredibly simple.

“Customers will love the multimedia experience of the Nokia Lumia 800 – from interactive gaming with Xbox LIVE® to capturing those special moments using the impressive Carl Zeiss 8 mega-pixel camera.

“It comes packed with social media features, including People Hub, which combines contacts and feeds from Facebook®, LinkedIn and Twitter into one thread,” Mr Volard said.

The Nokia Lumia 800 also comes with Nokia Drive, an intelligent satellite navigation system featuring voice-guided navigation, information on local traffic conditions, speed limits and speed cameras.

Pricing and availability:

The Nokia Lumia 800 will be available from metropolitan Telstra Stores from Tuesday 13 March, with regional Stores and partners receiving stock progressively after this date.

Consumer customers can purchase the Nokia Lumia 800 for $0 upfront on the $59 Freedom® Connect Plan (after using an included MRO Bonus for eligible customers), with $550 worth of included calls and MMS, unlimited SMS and 1.5GB of data, all to standard Australian numbers (excludes use overseas) each month. Min cost over 24 months is $1,416.

Business customers can purchase the Nokia Lumia 800 for $0 upfront on the $70 Business Mobile Advantage Member plan (after using their MRO bonus), with unlimited standard national SMS and free national voice calls in Australia to eligible mobiles on the same account as well as 1GB of data to use in Australia each month that can be shared between eligible mobiles on the same account while in Australia. Min cost over 24 months is $1680.

Nokia Lumia 800 is available in black (from launch) and in white (from Tuesday 20 March).

Microsoft Outlook, Windows, the Windows Phone logo and Xbox LIVE are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Facebook is a trademark of Facebook, Inc. Twitter is a trademark of Twitter, Inc., and is used under license.

 

Hardware

The hotspot is actually quite small in size (96 x 57 x 16.5 mm) and only weights 100 grams. The small form factor of the hotspot allows you to store it in your bag, pocket or really anywhere. The device features a smooth black plastic casing with a button and a switch at the top of the device, which allows you to mute the device as it can beep when a user connects/disconnects. On the bottom, you’ll find a Micro USB connector used for charging the device and two external antenna connectors. On the front, you’ll find an LCD screen and when turn on, it will show signal strength, the number of users connected, battery left and the amount of data downloaded. The SIM card slot is at the rear of the device behind the battery so if you wanted to change the SIM card, you’ll have to power off the device.

Featuring 802.11 b/g/n almost any Wi-Fi enabled device can connect to the hotspot. Your laptop, Xbox 360 console, PlayStation, you name it! You can only have up to 5 users connected to the device at any one time and the coverage was around 45 meters. So you could easily have the device stored in your bag and have a laptop or phone connected to it. You could possibly situate the device in the middle of your house and the Wi-Fi signal would reach (most houses). I would of loved to see a bigger connection limit but it may be a hardware thing at this time, although, 5 users should be enough!

The battery life is said to be 3.5 hours under continuous use. We actually found it to last 4 hours with continuous use or around 6 to 7 hours of sporadic use during the day. It has a standby battery life of around 100 hours, which we experienced (could be a little lower if you use it during the day).

Software / Setup

The hotspot actually doesn’t come with any software you install on your computer. Since you just hook the device up by Wi-Fi there isn’t any need for configuration – it just works. However, if you’re one of those people who likes to tinker with settings or change the configuration of the device, a web based manager is available by going to http://ultimate.telstra in your web browser (see left). It allows you to configure almost anything with the device as well as send/receive SMS messages and change the SSID and password of the device.

Performance

The advertised speed for this modem is anywhere from 550kbps to 20Mbps. You should observe 1.1Mbps to 20Mbps in Ultimate coverage areas and 550kbps to 8Mbps in Elite coverage areas (just about everywhere else). I did a number of speed tests within the Sydney CBD at an average, I received 10.18Mb/s and it peaked at 15.65Mb/s.

I also performed a speed test in the Wollongong CBD which received 8.9Mb/s which is a really impressive result.

