Ameo.com has posted some great unboxing pictures of the iPhone 3G (both the white and the black iPhone 3G gets unboxed). I'm sure the web will soon be flooded with unboxing pictures as people around the world excitedly rip their new phones open, but Ameo's pictures are some of the best unboxing pictures I have ever seen. Head on over to check out what you'll get in the box (note that the pictures are of the Australian iPhone, so the power adapter might look different than what you're used to) and to see a black iPhone 3G compared to a white one.
Update: changed the link to point to Flickr at Ameo's request.
Optus has released information on iPhone plan pricing for Australia. There are two options: post-paid and pre-paid.
The post-paid option includes what they're calling a "Cap Plan" and a "Yes Plan." The Cap Plan (all prices are Australian dollars) starts at $19 and offers 100MB of mobile internet data and $50 of calls and text, and maxes out at 1GB of data and $1500 of calls for $179.
All Cap Plans include free 20-minute voice calls to other Optus GSM mobiles in Australia (within hourly restrictions), and free 5-minute voice calls to phones on the same account, 24/7.
The Yes Plans start at $19 for 100MB of data and $14 of calls, and maxes out at 1GB of data and $144 of calls for $149. There are several text and rollover options for both.
The pre-paid options offer an 8GB iPhone for $729 and a 16GB phone for $849. These phones can be unlocked free of charge after six months, or for a $60 fee any time before then (including the time of purchase). So, totally unlocked iPhone 3G will be sold in Australia for $789 (the 8GB model) or $929 (16GB).
The Australian iTunes Store has become the latest to offer television programming for purchase.
Shoppers will notice that pricing is standard across all shows at $2.99 AUS per episode. There are no season passes available as of this writing, and several American shows, like Lost, Pimp My Ride (we're sorry), Hannah Montana (we're really sorry) and Scrubs (we're indifferent) are available along side Australian shows like Sleek Geek and We Can Be Heroes.
ABC Studios, Disney, MTV, Nine Network and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation are represented in iTunes.
We're sure that our friends down under have been wondering where is all the Apple love for Australia. Well, they can stop the sorrow and feel the joy as Apple is set to open it's first Australia Apple Store on Thursday, June 19. The store in question will be located in Sydney and will feature the "world's largest Genius Bar" according to a recent Apple press release (see, that's what you get for waiting so long).
Apple also notes that the store will accommodate over 80 Macs and 60 iPods (talk about Apple goodness). The Apple store in Sydney will open at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday June 19. The Apple Store Sydney is located at 367 George Street, one block North of the Queen Victoria Building.
During the keynote every time the App Store was mention people would say it was 'launching soon,' or that their apps would be 'available at launch.' No one mentioned a specific launch day. Apple might have let the cat out of the bag though. The image to the right was just snapped off of Apple's Australian iPod Touch page. It clearly stated that the App Store, and presumably the 2.0 firmware for both the iPhone and the iPod Touch, will be available on June 27th. That contradicts the 'early July' timeline mentioned in the keynote.
I know I speak for all iPhone/iPod touch users when I say: we wouldn't mind getting this firmware a little early, Apple.
Details are beginning to emerge on future Apple Stores. First of all, ClarionLedger is reporting that Mississippi's first Apple Store is in the works. They've begun advertising for retail positions in at the Renaissance at Colony Park, with rumors saying that the store could open in the next couple of weeks.
Likewise, the first Apple Store in the southern hemisphere moved one step closer to opening day in Sydney, Australia. Similar to a tactic they used in Boston, the facade hiding the store from the public has been covered with a sign that reads, "Drop in soon. Apple Store, Sydney."
TUAW readers in Mississippi and Sydney: Keep your eyes peeled for us and let us know if you see anything interesting!
A little birdie flew into TUAW Headquarters (read: Scott's Philadelphia apartment) this morning. In fact, he flew all the way from Australia to tell us that Vodafone will not be the exclusive carrier in Australia.
"What's that, little bird?" we asked. He said that Aussie carriers will have their own plans and deals, and that unlocked iPhones will be sold at Apple Stores.
Now, we can't substantiate the bird's accuracy (though he did say "G'Day" and "mate" several times), but considering the announcement that Italy will have two carriers, we aren't dismissing it out-of-pocket, either.
According to a post on fscklog (English translation here), Apple may use the Austrian market as the testing ground for a new 3G phone. T-Mobile Austria announced on Monday that a UMTS version of the iPhone will be available "...soon" with "more flexible" options. We assume that "more flexible options" refers to user plans.
Last September, ZDNet Australia surmised that their country could be the first to receive a 3G iPhone, noting Apple's timetable for a battery capable of supporting a 3G phone ("...late 2008") and the iPhone's launch date in Asia Pacific. A good guess, but T-Mobile's announcement seems to shoot it down.
