i.cafe Onehunga has recently moved in at 246 Onehunga Mall. Owner/operators Charlotte Karaka and Mike Southey wanted to create a modern, stylish and comfortable Internet cafe and have achieved it with simple and effective design. The space has been completely refurbished and decorated in a contemporary style complete with 22 state-of-the-art PCs with high speed Internet connection. Each computer has a 19 inch LCD widescreen monitor and headphones, along with USB drives for customers’ personal flash drives and mp3 players. This means users can download from the Internet directly to their own hardware.
Internet services are available at $4 per hour (or a minimum of $2 for half an hour), or timecodes can be purchased which allow you to use as much or as little as you want, whenever you choose. This is a great option for people who only need a few minutes each day to check their email. Currently i.cafe have a special offer of a 3 hour timecode for $10. You have 60 days to use up your three hours so you can come and go as you please with no half hour minimum, and remaining time is simply saved until you next log in.
For those into gaming, they have the popular Counterstrike, World of Warcraft and Command & Conquer games, enabling customers to come and play against each other. Other games will be added so let them know if you want a particular game and they’ll see what they can do.
Other services provided are printing, faxing, scanning and copying. Printing or copying costs 30 cents for black and white and 50 cents for colour, and scan copies are $1.00. Faxing is 50 cents per page. The staff are always more than happy to help you if you need it so you won’t feel lost if you are not particularly technically minded!
The layout of the room means unless all the machines are in use, you can check your email or work on personal documents in relative privacy. Charlotte and Mike ensure the computers are cleaned daily and are committed to providing the most pleasant experience possible to their customers. This extends to keeping the environment safe at all times including zero tolerance of antisocial behaviour. Their café welcomes all ages as long as conduct is appropriate.
Opening hours are currently 9.00am to 8.00pm seven days a week, with a view to extended hours over summer if there is increased demand. Cold drinks are available and a coffee machine is planned for the near future. They can be contacted on 634 4430 if you have any questions, otherwise i.cafe can be found just down from the Arthur Street roundabout on Onehunga Mall.
