While Apple is reported to be in talks with China Unicom to offer the iPhone in China, where it hopes to get the device sold in that country within the next year or so; talks of a trademark dispute over the word “iPhone” could be a hurdle in selling the device.

The company, Hanwang Technology, owns the trademark “i-phone” – and that could make it illegal for Apple to sell the phone under that name.

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3 Mobile, thanks to their merger with Vodafone Australia to create Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA), has previously said that the iPhone 3GS is coming to their network in July, and now, we know the exact date on when that is happening.

The date, confirmed to be on July 17, 2009, will see phones to be sold through 3 stores, their dealers, 3 direct and via their website. While the date has been confirmed, pricing is said to be “announced closer to the launch date”.

“Since we announced that 3 mobile would be selling the iPhone 3G S we have been inundated with customers who have pre-registered their interest in this device,” Nigel Dews, CEO for VHA, said in a press statement. “Our commitment is to give our loyal customers the great value and benefits they deserve and have come to expect from the 3 brand.”

Users can pre-register their interest at their website at http://www.three.com.au/iphone.

With 3 having the iPhone 3GS on sale, this brings Australia the only country that has the iPhone to be available on all major carriers, with many other countries being locked to one (or two) carriers. While Telstra signed to them directly, Optus and Vodafone were helped by their parent companies’ regional deals with Apple. 3 and Virgin Mobile (owned 100 percent by Optus) scored the iPhone thanks to their links to Optus (for Virgin) or Vodafone (for 3).

In the US, it is currently under the AT&T network, with rumours that Verizon could possibly be the second carrier; while New Zealand iPhone users are using the Vodafone network, thanks to a regional deal. Vodafone, in New Zealand, is the one out of three mobile carriers in that country, with the other one being Telecom NZ and the newly-launched 2degrees.

Apple Inc. has released the iPhone SDK and Firmwire 3.1 Beta to iPhone Developer Standard or Enterprise Program participants. There were few details to the seeded developers. This comes just a few weeks after after the official release of the iPhone OS 3.0.

North Korea will be finally stepping into the 21st century after it was reported (by a government website) that internet access via their mobile phones will be turned on, allowing users to have access to news reports by the Korean Central News Agency and news about Pyongyang, the capital of the country.

According to the Associated Press, the website – seen on an ordinary computer – will allow users to listen to music, get information about books or other information and even engage in chatting via the web. No word if this will be on the mobile site, however.

The service is set to be run by the network that is run by the Government with the cooperation with Egypt-based Orascom Telecom, which was launched in December of last year. The company had reached over 20,000 users by the end of March.

The service comes with several restrictions – including that phones are not allowed to have contact with non-North Koreans, and that networks that foreigners use when they are permitted to go inside the state are banned to non-foreigners.

This Morning Telecom released their Line of Mobile Phones for the new XT mobile network.

After the setback earlier  phones start from $150.
you can look at the line of phones here http://www.testdrive.co.nz/?pid=int025.#/newrange

Telecom are yet to release the pricing plans 

Luke Chandler Reporting for TECHGEEK.com.au

Telecom will not be selling the iPhone when it launches its XT network on Friday week.

This comes a huge disappointment, How Evere Teleoms's Retail manager Alan Goudie said Telecom remained in "deep discussions" with Apple over the iPhone.

Telecom will be foucsing on the low cost of calls, for prepaid mobile users, who will be charged by the second for calls after the first minute of their call means on a prepay phone call lasting one minute five seconds that costs $1.78 today will cost 97 cents.

Chandler's Review...

I think that Apples going to bring out the new iPhone in June - July. So Whats the sense in bringing out the iPhone when a new ones going to come out.

Luke Chandler reporting for TECHGEEK.com.au

Vodafone has started legal proceedings against Telecom, Vodafone Claims that5 Telecom's new XT network is interfering with Vodafone's existing  GSM network with calls dropping and and reduced network signal.

The change would mean the two rival mobile networks would be using the same technology, and almost all the country would be covered by the global system for mobile communication. 

The face of Telecoms new XT Mobile network is TopGear's Richard Hammond. Its alleged Mr Hammond was paid $600,000 (NZD) to Star in the commercial.

By the looks Telecom have removed the countdown timer from their New XT Site. (Testdrive.co.nz)

The Numbers...

• Vodafone has a 53 per cent share of NZ mobile phone subscribers to Telecom's 47 per cent.
• Vodafone's share of revenue is 69 per cent to Telecom's 31 per cent.
• A survey of three Auckland secondary schools found Vodafone had 90 per cent of the traffic.
• Telecom's wider coverage makes it popular in rural areas.

Luke Chandler. Reporting for TECHGeek.com.au

Nokia, the number one maker of mobile phones in terms of market share, has reported in its first quarter of 2009 earnings today, and has said that it had a worse-than expected 90 percent drop in its net profit, as the phone maker faces a difficult year as the economic slowdown continues to hit hard.

Net profit, according to the Wall Street Journal, plummeted to €122 million, from €1.22 billion last year – missing the expectations by analysts to fall to €306 million.

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