Apple's stock has slipped below $US500 for the first time in 11 months as investors react to reports signalling the company's latest iPhone is falling behind its Android rivals.

Neil Riley, from Wellington, was livid about the quality of a stick he bought in Hamilton last year.

Telecom has tapped former Vodafone NZ boss Tim Miles on the shoulder to head up Gen-i.

Telecom's goodwill gesture in the wake of last week's broadband outages has drawn criticism from customers who already get free national calls.

Telecom has announced flat-rate data plans for its customers travelling overseas, with CEO Simon Moutter saying they would be easier for customers to understand.

Twenty years ago this week, when humans still roamed the Earth freely without buzzing or beeping, a UK engineer unleashed the world's first text message.

After 20 years of texting technology, New Zealanders are still avid text messagers, despite a decline in use overseas as smartphones take over.

The Kim Dotcom case threatens to pull New Zealand's most secretive spy agency into court in a bid which could probe intelligence links with the United States.

Top mobile firm sheds 50,000 in 3 months.

Vodafone lost 50,000 mobile customers between July and September, on the back of similar losses in the New Zealand market earlier this year.