iPad and Velcro - Marriage made in heaven

Right, that's it. I need a lil' SIM card and a few metres of this stuff.

iPad + Velcro from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

Telstra iPad microSIM datapack release dates

Seems like everyone is chomping at the bit to grab a new microSIM and datapack to go with the shiny new iPads expected for delivery on Friday.  Telstra and Optus have each come out with pre-paid plans. Vodafone is still yet to announce.  My money will go to Telstra for my iPad - the first time ever for me on a mobile device - as they are the best all round value.  (I NEVER thought I'd say something like that).  Telstra announced 3 cap plans of $20/1Gb, $30/3Gb and $60/6Gb - each with an expiry of 30 days.  The NextG network is one of, if not THE best mobile data network in the world, and certainly the clear winner in Australia. Don't get me started on my miserable iPhone 3G experience with Optus! I suppose the only downside to these plans is the 30 day expiry of the credit, but some are reporting that unused data can roll over to a subsequent month if you recharge within the 30 day period...so far I've been unable to confirm this. Looks like Telstra finally may have the right idea and its clear they are going to attract a lot of new customers this week.  Here's hoping they recognise the success of a modestly priced pre-paid data service and implement plans of similar good value on their NextG compatible mobile phones and 3G Modems.

Back to the microSIMs.  APCMag reported yesterday that Telstra stores were going to sell them as of today (25 May) and Optus following tomorrow, but it's not looking like all of the Telstra stores got the memo - or the stock(!). A search of Twitter reveals lots of eager consumers wanting to be as prepared as possible ahead of the arrival of the new toys productivity devices later in the week.  A few folks have had some success in securing microSIMs, but mostly there's disappointment.  We still have a couple of days to grab them before d-day and I'm hopeful I can secure one tomorrow so as to not get trampled in stampedes on Friday. 

Incidentally, my iPad is still showing as 'Prepared for shipment'... pah.  A few more days.  What's been your experience?

Update on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 10:17PM by galoomp

I've now found a couple of Telstra stores locally that are selling the packs.  I'll be heading out first thing tomorrow to grab one.

Update on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 10:41AM by galoomp

Still no movement on the shipping status of my order, but there's an active thread of excited iPad soon-to-be-iPad-owners over on the Mactalk forums. 

The biggest development this morning has been that both Vodafone and 3 have each announced their own iPad data plans.  Vodafone even has an UNLIMITED offering for $49.95 per month as well as some prepaid options with extended expiry periods.

• Vodafone iPad Pre-paid 3G plans
• 3 iPad Pre-paid 3G plans

Seems the competition is heating up.  iPad customers in Australia have a fantastic range of choices and the best part is given that they are all pre-paid, non-contract options, we can all pick and choose and sample each telcos 3G products to see what suits us best.

iPhone - White Screen of Death (FIXED! - I think)

Close shave today...well, at least I *think* I escaped?

Yesterday, I dropped my iPhone.  After quickly dusting it off and making sure I hadn't done any obvious damage I went about my day thinking nothing more of it.  All was fine first thing this morning too but then I got a phone call mid-morning to find my iPhone displaying a plain white screen.  Googling the symptoms, I was a little concerned to discover the fault referred to as 'White Screen of Death', with lots of victims relaying their experiences of Apple repairs costing several hundred dollars...

Concerned, well out of warranty and in the hope of avoiding a costly repair, I decided to have a look-see inside the phone myself to see whether anything was obviously amiss.  On the outside the screen itself was not cracked, not leaking and all appeared in tact.  The digitiser was responding (I could hear the familiar clicking)  I was hopeful a pull apart and reassembly, checking everything was properly seated would be worth a try.

A quick search of Youtube revealed a plethora of 'pull-apart-your-iphone' DIY videos and tutorials.  This particular video was most helpful. (Thanks, Gaird8).

Other videos were considerably less informative.  What? Reboot your phone?  That might fix it?  Why didn't *I* think of that??

Anxious to get the repair done, I grabbed whatever tools I had close by.  I had no spudger, just a knife and a few screwdrivers, which did the job.

All in all, the repair was pretty easy.  A couple of screws, some tense moments prying the screen out and then disconnecting a few cables and the screen popped out.  Reassembly was straightforward too, although one of the tiny ribbon cables was a bugger to get back in.  (Cable 3 if you attempt this...).  So far my phone is back to normal and everything appears as it should.  I'm not out of the woods just yet, but I'm fairly confident th One thing I learned is that if I DO have problems and need to replace the screen or more, I won't hesitate to do it myself.

Incidentally, replacement LCDs for 3G iPhones can be had on eBay and are also readily available elsewhere online.  Best deal I found though was at dealextreme.com where they also sell the digitiser glass, tools and any other bits and pieces you might need for such a repair.  Luckily, I think I escaped and so far *crosses fingers* all seems OK, but if I needed a new screen, that's where I'd head.