In real world terms, you’ll be able to browse websites very quickly and download very quickly. It will take under 5 seconds to download a 3mb file and just under 25 seconds to download a 35mb file. Which is most likely faster than your home internet connection (well, it’s faster than mine)

Closing Thoughts

Targeted at business users, the Telstra Ultimate Mobile Wi-Fi will be able to tackle anything you throw at it. It will allow you to connect to your businesses portal or quickly download important PDF files for a meeting across the City. Home users who don’t want (or can’t get) an ADSL service would also benefit from this service. I loved reviewing this as it shows how solid the Telstra NextG network is and how their network is miles ahead other competing networks.

The AVerMedia DarkCrystal HD Capture Pro card allows anyone to directly record any HDMI or component/composite input to your computer. Perfect for gamers that wish to upload their gameplay to YouTube, the capture card uses PCIe for a high bandwidth connectivity to your computer. Recording in 1080i, the capture card can record almost anything and export to almost anything with the included software. Check out the review after the break.

Features

The capture card has a wide range of features. It can capture video up to 1080i which is super high quality (blu-ray quality), the included software can directly upload to YouTube when recording has finished, Real-time HD H.264 encoding, 4:3/16:9 Aspect Ratio Conversion and it’s compatible with Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder meaning you can directly output the video to a streaming service in full 1080i quality. The capture card also comes with CyberLink PowerDirector 8 HE & CyberLink PowerProducer 5 BD, allowing you to edit your captured videos easily. It also comes with a low profile plate, so you can easily use the capture card in a low profile computer case.

Connectivity

The capture card has two input slots. The first one is a HDMI port allowing you to plug in any HDMi device (eg Blu-ray player, gaming console) and the second one (which looks like a HDMI port but isn’t) allows you to plug in the multi-connection cable provided (see picture to the right). It has S-video, component and composite allowing you to plug in things like video cameras, DVD players, older gaming consoles etc. It’s hot pluggable meaning you don’t need to shut down your computer or close the software to change devices or plug in new ones. We would of liked to see multiple HDMI inputs but i’m sure that will come in another version of the card.

Quality

During testing, I was astounded by the quality. I had an Xbox 360 hooked up by HDMI and was playing a number of games and not one time did the capture stutter, freeze or drop quality. A 1080i 10 minute recording was around 300 mb in size, so if you don’t have the disk space, it might be a good idea to switch to a compressed codec or record in 720p. Unfortunately, I didn’t save any of the recordings but I did find a perfect example of the quality on YouTube. See the video below:

TECHGEEK.com.au CES 2012

During our CES broadcast, AVerMedia provided us with three of their capture cards for the purposes of broadcasting and recording our shows. We were very impressed by the quality of the broadcast and the capture cards did a fine job. You can check out recordings of our shows at our Justin.TV channel.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a cheap and easy solution to record almost anything in super high quality, then the AVerMedia DarkCrystal HD Capture Pro is for you. We were so impressed by the quality, we will continue to use AVerMedia products for our video capturing needs.

Media release after the break.

Telstra opens super-fast 4G network to Pre-Paid customers, launches nation’s first 4G tablet

Media Release

28 February 2012

Mobile internet speeds available to Australians using tablets and Pre-Paid mobile broadband will jump today with Telstra launching the nation’s first super-fast 4G tablet and the first 4G LTE mobile broadband modem for Pre-Paid customers.

Warwick Bray, Executive Director, Telstra Mobile said 4G connectivity was set to make the mobile tablet an even more powerful way for Australians to browse the web, watch video and social network on the move.

“Australians are adopting mobile tablets in record numbers and the Samsung GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G — the nation’s first 4G mobile tablet — promises to boost the appeal of this technology even further. The leap in internet speeds available on GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G means customers can stream HD video and music over the internet, load magazines faster and enjoy rich internet content traditionally confined to a PC screen.”

The GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G is both powerful and ultra-portable and features a high definition 8.9 inch touch screen, a 1.5 GHz dual core processor for fast multi-tasking and weights just 470 grams.

Also launching today is Australia’s first Pre-Paid 4G LTE product – the Telstra Pre-Paid USB 4G.

