Is Telecom getting the new iphone? Palm Pre? Bebo Phone?! Better Phones!?!?

By Benedict Wee

Yes. I’ve been moaning that Telecom provides really old phones and their 14 (from 60) mobile plans are really arduous to go though but recent news has shone a (very) hopeful light on their new XT service with hints of new mobiles.

Mobile phone blog MobileCrunch has spotted hints of the yet-to-be-announced new iphone courtesy of New Zealand Telecom’s Twitter account:

“We are in negotiations with Apple… we are very focused on the 3^rd gen iphone.. we will keep you updated” (10:37AM May 20^th)

When asked further to clarify by another user they replied:

“Correction, we did not say we’re launching iphone, all said was that we’re talking to Apple & we’re focused on 3rd version.” (4:14 PM May 20^th)

Does this mean current 3G iphone retailer Vodafone might lose the exclusive rights to the new iphone? Or are the two providers going to have to share the market space? There isn’t any solid confirmation yet but at least we know that there is a huge possibility that Apple is going to announce the new iphone during WWDC on June 8^th. Whoo Hoo! (Update: An administrator on Vodfone NZ's official forum has said that Vodafone will still sell iphones, though which ones -presumably the 3G and the new one- are not specified)

What about the Palm Pre? When other tweets asked it replied:

“more device launches are planned. Cannot confirm (or deny) PalmPre at this point.” (1:26 PM May 20^th)

So Yes? No? Maybe? Like before we got to wait for an official announcement from Telecom. However, I do take comfort in the fact that they acknowledge the existence of new mobiles in the market and are willing to get with the times.

Lastly, I leave you with a glimpse tweet about the new handsets and social networking services that they would be offering:

“New range of devices will include 19 exclusive devices, 2 world firsts and 5 NZ firsts. #XTLaunch” (10:37 PM May 20^th)

“Telecom will launch a 'Bebo Phone' for easier content updating and exclusive content for our Bebo users” (10:34 AM May 20^th)

“Yahoo!Xtra oneSearch, Music Store with 2.7M tracks, Social Networking brands right at our customers fingertips #XTLaunch” (10:33 AM May 20^th)

“Some social network services are priced subscription, some per MB, and some free. More detail closer to launch” (1:24 PM May 20^th)

Sources- 

MobileCrunch New Zealand Telco Seems To Further Verify New iPhone — On Twitter

Telecom New Zealand's Twitter Account