I've personally tested VoIP via several of the 3G and HSDPA handsets. Costs aside, it's not a viable option currently. The reason is the 'latency' rather than the bandwidth, which Vodafone has plenty of. Inherent in all wireless data transfer is the travel time from device to tower and vice versa. This would essentially be adequate, simply delaying transmission for a second (as I witnessed at particularly low usage times and when close to the tower). Vodafone however 'at present' has relatively poor network cooperation for uses such as VoIP and other latency-sensitive services. If you'd like to test this, perform a 'ping' via your command prompt at various times throughout the day while using the 3G/HSDPA service. Latency times vary wildly, even from second to second and since these VoIP protocols rely on optimisation to work effectively, it cuts any level of quality off at the knees.

I'm impressed with the pricing shift though I suspect it's simply as a precautionary measure so when NZ Com enters the market place with their own data structure (tipped to be much more hip with regards to todays technology and mobile capabilities), Vodafone isn't put to shame. Telecom is falling WELL behind now. I know Nokia has been placing pressure on Vodafone to provide better support for their 3G and HSDPA mobiles as well. They felt adding these expensive data chips wasn't much of a sales incentive if the prices were too high to be utilised. Expect Nokia's new mid-range lineup to include at least HSDPA 2100mhz capabilites, but also 900mhz and soon, 7.2mbps.