“Hundreds of thousands of Australians already love the flexibility of Pre-Paid mobile broadband when commuting, logging in from uni or checking Facebook® on holidays. With the launch of the Telstra Pre-Paid USB 4G hundreds of thousands of Australians who rely on pay-as-you-go mobile broadband can access some of the fastest mobile internet speeds available.

“In 4G coverage areas Telstra Pre-Paid USB 4G owners can surf the mobile internet on their laptops up to five times faster than previously possible on 3G Pre-Paid modems. That means they can download songs faster, video chat with fewer interruptions, get TV shows in minutes and do more things simultaneously. And importantly Telstra’s Pre-Paid 4G service allows customers to get connected without the need for fixed term contracts or minimum monthly spend commitments,” Mr Bray said.

Telstra is the first mobile service provider in Australia to offer 4G LTE mobile services and superfast 4G coverage is available in Australia’s eight capital city CBDs (meaning within 5km from GPO)* plus more than 80 regional and metropolitan centres (meaning within 3km from regional town centre)*.

Customers using 4G devices within 4G coverage areas will enjoy typical download speeds ranging from 2Mbps to 40Mbps and typical upload speeds from 1Mbps to 10Mbps.

The GALAXY Tab 8.9 and the Pre-Paid Telstra USB 4G also set new benchmarks for 3G speeds and are among the first mobile devices in Australia to feature 3G dual channel HSPA+ connectivity. This means customers outside 4G coverage areas enjoy super fast 3G speeds previously unavailable on tablets or Pre-Paid modems in Australia. These typical download speeds range from 1.1Mbps-20Mbps and are available in all capital CBDs and much of the associated metropolitan areas and many regional and other locations. Outside of 4G coverage areas the device switches seamlessly onto Telstra’s fast 3G mobile network with reaches 99 per cent of the population.

As well as supporting faster mobile speeds, 4G provides a more responsive internet connection meaning real-time applications like internet gaming and cloud-hosted services work better with fewer interruptions.

The launch of the Telstra Pre-Paid USB 4G and GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G follows last month’s launch of the HTC Velocity 4G (Australia’s first 4G smartphone) and the launch of the Telstra USB 4G (Australia’s first 4G LTE Post-Paid mobile broadband modem) in September 2011.

Key Features and pricing for the Pre-Paid Telstra USB 4G:

• 4G speeds and Australia’s fastest 3G speeds in selected areas.
• Plug and play, with easy automatic installation when you plug the USB device into a computer.
• Compact and lightweight design weighing in at a mere 40 grams.
• Rotating USB connection makes it easy to pug the modem into a laptop.

Customers can purchase the Telstra Pre-Paid USB 4G for $129 which comes with 3GB of data to use in Australia with 30 days’ expiry. Customers can enjoy the extra performance boost of 4G at the Telstra’s current 3G data prices. A range of recharge denominations are available. More information: telstra.com/ppmbb

 

Key Features and pricing for the GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G:

• Runs Android™ 3.2 operating software (upgradable to Android 4.0 in the future)
• Powered by a 6,100 mAh battery for hours of entertainment without needing a recharge.
• Comes with a rear-facing 3-megapixel camera with flash and front-facing 2-megapixel camera.
• Available with either 16GB or 32GB of memory on board.

GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G with 16GB of storage is available from Telstra stores Tuesday 28 February and can be purchased outright for $720 RRP. A 32GB version will be available to purchase outright for $840 RRP. They can both be teamed with a plan that includes a generous monthly data allowance and which allows eligible customers to pay the device off over 24 months.

Full plan details can be found at: telstra.com.au/galaxytab4g

Pre-Paid Offer
Customers can purchase GALAXY Tab 8.9 outright and team it with Telstra’s Pre-Paid Data+ Cap offer, which allows customers to top up data as and when they need. A range of recharge denominations are available. More details can be found at: telstra.com.au/mobiletablets

Telstra Business plans 
Telstra Business customers will also be able to purchase the GALAXY Tab 8.9 from 6 March and team it with a range of Telstra Mobile Broadband® Member Plans over 24 months, including Shared plans, giving business customers the ability to share unused data across eligible services on the same account while in Australia. More details can be found at: telstra.com/business/tablets

* Actual speeds vary due to factors such as location, distance from base station, local terrain, user numbers, hardware and software configuration, and download source/upload destination. Visittelstra.com/mobilebb coverage for details of coverage locations. Network unlocking fee for Pre-Paid Telstra USB 4G applies. Facebook is a registered trade mark of Facebook, Inc. Android is a trade mark of Google, Inc.

