Days in Picture, 11-JULY-2008, Auckland, New Zealand

Men run in front of a bull during the fourth day of the annual bull-running festival in Pamplona, northern Spain. One man was gored and six others taken to hospital. Dozens have been hurt since Monday.

A sadhu, or Hindu holy man, emerges from a swim in the River Ganges near Allahabad, India.

A boy collects spent bullet casings from the ground in the northern city of Tripoli after the Lebanese army is deployed to end renewed sectarian clashes there in which four people were killed.

Kashmiri women wait outside the only maternity hospital in the north-western Indian city of Srinagar.

An elderly Tibetan shouts slogans against the Chinese government at a protest in the Indian capital, Delhi.

A French army paratrooper rehearses his landing on the Place de la Concorde in Paris ahead of the Bastille Day parade on 14 July.

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iPhone 3G prices and plans for 20 countries (updated)

With less than a week to go before the launch of the iPhone 3G, we thought we'd be able to compile a list of iPhone prices for the 20 countries where the new version or Apple's phone will be making its debut on the 11th. But surprisingly, seven operators still haven't announced any pricing. Maybe that's good decision-making on their part, because in a good number of cases, the pricing of the phone and especially the plans were disappointing, often translating in significantly more than the $199/$299 indicated by Steve Jobs in his WWDC keynote.

The pricing diversity around the world—or even within Europe—is staggering: you can pay anywhere from $94 to $377 for an 8GB iPhone 3G and between $24 and $128 for plans that may only have a (few) hundred MB worth of data or are "unlimited." Denmark isn't as bad as it looks, because the minimum contract is only six months and prices drop by a third if you stay after that. The Netherlands is pretty good, especially considering that you can have your iPhone unlocked for free after 12 months.

Update: added Canadian iPhone prices; Belgium is no longer getting the iPhone this Friday; added Telstra; added Vodafone Portugal plans.

Update 2: added prices and plans for New Zealand, Mexico, ONE in Austria.

Country	Carrier	8GB	16GB	Plan	Minutes	SMS	Data	Contract
Australia	Optus	uncomparable pricing
Australia	Telstra	no prices yet
Australia	Vodafone	no prices yet
Austria	T-Mobile	no prices yet
Austria	ONE	uncomparable pricing
Canada	Rogers	$199	$299	$60	150	75	400MB	36 months
Denmark	Telia	$298	$426	$128	300	unlimited	300MB	6 months
Finland	Sonera	$250	$385	$50	100	100	100MB	24 months
Germany	T-Mobile	$94	$236	$77	100	40	Unlimited	24 months
Hong Kong	Three	$377	$479	$24	500	unlimited	500MB	24 months
Ireland	O2	$265	$360	$71	175	100	1GB	18 months
Italy	Vodafone	$313	$423	$93	400	400	600MB	24 months
Italy	TIM	no prices yet
Japan	Softbank	uncomparable pricing
Mexico	Telcel	$331	$454	$44	200	100	100MB	24 months
Netherlands	T-Mobile	$126	$252	$47	150	150	Unlimited	24 months
New Zealand	Vodafone	$414	$527	$60	120	600	250MB	24 months
Norway	NetCom	$275	$452	$79	100	100	100MB	12 months?
Portugal	Optimus	no prices yet
Portugal	Vodafone	???	???	$47	100	100	250MB	24 months
Spain	Movistar	no prices yet
Sweden	Telia	$284	$451	$50	100	100	100MB	24 months
Switzerland	Orange	no prices yet
Switzerland	Swisscom	$249	$349	$25	-	-	100MB	24 months
United Kingdom	O2	$196	$315	$59	75	125	Unlimited	18 months
United States	AT&T	$199	$299	$70	450	-	Unlimited	24 months

Here come the caveats: although I think I managed to decipher plans on non-English language web sites, I may have made a mistake here or there. I've chosen the cheapest usable plans. The dollar conversion was taken from earlier reports in some cases, so it may not reflect the most current conversion rates, and for Canada and Switzerland, I've used a one-to-one conversion rate because the difference was only two percent or less. In some countries (Canada...) basic services incur extra fees, while in the US and Canada there are significant extra fees that come on top of a plan, as well as sales tax, which is included in most European countries. Use the links to see all the details.

Note: You can get your phone repair, iPhone unlock and unblock by the leading mobile phone repair specialist Omni Tech Limited, 378 Great North Road, Henderson, Auckland. Tel: (09) 8383943, info@omnitech.co.nz

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The Cold Weather of Auckland, New Zealand, July 2008.

