Hills and weather blamed for NZ iPhone woes

Hills, building heights, and even the weather can affect coverage of the Apple iPhone, Vodafone NZ has conceded.

Users of the 3G gadget in Australia, Europe and the United States have flooded online forums complaining of slow internet speeds and poor reception.

Overseas reports have placed at least some of the blame on the iPhone's chipset.

Wellington technician Johnny Morris, one of those who queued at Vodafone's Lambton Quay store last month when the iPhones went on sale, said he could not get e-mails or the internet on his new phone for three weeks.

Reception at his Brooklyn home was weak and he had trouble getting calls out, he said.

"The phone's great to use - I'm just not happy with the setup," Mr Morris said.

"I think they rolled out the phones prematurely and once the phones sold they tried to sort out the connectivity but are finding problems ... [and] they are still charging inflated rates.

"And don't get me started on the battery life of the phone ... I'm only getting three days' battery life instead of the up to 300 hours as in the specifications."

Another Wellington iPhone user said he used a 3G connection with his laptop.

"At best the 3G coverage is poor out of the city area so why would you expect Apple iPhone to work well?"

Vodafone's 3G at present covers 68 per cent of the places where New Zealanders live and work, including main cities and 19 provincial towns.

Last month the company announced plans to extend 3G coverage to reach 97 per cent of the population.

Vodafone spokeswoman Libby Hay said in some cases coverage could vary and it depended on individual circumstances.

"This can be due to a number of factors, including your height above street level, the nature of your building, hills between you and the cell site and atmospheric conditions."

Ms Hay said that queries relating to the device should be directed to Apple in Australia, which did not return calls yesterday.

- © Fairfax NZ News