“Australians are adopting mobile tablets in record numbers and the Samsung GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G — the nation’s first 4G mobile tablet — promises to boost the appeal of this technology even further. The leap in internet speeds available on GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G means customers can stream HD video and music over the internet, load magazines faster and enjoy rich internet content traditionally confined to a PC screen.” says Warwick Bray, Executive Director of Telstra Mobile.

Other features of the tablet include, a rear-facing 3MP camera and a front facing 2MP camera and a 6,100 mAh battery (no word on how long it will last).

The tablet is available from today at any Telstra store or online. The 16GB version is $720 outright or the 32GB version for $840 outright. Both devices can be teamed with a plan so you can pay off the device over 24 months. The tablet is also available on Prepaid but must be purchased outright.

Full media release below.

Telstra opens super-fast 4G network to Pre-Paid customers, launches nation’s first 4G tablet

Media Release

28 February 2012

Mobile internet speeds available to Australians using tablets and Pre-Paid mobile broadband will jump today with Telstra launching the nation’s first super-fast 4G tablet and the first 4G LTE mobile broadband modem for Pre-Paid customers.

Warwick Bray, Executive Director, Telstra Mobile said 4G connectivity was set to make the mobile tablet an even more powerful way for Australians to browse the web, watch video and social network on the move.

“Australians are adopting mobile tablets in record numbers and the Samsung GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G — the nation’s first 4G mobile tablet — promises to boost the appeal of this technology even further. The leap in internet speeds available on GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G means customers can stream HD video and music over the internet, load magazines faster and enjoy rich internet content traditionally confined to a PC screen.”

The GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G is both powerful and ultra-portable and features a high definition 8.9 inch touch screen, a 1.5 GHz dual core processor for fast multi-tasking and weights just 470 grams.

Also launching today is Australia’s first Pre-Paid 4G LTE product – the Telstra Pre-Paid USB 4G.

“Hundreds of thousands of Australians already love the flexibility of Pre-Paid mobile broadband when commuting, logging in from uni or checking Facebook® on holidays. With the launch of the Telstra Pre-Paid USB 4G hundreds of thousands of Australians who rely on pay-as-you-go mobile broadband can access some of the fastest mobile internet speeds available.

“In 4G coverage areas Telstra Pre-Paid USB 4G owners can surf the mobile internet on their laptops up to five times faster than previously possible on 3G Pre-Paid modems. That means they can download songs faster, video chat with fewer interruptions, get TV shows in minutes and do more things simultaneously. And importantly Telstra’s Pre-Paid 4G service allows customers to get connected without the need for fixed term contracts or minimum monthly spend commitments,” Mr Bray said.

Telstra is the first mobile service provider in Australia to offer 4G LTE mobile services and superfast 4G coverage is available in Australia’s eight capital city CBDs (meaning within 5km from GPO)* plus more than 80 regional and metropolitan centres (meaning within 3km from regional town centre)*.

Customers using 4G devices within 4G coverage areas will enjoy typical download speeds ranging from 2Mbps to 40Mbps and typical upload speeds from 1Mbps to 10Mbps.

The GALAXY Tab 8.9 and the Pre-Paid Telstra USB 4G also set new benchmarks for 3G speeds and are among the first mobile devices in Australia to feature 3G dual channel HSPA+ connectivity. This means customers outside 4G coverage areas enjoy super fast 3G speeds previously unavailable on tablets or Pre-Paid modems in Australia. These typical download speeds range from 1.1Mbps-20Mbps and are available in all capital CBDs and much of the associated metropolitan areas and many regional and other locations. Outside of 4G coverage areas the device switches seamlessly onto Telstra’s fast 3G mobile network with reaches 99 per cent of the population.

As well as supporting faster mobile speeds, 4G provides a more responsive internet connection meaning real-time applications like internet gaming and cloud-hosted services work better with fewer interruptions.

