Don't expect a price war with DiGi iPhone

There has been lots of talk that DiGi's entry into the iPhone market will start a price war with Maxis.

I personally think this may be wrong. My 1st reason is because Apple wouldn't allow that to happen. As we all know, Apple doesn't compete on price rather than they compete on quality and experience. The same thing will happen with the iPhone, the pricing shouldn't have much different from what Maxis has to offer.

My second reason is- DiGi wouldn't want heavy users on their network. In the US, mobile operator AT&T is already suffering with heavy traffic on their network, thanks to the iPhone. It is proven that iPhone users consume a lot more data on the phone versus any other mobile operating system out there. I am sure, DiGi's data pricing for the iPhone will have a lot of limitation(one example: limited to 3GB usage) although it may be cheaper than Maxis.

The only benefit if you use iPhone on the DiGi network is this-> Experience

DiGi may not have mobile coverage as good as Maxis, but it has a more stable network and their customer support is much better. iPhone users on the DiGi network is guaranteed to have faster loading speed when they use the web browser or while they download an app. This is because DiGi has less data users if compared to Maxis.

As for DiGi, I am sure they are more than happy to welcome iPhone customers who are disappointed with the Maxis service. Afterall, Maxis has probably invested millions to educate Malaysians on the iPhone and now DiGi is going to benefit from it.

Related:

• DiGi entry in mid-year may spark iPhone price war

DiGi to offer iPhone 3G & iPhone 3GS

In a short media statement to the press, DiGi said that it has reached an agreement with Apple to bring iPhone to Malaysia in the coming months.

DiGi has setup a webpage at http://www.digi.com.my/iphone/. According to the FAQ, DiGi said the iPhone will launched by the the 1st half of 2010, which is by April 2010 (Correction: By the end of June 2010).

Pre-booking should be available soon on the DiGi website.

WordPress apps for Blackberry, Android and iPhone

If you use Wordpress, now you can easily create new posts, add media, manage comments, and more using the free mobile apps available for Blackberry, Android and the iPhone.

These apps works for Wordpress.com and self hosted Wordpress(.org).

Downloads:

• Wordpress for Blackberry
• Wordpress forAndroid
• Wordpress for iPhone
• Wordpress for Symbian- coming soon
  

Developers: Check out this page

Simple but Complicated Maxis iPhone 3GS Plans

If you have seen how Maxis has presented their iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhones 3GS plans, you probably need to take some Panadol because you might get headache. Locate your nearest 7Eleven store incase you need some Panadol.

Now isn't it simple to understand which Maxis iPhone 3GS plan suits you?

"I re-wrote this post 4 times trying to explain these plans in words so instead I’m letting this picture do the talking" says blogjunkie who runs myMacBUZZ, you may check out his full post here.

In my personal opinion, I think the Maxis iPhone marketing and strategy team need some new faces. I am sure you do not want to disappoint Malaysian iPhone fans with your complicated iPhone plans.

Time is ticking, think again.

via Lowyat.net

Maxis iPhone 3GS Available

Maxis is the 1st to launch iPhone 3GS in the South East Asia region. Official news @ the Mobile World website.

Anyone getting the new iPhone 3GS?

iPhone helps develop Malaysian talent

What's really interesting to see is that since the iPhone made its debut, there have been more applications being developed by home-grown talent.

You could not have picked up a newspaper, or walked past a news-stand, yesterday and not notice the massive marketing blitz for the new iPhone 3GS.

One daily had its entire front page done up to resemble the screen of Apple's revolutionary mobile device. Others placed one of their page one stories on an iPhone "screen".

The reason for all the hype? Maxis officially launched the iPhone 3GS in the home market yesterday.

Online bookings have been available since early this month and company executives, while not revealing their sales target, said that response has been better than for the first iPhone launch.

Continue reading at Business Times

Maxis iPhone 3GS Plans are out!

If you were following Mobile World on Twitter, they were one the earliest to spread the new iPhone 3GS plans.

Read official story here

How many of you like the new "complicated" plans & how many of you will be getting an iPhone 3GS from Maxis?

Please do comment.

Cost of Making an iPhone 3G

Making an iPhone 3GS(16GB) is estimated to cost around $178.96, according to iSuppli.

Since there are lots of talk going on regarding the iPhone 3GS, I decided to link this article called "Apple's iPhone 3GS: What it costs to make". After reading it, hopefully you may be able to predict on the price that Maxis will be offering for the iPhone 3GS.

