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Kim Dotcom will be allowed to stream his extradition appeal
The extradition case for Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom can be streamed on YouTube, a New Zealand court has ruled. The German internet entrepreneur -- now living in Auckland, the nation's largest city -- and three of his former colleagues began a six-week hearing earlier this week to appeal a December court decision that allows them to be extradited to the US to face conspiracy, racketeering and money-laundering charges.
Windows Phone 7 now on sale... in New Zealand
Well played, New Zealand. Hobbit-infested scenery, Flight of the Conchords, the first in the world to get iPhone 3Gs... and now this. What you're looking at is purportedly the first person to purchase a Windows Phone 7 device, and even if that's not quite the case, it signals the launch of the phone for the island country, which would make it the first region in the world to put the device on sale. Have patience, non-Kiwi friends. Update: After the break, a shot of a Vodafone NZ HTC Trophy, purchased at Aotea Square in Auckland. Thanks, Jonathan! [Thanks, Stephen]
Martin Jetpack public test flights taking off in early 2010
Those crazy Kiwis at Martin Jetpack like to pop in every now and then to show off their eponymous flying craft, and though we still don't have a timeframe for plunking down $150,000 to own one and donning our best Boba Fett costume for the inaugural flight home, the company is making accommodations. Starting early next year in its hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand, you'll be able to try out the flight pack yourself as part of the Martin Jetpack Experience. The "low, slow" thrill ride won't hover above 3.3 feet or go faster than 6.2 miles per hour, but according to The New Zealand Herald, it's only expected to cost about as much as bungie jumping, and if you ask really nicely, we're sure they won't mind you wearing the costume anyway.
Mediaworks' Plus 1 brings nothing new to NZ Freeview
Ugh, just what Freeview needs in New Zealand. The warmly anticipated new Mediaworks channel, Plus 1, will actually bring nothing new to the platform. Instead, it'll simply be a one-hour delayed broadcast of TV3, and worse still, the stale content won't even be beamed out in high-definition. Yeah -- that's despite TV3's original content being available in HD. We'd bother with telling you that it's coming out sometime within next year or so, but you've probably already stopped reading in disgust.
Movies now showing in NZ and Australian iTunes stores
They may be first to see the sun, but they've been waiting quite a while for movie rentals and purchases from the iTunes store -- now that patience has paid off, as movies have now arrived in a land down under. Aussie and Kiwi iTunes users can purchase and rent movies to their hearts' content. New releases on DVD will premiere day-and-date on the iTunes store at the same time as they're on sale in physical form in the two new countries of service.iTunes movie purchases in Australia will kick off the price tier at A$9.99 for catalog titles, A$17.99 for recent releases and A$24.99 for new releases; rentals will be A$3.99 for library title rentals and A$5.99 for new releases. iTunes movies in New Zealand start at NZ$9.99 for catalog title purchases, NZ$17.99 for recent releases and NZ$24.99 for new releases, rentals are NZ$4.99 for library titles / NZ$6.99 for new releases. As in the US store, getting the high-def version costs an additional dollar. Rentals can be held for 30 days before you start watching and then you have 48 hours to finish (a whole day longer than US customers? Must be the International Date Line).Thanks to everyone who sent this in
Vodafone New Zealand's iPhone pricing taking a lot of heat
So we're getting the impression that there are a lot of Kiwis out there who think they're getting a raw deal from Vodafone on the iPhone 3G. That wouldn't totally surprise us -- they know when they've got an exclusive on a hot item, and they're going to try to milk it for everything it's worth -- but with the Rogers fallout rumors flying, Voda might want to tread lightly here.Anyway, here's out it breaks down: on a maxed-out plan, you get a 16GB iPhone 3G for $349 and pay $250 a month, which nets you 600 anytime minutes, 600 texts, and 1GB of data. That works out to $264 for the phone and $189 for the plan in US currency, so you get a little bit of a break on the phone (AT&T charges $299), but in exchange, you get totally hosed beyond comprehension on the plan. Americans shelling out $149.99 will get unlimited voice, unlimited data, and unlimited texts, for which they'll gladly pay the $35 extra up front we'd imagine -- so yeah, by our voodoo calculations, that's about a raw a deal as any we've seen. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
PotBS officially launches in Australia and New Zealand -- free cockatoo!
Although it's been possible to purchase Pirates of the Burning Sea online since its release, the official launch for Australia and New Zealand means that the dedicated Oceanic server is up, and Bigpond's free game offer is in effect. There is also still time to apply for an Ambassador position to help new player's on the Oceanic server, and score a year's free playtime in return.But there is one other very important thing to note about this launch -- any character made on the Australia/NZ server within its first month of opening will get a cockatoo to show off on their shoulder. This is certainly pretty neat, but don't expect to be the coolest cat in the Caribbean, because everyone on the server will have one of these squawkers.
