iPhone 4: the slyPhone that makes you a MasterQueuer

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 29 July 2010 16:19

Your IT - Mobility

It’s the day before the official iPhone 4 launch in Australia, with Telstra promoting its MasterChefs and serving up apple-related food, Vodafone and 3 partying it up at the Ivy, Optus pop starring it up with Kelly Rowland and Virgin Mobile getting Branson in on the act.

Well, it’s that time of the year again. iPhone time, when the official stocks of iPhones come down from Mount Cupertino (via somewhere in China) and prepare to be issued in limited quantities to retail stores across Australia (and 16 other countries).

Only Optus, for the moment, is offering free bumpers to every customer at the time of purchase – it seems Telstra, Vodafone, 3 and Virgin Mobile expect you to buy a bumper or case, or get your free one from Apple.

Optus has even made tethering iPhones to computers free on its "extreme" plans, although the lower plans still have a tethering charge which I say shouldn't be there.

Each telco seems to have pulled some kind of rabbit out of its hat to celebrate the launch of the most anticipated smartphone of the year, but honestly, no-one should have expected anything less. 

Telstra wants to wine and dine you at its flagship Telstra T-Life store on George St with a judge and several stars of the MasterChef phenomenon as you queue up and wait for midnight tonight when the clock officially ticks over to 12.00am Friday July 30.

And thanks to today’s offer of better data plans for iPhone consumer customers, Telstra no doubt hopes that it will cook up quite a few sales, dishing sweetly satisfied iPhone 4 customers out the door and letting new ones in as fast as possible.

Optus has its Kelly Rowland US popstar roadshow, first appearing tonight at its Love Lounge events, and then reportedly coming to meet and greet those who are waiting at Optus’ George St store sometime tonight to add a bit of superstar firepower to the proceedings, along with whatever other entertainment it has cooked up for punters, too.

Virgin Mobile has thus far issued a photograph of Richard Branson, currently in Australia, holding an iPhone 4, but there’s no word on any midnight launches for the Virgins who it seems will have to wait until 9am the next morning to get their cherries popped.

Vodafone and 3 Mobile have cooked up a tasty little dish of their own, hosting a party at Sydney hotspot, the “Ivy”, with a party that will last until 3am.

Continued on page two, please read on!