The launch of the Telstra Pre-Paid USB 4G and GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G follows last month’s launch of the HTC Velocity 4G (Australia’s first 4G smartphone) and the launch of the Telstra USB 4G (Australia’s first 4G LTE Post-Paid mobile broadband modem) in September 2011.

Key Features and pricing for the Pre-Paid Telstra USB 4G:

• 4G speeds and Australia’s fastest 3G speeds in selected areas.
• Plug and play, with easy automatic installation when you plug the USB device into a computer.
• Compact and lightweight design weighing in at a mere 40 grams.
• Rotating USB connection makes it easy to pug the modem into a laptop.

Customers can purchase the Telstra Pre-Paid USB 4G for $129 which comes with 3GB of data to use in Australia with 30 days’ expiry. Customers can enjoy the extra performance boost of 4G at the Telstra’s current 3G data prices. A range of recharge denominations are available. More information: telstra.com/ppmbb

 

Key Features and pricing for the GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G:

• Runs Android™ 3.2 operating software (upgradable to Android 4.0 in the future)
• Powered by a 6,100 mAh battery for hours of entertainment without needing a recharge.
• Comes with a rear-facing 3-megapixel camera with flash and front-facing 2-megapixel camera.
• Available with either 16GB or 32GB of memory on board.

GALAXY Tab 8.9 4G with 16GB of storage is available from Telstra stores Tuesday 28 February and can be purchased outright for $720 RRP. A 32GB version will be available to purchase outright for $840 RRP. They can both be teamed with a plan that includes a generous monthly data allowance and which allows eligible customers to pay the device off over 24 months.

Full plan details can be found at: telstra.com.au/galaxytab4g

Pre-Paid Offer
Customers can purchase GALAXY Tab 8.9 outright and team it with Telstra’s Pre-Paid Data+ Cap offer, which allows customers to top up data as and when they need. A range of recharge denominations are available. More details can be found at: telstra.com.au/mobiletablets

Telstra Business plans 
Telstra Business customers will also be able to purchase the GALAXY Tab 8.9 from 6 March and team it with a range of Telstra Mobile Broadband® Member Plans over 24 months, including Shared plans, giving business customers the ability to share unused data across eligible services on the same account while in Australia. More details can be found at: telstra.com/business/tablets

* Actual speeds vary due to factors such as location, distance from base station, local terrain, user numbers, hardware and software configuration, and download source/upload destination. Visittelstra.com/mobilebb coverage for details of coverage locations. Network unlocking fee for Pre-Paid Telstra USB 4G applies. Facebook is a registered trade mark of Facebook, Inc. Android is a trade mark of Google, Inc.

If you haven’t noticed already, your internet may be down or working very slowly. This is due to a nationwide outage that Telstra is currently having – the cause is still unknown but services are slowly returning. The outage began at around 1.50PM Sydney time today and Telstra customers where without internet access for 45 minutes.

(Service Update) As you have noticed some of you may be experiencing intermittent internet access. this is being investigated as a priority.

February 23, 2012 1:36 PM via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@Telstra

Telstra

Users of Telstra have expressed their frustration on Whirlpool saying that their service is offline. Customers from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth and Adelaide lost their ADSL, NextG and Business Services. Also, customers of iiNet, Dodo and many other ISP’s where effected by the outage.

Dodo was the cause

According to SMH, Dodo was the cause of the Telstra outage. Dodo’s Cheif has told SMH: ”What it looks like has happened … is a very minor hardware failure on one of the routers that has caused some big issues between ourselves and Telstra and had a flow on effect to others which it absolutely shouldn’t have,”

Information regarding Dodo’s involvement with the outage first appeared on the Australian Network Operators Group (AUSNog) forum (link here) which then made it’s way to Whirlpool (see above).

Telstra are investigating why the issue actually occurred.

Path shares everything on your iPhone, Zynga spys on you and, do you want to own your very own Aperture Science Portal Gun? Well, find out how on this edition of TECHGEEK Weekly.

