My first, and to what I thought was the most logical step, was to ring Optus and enquire about upgrading an iPhone mid contract.

As I was only very early into a 2 year contract, I knew there was going to be a cost involved, which there was, Approximately $600 – which was fine.

I was told that there was going to be a 5 day delay for shipping, so I rang my local ‘YES’ (Optus) Store, and asked if they had any 3Gs’s in stock, which they said they did.

I asked the Optus Sales consultant if I could just go into the store and get the phone, as I don’t really want to wait that long.. I was told, to just wait for it to come, as it’s easier that way, and will just be easier for everyone..

Taking the consultants advice, I agreed to the terms of the contract re-negotiation, and was told that the phone would be delivered to me on Monday  (Being told this on a Wednesday).

I then sold my 3G iPhone to someone, and swapped that phone over on the Friday before I got the new 3Gs. Monday, expecting my phone, I got a text from Optus, saying that there would be a 2 – 3 week delay on the new phone..

In the mean time, I was using a Pocket PC – HTC Diamond, which was a good phone, 12 months ago, but compared to the iPhone, it’s just useless.

After about 3 days of fighting with the HTC Diamond, I was at the local Optus store and asked if I could do the upgrade there, they said Ofcourse.

The next day, I rang up Optus, Canclled their upgrade, went back to the store, got the deal done, handed over the phone, and hey presto, DONE. That hour.

This whole dilemma was rather concerning to see that the Online/Phone consultants at Optus would rather keep me waiting from 1 to 3 weeks, for a new phone, when right at the onset of the investigation into the upgrade, I could have been advised that the upgrade was possible in store, and saving me, the customer a lot of time. The Optus YES store, representative told me that it would have most likely been because Optus make a greater commission if they do the sale online / over the phone.

Every now and then I logon to the App Store, and see what’s around. One day I found an app called “Pocket God” – at a special price of only $1.19 AU ($99c US).

I bought it, installed it, and loaded it up. The Game was very odd.. no levels, nothing to achieve.. The Game featured 10 little natives on some little island, and you could pick them up, drop them, make them get zapped by lightening, and drop in the water… fun for about  a minutre and that’s it.

What I love about the iPhone Apps concept, is that even this little game that is done very nicely, can be sold 100,000 times or more for $1, and the developer has made a very nice bonus!

The Came Pocket God, has had a tonne of revisions / new versions and every time, adding new features to the game. It’s actually quite exciting.

The Game is really just a very brain dead game, there is nothing to it, just a bit of fun. But as everyone knows, when someone has fun, it’s bound to Offend someone else.

A popular iPhone game that depicts the torture and murder of “primitive islanders” has been labelled disgusting and degrading by Pacific people.

Pocket God is one of the most heavily downloaded games in Apple’s online store but indigenous groups have started to take offence at the use of grass-skirted islanders who are set on fire and tossed to the sharks

Via the Sunday Mail

The question on everyone’s mind is always, “Should I buy it?” The answer lies mainly on whether you believe the developers will continue to provide updates as promised. Some updates (ability to fry islanders with lightening) have already been added, so it does look promising. In the end, this app will be something of a gamble depending on how long the updates continue and how good they are. Personally, I think it is worth a buck to see just how far this app can go.

Via iPhone Review Apps

Below are some screen shots of the game being played;

What makes this really really good, is when you’re on a 3G network, you’re even able stream a 96kpbs stream without missing a packet!

Most radio stations now also stream online, so if you wanted to listen to Jamie Dunn, who is now at 4BC in Brisbane, I  can put in the stream address and start listening.

Another Feature I really love is the fact that you can administer your favourites via a web browser on your computer! Save typing in those long streaming addresses in by hand.

(Click image to enlarge)

For More information on FStream, visit Mac360

I’ve been a Telstra customer since I got my first CDMA prepaid mobile phone probably 9 or 10 years ago. To be honest, I really didn’t have any problems with my Telstra phone. I had reception anywhere and everywhere I needed it, and if I prepaid $30 here or there, it would last me the month.

When I started running a business and relying on it more and more I used a “cap” which I think are a great idea. I started on the $49/month cap, which included $250 worth of calls plus $100 telstra credit, so basically $350 credit of calls, but I started using that up as work got even more intense.

About a year ago I upgraded to the $79 cap, which included about $550 worth of calls, and if you’re a reader of this blog, you’ll know I purchased an unlocked iPhone about a year ago. When Apple released iPhone firmware 2.0.1, I had the ability to receive email and surf the internet, even if it was at dial up speeds. For only an extra $10 a month for 150mb data.

There was no real reason for me to upgrade to a 3G iPhone, however I knew Telstra’s plans are INSANELY dear, and with Optus, I can now pay $10 a month LESS, receive the same amount of call caps, 7x the amount of data (700mb) and unlimited SMS’s to any mobile phone.