Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Bill Bennett
Freelance journalist.
Auckland-based Bill Bennett writes technology and business stories that are directly relevant to New Zealand readers.
His emphasis is on telecommunications, but he also covers other aspects of technology and business. You can find his features in the New Zealand Herald and hear him regularly on RNZ Nine to Noon and the NZ Tech Podcast.
Bennett's The Download Weekly newsletter is published every Friday. You can sign up for it here.
If you want to support his work, you can make a donation to his PressPatron account.
Bill Bennett - Latest News [Page 48]
Apple's modest New Zealand iPhone 6 mark-up
Saturday, 13 September 2014, 2:34 pm | Digitl
From September 26 New Zealanders will able to buy a 16 GB Apple iPhone 6 for $999. That's what it costs to buy the phone outright. The US headline prices quoted in Apple's launch presentation were for people buying phones on mobile plans. The US ... More >>
Apple Watch: All fun and games until someone loses an eye
Saturday, 13 September 2014, 2:33 pm | Digitl
Seen from afar Apple's Watch looks better than any other attempt at creating a smart watch. It has a sharp design and a solid feature set. More >>
Another cable won't lower NZ internet costs
Saturday, 13 September 2014, 2:15 pm | Digitl
There is a good reason to build another submarine cable linking New Zealand to the world. Cheaper internet is not that reason. More >>
Big iPhone 6 good for business users
Saturday, 13 September 2014, 2:07 pm | Digitl
Not everyone loves having a large phone in their pocket. One of the beauties of older iPhones is most people can use them one-handed. On the other hand, there are plenty of compensations from moving to a 4.7 inch or 5.5 inch screen with the iPhone 6 models. ... More >>
New Zealand's affordable broadband
Saturday, 13 September 2014, 2:02 pm | Digitl
A short report from Jon Brewer at Telco2 provides some much-needed perspective on New Zealand broadband prices. More >>
Byword: A Mac writing tool focusing on words
Thursday, 4 September 2014, 1:33 pm | Digitl
Byword is the ideal Mac writing tool if you just want to focus on words. There are versions for OS X ( US$12.99 in the Mac app store ) and iOS ( US$4.99 in the iTunes app store ). This review looks at the Mac version. More >>
A better plan for 2degrees
Thursday, 4 September 2014, 1:29 pm | Digitl
A story in the NBR says Indonesia's PT Telekomunikasi may invest in 2degrees . It then reports Australian telecommunications analyst Paul Budde says it's only a matter of time before Spark buys 2degrees. More >>
Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Note Edge
Thursday, 4 September 2014, 1:27 pm | Digitl
Samsung has something to prove. The company sells more smartphones than anyone else. It is the only Android hardware maker that matters. But it doesn’t have Apple’s brand power. Samsung isn’t cool. More >>
Apple, Microsoft — two tablet visions
Sunday, 31 August 2014, 7:04 pm | Digitl
When Steve Jobs took the wraps off Apple's first iPad, he showed an entirely new class of device. The iPad was neither a new type of PC nor was it just a giant smartphone. It opened new territory. Apple sold the original iPad as a personal digital media ... More >>
Server sales tick up, more to come
Sunday, 31 August 2014, 7:02 pm | Digitl
Server revenues climbed 2.5 percent in the past year according to IDC’s quarterly worldwide server tracker. In the second quarter of 2014 sales totalled US$12.6 billion. Unit shipments grew 1.2 percent to 2.2 million. The standout segment was mid-range ... More >>
NZ$400 Surface 2 a bargain for Office fans
Sunday, 31 August 2014, 7:01 pm | Digitl
Microsoft's swanky new Surface Pro 3 went on sale in New Zealand earlier this week. It's a lovely device, but not cheap . Prices start at NZ$1200. For one-third of that you can buy a 32GB Surface 2 at Noel Leeming until September 7. Is it worth considering? ... More >>
Addressing high growth companies' skills gap
Sunday, 31 August 2014, 6:58 pm | Digitl
This week I chaired an interactive panel discussion on the skills challenge facing New Zealand technology companies. It’s part of Massey University’s ecentre cloud series. Here's how the discussion played out on Twitter. More >>
Addressing the skills gap for high growth companies
Monday, 25 August 2014, 7:15 pm | Digitl
Tomorrow night I'm chairing an interactive panel discussion on the skills challenge facing New Zealand technology companies. It's part of Massey University's ecentre cloud series. The session starts at 5:30 at the Sir Neil Waters Building, Massey ... More >>
E-books harder for comprehension
Saturday, 23 August 2014, 2:38 pm | Digitl
Five years ago I wrote why people read less online than with print : People spend less time reading online news than reading printed newspapers because reading a screen is more mentally and physically taxing. More >>
Hack Miramar: Your suburb needs you
Saturday, 23 August 2014, 2:34 pm | Digitl
Ian Apperley wants geeks living in Wellington's Eastern Suburbs to work on problems like traffic, consultation and free internet access at Hack Miramar . More >>
When venture capital hurts start-ups
Saturday, 23 August 2014, 2:33 pm | Digitl
Peter Kerr at Stick reports raising venture capital can hurt a new business. The title of his Should you bother with venture capital funding…the numbers suggest no says it all. He quotes one investor who points out there is an inverse correlation ... More >>
Dunedin as an innovation hub
Saturday, 23 August 2014, 2:31 pm | Digitl
Civic leaders from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch all talk of their city as the nation's leading innovation hub. Each city has a case: Auckland is big. It has the largest and the best university and an international airport. Most international ... More >>
TrueNet clocks Big Pipe as fastest ADSL
Saturday, 23 August 2014, 2:30 pm | Digitl
TrueNet's July 2014 urban broadband report says newcomer Bigpipe is the fastest ADSL ISP for downloading New Zealand web pages. The Spark-owned, no frills service provider was fractionally ahead of Slingshot and Flip downloading eight pages in ... More >>
New Zealand's Fastest ISPs 2014
Thursday, 21 August 2014, 3:13 pm | Digitl
PC Magazine asked me to write about New Zealand's fastest ISPs as part of a series looking an online speeds in countries around the world. More >>
Firefox now or no choice later
Thursday, 21 August 2014, 3:12 pm | Digitl
Robert O'Callahan makes the case for not using Google's Chrome browser in Choose Firefox Now, Or Later You Wont Get A Choice . More >>