Hosted by Terence Huynh, Stewart Wilson and Chris Southcott, the three-man panel discuss and commentate over the week’s important news. And yes, among other things.

Listen, download and subscribe!

DOWNLOAD MP3

SUBSCRIBE via iTunes
SUBSCRIBE via RSS

Show Notes

The Top Stories

Major security flaws found in Google Wallet – allows thief to steal information

Path shares photos–oh, and uploads your contacts, too

We are sorry.

British Govt: Internet slowness, outages could occur during London 2012

Microsoft might be ditching the Start button in the Windows 8 ‘Consumer Preview’

Thurrott: Windows 8 is NOT dropping the Start Button (technically)

Microsoft Office 15 enters Technical Preview, public beta due in summer

OPINION: Windows Phone: Sweet on the outside, sour on the inside

Google brings Chrome to Android – only ICS (for now?)

Ex-Zynga employee exposes secrets – copying, spying, contractors treated like “second citizen employees”

Want to own your own Portal Gun? It’ll cost you 16,000 yen

Telstra ditches email service, moves to Windows Live

Meet @Horse_ebooks: The worst, yet also one of the most hilarious Twitter spambots

The HD 700′s are higher end headphones which has a headlining feature of its vented magnet system. Which manages the air flow to prevent unwanted resonance or “turbulence”. The headphones shouldn’t be used with any old device as Sennheiser recommends you use a amplifier as any old device doesn’t provide power. The Verge has said they prefer the HD 25′s as they provide more “oomph”.

Source: The Verge 

The Powerline 500 Nano also has NETGEAR’s unique “Pick-a-Plug” function which automatically tests the connection at any power point and displays the results with coloured LED lights to ensure that users can pick the best power point for the highest possible network connection.

The Powerline 500 Nano will be available Q1 2012 for $119.95 worldwide.

Powerline 500 Nano

With best-in-class performance and reliability, NETGEAR’s Powerline 500 Nano converts any electrical outlet in your house into a high speed network connection, instantly. It offers easy, plug-and-play setup and top speeds, all in the smallest form factor available today. The Powerline 500 Nano is perfect for connecting a single device such as game console, Blu-ray™ player, Smart TV, HD set-top box, network DVR, PC, and other devices to the home network router and the Internet. Gamers particularly benefit from Powerline technology because of its exceptionally low latency.

NETGEAR’s Powerline 500 Nano delivers speeds up to 500 Mbps, which easily accommodates HD and 3D HD video streaming, multimedia, multiplayer gaming and other bandwidth intensive tasks. With NETGEAR’s unique “Pick-a-Plug” function, the Powerline 500 Nano automatically tests the connection at any electrical outlet and displays the results in the form of color coded LED lights to ensure that users can pick a specific electrical outlet in order to ensure the highest possible performance.

Pricing and Availability
NETGEAR Powerline 500 Nano will be available in Q1 2012 for $119.99. The NETGEAR N900 Video and Gaming 4-Port WiFi Adapter will be available in the summer of 2012 for $79.99. Both products will also be available worldwide from major retailers in stores and online.

More information
To learn more about NETGEAR’s Powerline 500 Nano and N900 Video and Gaming 4-Port WiFi Adapter or the, please visit http://www.netgear.com/N500 and http://www.netgear.com/N900.

Aimed for HD/3D Smart TV’s, streaming media players and the like, the WN2500RP will allow you easily extend your wireless network and share it in a new room or even in another house. No word on availability yet or pricing. More available on their website.

Hard drive manufacturer, Seagate has provided a financial update, reiterating that the demand for hard drives will exceed the supply this year. Meaning it will be hard to purchase hard drives at their usual cheap price. Seagate claims that prices of hard drives will remain quite stable.  ”The exabyte (overall capacity) shortage will be more pronounced than the unit shortage, and as a result pricing is expected to remain stable,” Seagate added.

Due to the recent floods in Thailand, many hard drive manufacturers (such as Seagate or Western Digital) have had to stop or slow down their production. This has had a huge effect on consumers as prices have sky-rocketed and the supply of hard drives has dropped significantly.

Intel has also said it should see a fall in revenue as people will not be building new computers due to the price of hard drives. They estimate to loose $1 billion dollars in 2012.