This is one of the coldest winter we experience since moving to New Zealand. The coldest hour would be around 7:00am each day, Suprisingly the sun was shinning brightly for the last two days

See the weather forecast below:

Tuesday 8 Jul

12c

2c

NE

Fine weather. Southerly breezes.

0

20080708

Wednesday 9 Jul

13c

1c

Fine weather. Light southerly.

1

20080709

Thursday 10 Jul

14c

6c

Fine weather. Northeasterlies developing.

2

20080710

Friday 11 Jul

16c

10c

Few light showers developing. Northerlies.

3

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Can you afford the new 3G Apple iPhone?

Out of curiousity, I checked on the new procing for the 3G Apple iPhone, there are some fun news you should read about the reaction of the New Zealand consumers. Petition in New Zealand against the pricing has started and you can view it here.

The following was abstracted for your "viewing" fun:

iPhone 3G Plans

Vodafone offers three great iPhone plans - iPhone 250, iPhone 500 and iPhone 1GB

iPhone Specific Plans	iPhone 250	iPhone 500	iPhone 1GB
Cost per Month	$80	$130	$250
Included Minutes	120	250	600
Included TXT	600	600	600
Included Data	250 MB	500 MB	1 GB
Additional Usage
Per minute	$0.69	$0.55	$0.53
Per TXT	$0.20	$0.20	$0.20
Per MB	$0.10	$0.10	$0.03
iPhone with plan
8GB iPhone	$549	$449	$199
16GB iPhone	$699	$599	$349

iPhone Only

To purchase an iPhone 3G with no plan you'll need to visit a Vodafone retail store.

iPhone only	iPhone 8GB	iPhone 16GB
	$979	$1129

Broadband plans for mobile

You can use the iPhone on other Vodafone On Account plans (You Choose, talkZone or Corporate). To get Vodafone mobile broadband you will need to sign up to a compatible 200MB or 1GB Broadband plan for mobile. Broadband plans for mobile are on a 24 month term.

Broadband plans for mobile	Broadband 200MB	Broadband 1GB
Price per month	$29.95	$49.95
Included Data	200MB	1GB
Additional Cost per MB	$0.50	$0.50
Bundle Insurance	If you reach your data limit, we'll automatically give you that limit again at the same speed, for just $10 more

Ending your contract early (Early Termination Charge)

If your needs have changed and you want to end your iPhone or Broadband plan for mobile contract early, we'll do everything we can to help - but there may be fees.

The size of the fee depends on how early you're cancelling.

iPhone	0-6 Months	6-12 Months	+12 Months
iPhone 250MB	$600	$520	$260
iPhone 500MB	$780	$670	$330
iPhone 1GB	$1050	$910	$450
Broadband plan for mobile	0-6 Months	7-18 Months	19-24 Months
Broadband 200MB	$160	$160	$30
Broadband 1GB	$160	$160	$50

Early Resign Fee

Sometimes it makes sense to renew your Vodafone contract before it ends. If that's possible on your contract, an early resign fee may apply.

iPhone	0-6 Months	6-12 Months	+12 Months
iPhone 250MB	Not avail	Not avail	$150
iPhone 500MB	Not avail	Not avail	$150
iPhone 1GB	Not avail	Not avail	$150
Broadband Plan for Mobile	0-12 Months	13-18 Months	19-24 Months
Broadband 200MB	Not avail	$150	$0
Broadband 1GB	Not avail	$150	$0

Switching to an iPhone plan

Plan transfer fees only apply if you downgrade your plan within the first 6 months of your current term

Switching from	iPhone 250	iPhone 500	iPhone 1GB
Choose 20	$0	$0	$0
Choose 60/ Mobilise 50	$0	$0	$0
Choose 120/ Mobilise 100	$0	$0	$0
Choose 250/ Mobilise 200	$340	$0	$0
Choose 600/ Mobilise 400	$540	$0	$0
Choose 1100/ Mobilise 750	$640	$100	$0
Choose 2000/ Mobilise 1500	$640	$100	$0
talkZone	$340	$0	$0
iPhone 250	$0	$0	$0
iPhone 500	$200	$0	$0
iPhone 1GB	$500	$350	$0

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Things to know

• The iPhone 3G plans are only available on iPhone 3G handsets.
• You can get a You Choose plan on an iPhone 3G but you will not be able to access the web without a Broadband Plan for Mobile.
• If you purchase an iPhone 3G, use it on You Choose plan then move to an iPhone plan, you will not be eligible for the iPhone 3G handset subsidy.
• Once you have purchased an iPhone 3G you must activate it via iTunes in order to use data, and register via iTunes in order to use the iTunes service.
• All prices above include GST.
• All plans are on a 24 month term.

It is not the the matter of can you afford the iPhone plan but should you consider it at all!

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