If any TUAW readers in Austria can shed some light on the speculation, please let us know.
ifoAppleStore is reporting that plans are in place for a third Apple Store in Australia.
While construction on the Sydney store is underway and a Melbourne store is rumored to be planned for the Chadstone Shopping Centre, it looks like a third store will be build in Chatswood (north of Sydney).
Steve Wozniak is in Australia this week to speak at the Broadband and Beyond Conference. He's also sat down with The Sydney Morning Herald to discuss, among other things, his disappointment with the iPhone:
"To tell you the truth I was really disappointed when the iPhone was introduced ... half the phones in the AT&T store at the time were 3G phones ... I was shocked because Apple is bringing the full internet [to mobiles] ... and it's not 3G."
Woz isn't alone in this complaint. Since the iPhone is the first mobile phone I've ever owned (I know - crazy), my only experience is with EDGE. Of course it isn't as fast as broadband in my house, but it isn't unusably slow, either.
iPhoto users in Australia and New Zealand can finally purchase iPhoto books, calendars and cards from Apple. You'll need iLife '08 with iPhoto at version 7.1.2. Picture Books start from $39.99, calendars are $26.99 and postcards and greeting cards range from $1.99 to $2.69.
Now that you've got access, here are some cool things you can do
The Sydney Morning Herald has been doing a little poking around the city council blueprints office, and they've come back with an artists' representation of what the new Apple Store will look like there-- a huge glass cube, basically, embedded in the building. A few people who sent it to us (thanks!) said there was supposed to be a huge Apple hanging in the window, but I don't see it. I believe it'll be there, though-- the New York store has a similar design, and the SMH article does mention that big white Apple logo.
It also mentions that Apple is going to stick a huge crane in the street to set up all that glass, and that the store will have three full levels, with the top level going to the Genius Bar. Also nice to see that Apple is tight-lipped about mentioning the store to the newspaper, making them (I'm pretty sure) the only company ever to keep the lid shut on an upcoming retail location. I'm sure the folks from Wal-mart would love to chat with the media about one of their new stores.
Still, it'll be nice for you Aussies to have somewhere to go and get your iPhones, MacBooks, and Cinema Displays-- the UK store has already hit 10 million visitors. Word is that the Sydney store will open sometime after mid-2008.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the store will be located at 367 George Street in Sydney, and use 445-square-meters of space over three floors. It looks like the front will feature a glass facade and suspended Apple logo, as we've seen in New York, as well as a glass staircase connecting the three floors.
Sounds good, Sydney! If any TUAW "spy photographers" get a snap of the construction, let us know. Thanks, Daniel!
Our friends down under were getting a little nervous. There had been whispers that syncing their precious iPods might land them in jail, all thanks to Australia's proposed Copyright Amendment Bill 2006. It was touch and go there for a while, but now that the controversial copyright amendment bill has passed through Parliament, we find out that it went through significant revisions and it's now been clarified by the Australia's Attorney General "that it would be perfectly legal to sing Happy Birthday in a public place, record television or radio programs for viewing at a later date, and copy legitimately purchased music to an external medium such as an iPod or a CD." There's even an official FAQ confirming it.
The Australian 
During the keynote every time the App Store was mention people would say it was 'launching soon,' or that their apps would be 'available at launch.' No one mentioned a specific launch day. Apple might have let the cat out of the bag though. The image to the right was just snapped off of Apple's 
Details are beginning to emerge on future Apple Stores. First of all, 
A little birdie flew into TUAW Headquarters (read: Scott's Philadelphia apartment) this morning. In fact, he flew all the way from Australia to tell us that Vodafone will not be the exclusive carrier in Australia.
According to 
ifoAppleStore 
Steve Wozniak is in Australia this week to speak at the Broadband and Beyond Conference. He's also sat down with 
iPhoto users in Australia and New Zealand can finally 
The Sydney Morning Herald has been doing a little poking around the city council blueprints office, and they've 
Last week, Apple revealed plans for 
Our friends down under were getting a little nervous. There had been whispers that syncing their precious iPods might land them in jail, all thanks to Australia's proposed Copyright Amendment Bill 2006. It was touch and go there for a while, but now that the controversial copyright amendment bill has passed through Parliament, we find out that it went through significant revisions and it's now been clarified by the Australia's Attorney General "that it would be perfectly legal to sing Happy Birthday in a public place, record television or radio programs for viewing at a later date, and copy legitimately purchased music to an external medium such as an iPod or a CD." There's even an 
Now that laptop case manufacturers have had a few weeks to react to the new MacBook, they've started to release an array of sleeves that fit perfectly around the MacBook's refined curves. There's something for everyone here, whether you want 