Source: Cnet

The year 2011 was one year that we will all never forget. Even though they were all in the beginning of the year, the floods in Queensland and Brazil, the earthquakes in Christchurch and the tsunami in the north of Japan are still present in all of our minds. We also saw the death of a tech luminary, Steve Jobs; and the powerful News Corporation losing its influence over politicians in the UK after the phone hacking scandal took a drastic turn from celebrities to victims of crime.

This year, we’ve decided to recap the top 11 tech stories of the year – from security problems to business failures, and even the growing popularity of Windows Phone 7.

You can explore the choices below.

• The Revolutions Heard Around The Globe
• The Catastrophic Disaster of the PSN
• Steve Jobs: 1955 – 2011
• The Phone Hacking that killed the News
• A Global War – Apple v Samsung
• A 50 Day Hacking Campaign, for the lulz
• The Rise of Windows Phone 7
• An annus horribilis for RIM and Netflix
• Palm is dead, WebOS lives on
• Social: Google enters, LinkedIn goes IPO and Timeline
• Gone Viral: Friday – an instant success amongst the haters
• Credits

Image Credits: Al Jazeera English (Left) and David Shankbone (Right). All are licensed under Creative Commons.

So, if you did miss our Holiday Gift Guide Live podcast this year, Stewart actually found a way of recording it. So this is the entire two-hour live show, unedited and uncensored for your own listening pleasure.

Featuring Stewart Wilson, Terence Huynh and Tom Solari to answer the 120-ish questions, we gave away many prizes. We couldn’t get through of all of the questions, but we will be using it to write some stuff for TECHGEEK.com.au in the upcoming year.

So listen, like, tweet and subscribe! See you next year.

If you’re looking for the news portion of the podcast – it’s episode 72. Also, it is a 71MB-ish file, so it will take a while to download. So you’re much better off streaming it from the handy player below.

DOWNLOAD MP3

SUBSCRIBE via iTunes
SUBSCRIBE via RSS

Don’t forget! We have our live podcast on this Friday, 16th December 2011 starting at 7:00PM. The show will be filled with Gift Ideas, best products to buy and of course, giveaways! However, you have to be an Australian citizen to win. But how do you win? Simple. Ask us a question.

The live show will start at 7:00PM Sydney/Melbourne Time (6:00PM Brisbane Time, 3:00PM Perth Time) with our Pre-Show (we will be recording the last episode of the year of TECHGEEK Weekly), then at 7:30PM we will get straight into the Holiday Gift Guide special. We will have different sections of the podcast to announce winners and also

Any answer from November 21 up until Friday December 16 7:00PM, will be in the running to win one of these great products:

• NETGEAR N600 Dual Band Gigabit Router – Premium Edition
• 5 x BitDefender Total Security 2012
• Buffalo Home Networking Pack w/ LinkStation Pro
• Kingston Wi-Drive
• 10 x TegaTech Screen Cleaner – Double Pack
• 3 x 50GB Binverse Download Accounts
• AlfaHosts Web Hosting Account (US-Web-Standard)

So what do you need to go in the running to win one of these prizes? Simply submit a question to our team via http://holiday.techgeek.com.au or by filling in the form below by the 16th of December 2011. It’s that easy! After the 16th of December 2011, we will pick someone at random. Please remember to take a look at our giveaway rules.

Thanks to our friends at Kingston, one lucky winner has the chance to win this fantastic Kingston Wi-Drive (RRP $149.99). With it’s built in 16GB of flash storage, Wi-Drive allows iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch users to stream movies, listen to music, view pictures or download documents by utilizing the Wi-Drive App (available on the App Store) and Wi-Fi 802.11 g/n.The files are easily retrieved wirelessly and without the need for messy cables.

So what do you need to go in the running to win this great router? Simply submit a question to our team via http://holiday.techgeek.com.au or by filling in the form below by the 16th of December 2011. It’s that easy! After the 16th of December 2011, we will pick someone at random. Please remember to take a look at our giveaway rules.

