At the show, which is visiting regional towns nationwide, network technology manager Jurgen Chrustowski outlined future plans to extend mobile and broadband coverage for consumers in regional and rural areas.
Vodafone would upgrade about 2000 cell towers nationwide to give "97% population" access to 3G broadband technology by 2010, Mr Chrustowski said.
Since 2005, the company had been committed to increasing access to 3G services (from 2G technology) and would upgrade 2100mhz (frequency) urban and 900mhz rural and provincial services to achieve a "wider reach in the next two years", he said.
Transport sector manager Geoff Hooper said faster systems would link with a range of industrial technologies, from automated agricultural systems, such as those used to monitor river water levels or activate horticultural irrigation systems, to those which calculated road-user charges on diesel vehicles.
Two of the more impressive "gadgets" on display were digital pens which captured handwriting, and used recognition software to "read" handwriting; and asthma inhalers which monitored use and sent dosage information back to medical databases.
Telephones with fast global positioning, "Navman" type technology, aimed at the tourist or business market, were displayed, alongside "rugged" models made from durable materials for the industrial or trade market.
Drawcards for businesses of all sizes were the mobile Internet datacards and the "Vodem stick". These were features the company expected to see in Acer and HP notebook format computers within the next two years, Mr Chrustowski said.
Otago Southland area sales manager Rob Lodge said packages aimed at increasing internal business communication were becoming popular.
The company was also noticing significant growth in fixed price group mobile small business plans and best mate and family plans.
Eighty percent of small business customers now used fixed price plans.
In the current economic climate, the "cost certainty" afforded by fixed cost plans appealed to business customers, Mr Lodge said.
