Little known insider info...

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I have some friends in the telecommunications industry, yes, I know it's hard to think of me having friends, but just look at it as hope for my geek brethren.   As I was saying, I chased up my friends on the inside trying to get the goss on the iPhone launch for Telstra.  Well, I even offered chocolate but no dice, this could mean two things, 1) There is no news regarding the iPhone launch for Telstra or, 2) I need to get some new friends, ones who are easier to bribe with chocolate.

It wasn't all a loss though as they sent me this link:

http://www.qrious.com.au/main.html

I got this a few days ago, and due to being a little busy I didn't get to post about it.  There was this cool countdown thing and it was all mysterious, but there wasn't much actual information.  I did fire out the link on Twitter in the hope that a new friend may have some insight, which got me this link this morning:

www.qmcodes.com

In the tech world we see a lot of crazy ideas, and most of the those ideas stay crazy.  If you are a fan of the TWIT Network you may have heard the discussion about adding a barcode reader on the iPhone.  The idea was that you would be able to walk into the store and using a app on the iPhone from, say, Amazon, scan the barcode of the item you want and purchase the item online and have it sent to your home.  But this isn't it, I think.

Although this Telstra service will probably turn into another of their gimmicky services that goes nowhere, I have to give them points for trying.  And maybe it is the start of something useful, maybe Myer or Big W will pick up on it and we will be able to walk in, make a wish list by taking pictures of the Qmcodes with our phones, and order the items online after we have checked that the item will fit, plug in, or is approved by the significant other.

It looks like only a couple of phones will be able to work with Telstra's version of Qmcodes, although we may be able to download the software from qmcodes.com.  That being said, I'll be waiting till there is more to do than just checking out old Bond clips.

Jason Remnant

Caution iPhone Unloading zone

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You may have noticed that there is a little hype regarding the release of the new iPhone next month.  This hype is a heightened for us lucky Australians as it will be the first iPhone for us, so we can pretend it is "The Beginning".  We will get the chance to drink from the chalice of popularity and coolness, legally.  Yes, soon we too will be hemmed down and shackled to the big Apple like the lucky Americans and some Europeans, except for our freedom-loving Chinese, who get their iPhone, and get to eat it too.

I'm not going to pretend that I'm not affected by the allure of having a beautiful piece of electronics, just like millions of others.  I'm on the list and will be checking the iPhone out on release like everyone else, but will I buy one on release?  Probably not.

I don't know what sort of craziness will happen when I get to gaze upon perfection.  I have been known to do silly things on impulse, especially if there is computers involved.  In this case though I hope that my electronics buying "spidey senses" will kick in and I'll remember that this iPhone is a new iPhone.

What do I mean?  Well, the first iPhone may be a year old and have the odd million out in the marketplace, but the New iPhone is kinda New, with a New radio (G3), New GPS, New Sync software, New Carriers, and New battery.  Looks to me like the only thing tried and tested is the hype surrounding the launch.

The original iPhone had reception problems in its early days, and don't forget the missing features in the software (MMS, cut & paste).  And like any mobile Phone, there were the odd failures of the hardware.  If we were getting the original iPhone I would be first in line, as the hardware and software are proven.   I'm going to try and wait with the New iPhone as apart from the new hardware, I'm interested in what the new software store will bring to the platform as well.

There are some big promises with the iPhone, but at the end of the day, it is just a mobile phone made in China like all the rest.  As much as I believe in the Apple, sorry, Steve Job's vision, and love and use their products, I'm not blind to the hype and the limitations.   Wait and watch, and make sure that you are getting the right iPhone that will save your soul.....


Jason Remnant