Kingston Wi-Drive Features and Specifications:
•    Capacities*: 16GB, 32GB
•    Dimensions: 121.5mm x 61.8mm x 9.8mm
•    Operating Temperature: 32°F to 122°F (0°C to 50°C)
•    Storage Temperature: 14°F to 185°F (-10°C to 70°C)
•    Wireless Network Interface: Wi-Fi 802.11g/n with wireless security (WPA/WEP)
•    Rechargeable Battery: up to four hours of continuous use
•    Cable: Mini-USB to USB cable included.  User can upload files and content from their

PC/Mac to the Wi-Drive using the USB cable
•    Portable: Uses Flash-based technology for durability and reliability
•    Convenient: pocket-sized for easy transportability
•    Simple: just plug into a USB port
•    Guaranteed: one-year warranty
•    App: downloadable at Apple’s App Store
•    Compatible with: iPad, iPhone 3G/3GS/4, iPod touch (3G is limited to iOS 4.2.1+)
•    Configurable APN (access point name) and Key functions to connect to Wireless Access

Point (Internet Connection)
•    Supported File Formats:
•    Audio: AAC, MP3, WAV
•    Video: m4v, mp4, mov, Motion JPEG (M-JPEG), AVI
•    Image: jpg, bmp, tiff
•    Document: pdf, doc, docx, ppt, pptx, txt, rtf, xls

* Some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions and thus is not available for data storage. For more information, please consult Kingston’s Flash Memory Guide at Kingston.com/Flash_Memory_Guide.

We’ve set some conditions for our laptops and made 3 categories (much like our Budget/Pre-Paid Smartphones gift guide) – the budget laptop (cheapest laptop), the beast (does everything you need it to be) and the All-rounder (best laptop overall). Another condition is that it cannot be a netbook. We are taking prices from top Australian retailers such as Officeworks, JB Hi-Fi and Dick Smith Electronics.

Budget Laptop: Compaq Presairo CQ43

The Compaq Presairo CQ43 has made it into our Budget laptop category. This laptop features the new AMD E-300 1.3GHz APU with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 320GB hard disk and a 14″ LED Display. We have chosen this laptop because it features a relatively powerful processor, a sufficient amount of RAM and hard disk space and it’s small enough to fit in most back packs. It has a 6-cell battery which should last around 3 or 4 hours if you doing light web browsing or word processing. Weighing just 2.5KG, it’s a perfect pick for High School or University.

JB Hi-Fi: $295
Officeworks: $348
DSE: $349

The Beast: Acer Aspire AS8950G

If your looking for something to perform either when browsing the web or gaming, we cannot go past the Acer Aspire AS8950G – this year’s beast. Featuring an Intel Core i7-630qm 2.0ghz (can boost up to 2.9ghz) with 8GB of DDR3 Ram, a 1.5TB hard disk, an ATI Radeon HD 6850 with 1GB of Dedicated Memory, Blu-Ray player and a 18.4″ LCD Display – this laptop is set out to impress. The graphics card can play most new games such as Skyrim or Starcraft 2 and the built in Blu-Ray player will be able to play movies in Full 1080p native resolution. Weighing in at 3.8KG, It’s a laptop for just around the house (or you can move it around.. that’s okay too).

JB Hi-Fi: $1698
Not available anywhere else.

All-rounder: Acer Aspire AS5750-2434G64Mnkk

If your looking for something that performs well with everything you set it out to do with a cheap price tag, this Acer is great for the price. Featuring an Core i5-2430M 2.40ghz (with 3.0ghz burst) with 4GB of DDR3 Ram, 640gb hard disk, an Intel HD Graphics 3000 graphics card with 128MB dedicated memory and a 15.6″ LED Display. It has a 6 cell battery meaning you should get around 2 to 3 hours out of this machine. Paired with a card reader and Wireless-N, this laptop is a great all-rounder with decent performance with demanding programs. Weighing in at just 2.6KG, this laptop should be easy to carry around in a backpack or around the house.

JB Hi-Fi: $593
Officeworks: $594
DSE: $598

Think we missed a laptop, or have your own suggestions? Add them to the comments below – we’d love to hear it. Also, stay tuned for our picks for the best smartphones and tablets.