Apple's iPhone 3GS: What it costs to make

From the outside, nearly everything about Apple's iPhone 3GS seems nearly identical to the iPhone 3G released last year. Even Apple's TV ads make light of this fact: The phone looks the same as before, the company says, but it does so much more. Still, all the new features in Apple's million-selling new phone have to come from somewhere, and there have been some important changes inside the new iPhone, according to an Apple iPhone 3GS teardown analysis by the market research firm iSuppli.

The company routinely takes apart popular consumer-electronic devices in order to determine the identities of key suppliers and also to estimate the costs of components. Last year a preliminary iSuppli analysis pegged the cost of the previous iPhone, the 3G, at $174.33. These estimates help financial analysts make better-educated guesses about the profit margins manufacturers make on each unit sold, though there are many costs that a teardown doesn't address, such as software, research and development, and patent licensing costs.

Often the cost to assemble a new generation of a product is lower than it was for the previous generation. However, the 16-gigabyte iPhone 3GS actually costs slightly more to build than last year's iPhone 3G—$178.96, a difference of $4.63. However, that is much lower than estimates for the first-generation iPhone, which pegged the cost at $220.

Continue reading

Maxis confirms iPhone 3GS

Maxis confirms that it is bring the iPhone 3GS to Malaysia.

Official news- http://www.mobileworld.com.my

Maxis iPhone 3GS- http://www.maxis.com.my/iphone3gs/index.asp

Maxis to Bring iPhone to Malaysia? (Update 2)

Looks like the rumours are real!!! It is confirmed that Maxis will be offering the iPhone in Malaysia.

Below are the screenshots taken from the Maxis website about 11.15am earlier today- http://maxis.com.my/iphone/

CLICK IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE.

Maxis iPhone 12-Months Contract:


Maxis iPhone 24-Months Contract:

Maxis iPhone 6-Months Contract:


Rate Plan Terms & Conditions

And here what you see about 45 minutes later:


P/s:
-MyMacBuzz was the first to report this, original post here
-iPhone 3G can be found on Apple Malaysia website here

Maxis to Bring iPhone to Malaysia? (Update 1)

Apparently there has been lots of talk over the past few weeks about Maxis and iPhone since I first blogged about it here last month.

Only this time, the rumour appears to be more slightly true as even LowYat.net could give the exact announcement date of the iPhone in Malaysia, which is TODAY.

However it also appears that 21 & 23 March 2009 could also be the launch dates of the iPhone. Mobile World has reported that it could be in "late march", however it did not mention the telco that was involved in bringing in the iPhone.

One of the commentator on this blog called Elvant claimed that "Maxis Resellers have attended Apple Iphone Training camp to prepare for the launching".

If you are crazy about the iPhone, here's some method to confirm the rumours, for now:

• Check with SIRIM- There has been strong indication that the iPhone has been approved by Sirim. I strongly believe that Sirim has to reveal the approval of the iPhone to the public. So, check with Sirim
  
• Check with Media Agencies- In most cases, the media agency are the ones who will be the first to know since they have to prepare for the campaign, weeks before it starts. If you have contacts in media agencies related to Maxis, then you are a lucky person.

P/s: Dear Maxis, I am watching you closely now, more than you could ever imagine. Can't wait for the iPhone !!

Maxis to Bring iPhone to Malaysia?

So could all the rumors could be true....?

Screenshot taken from mymacbuzz.com

What if the deal is worth close to RM400 million with Apple?

What if you can own an iPhone for somewhere around RM200 per month(2 years contract) and probably included with an unlimited data?

And what if Maxis spends about RM3 million- RM4 million just on Advertising & Promotion (A&P) for the iPhone?

Will those Malaysian iPhone fans out there who already owns an unlocked iPhone switch to Maxis to maximize the iPhone features?

Could all these be true? Maybe something about this within the next 1 month?

Let's see !!!

Latest on Maxis

Flat International SMS rate for Maxis Postpaid users
Effective January 1, 2009, Maxis will charge a flat rate for international SMSes to 20 countries. This flat rate is applicable to its postpaid users.

Postpaid users will be charge RM1 per SMS sent from Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Macau, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Britain, the United States and Vietnam.

Read: Maxis postpaid users to enjoy flat rate for international SMS

Watch Anime Programmes on your phone
MAXIS and Hotlink subscribers can now catch up on their favourite anime programmes from their mobile phones via the newly-launched subscription-based Animax Mobile channel.

Read: Anime on the small screen

Josh: NO to Maxis Broadband
That's what Josh Lim says. Check out what the founder of RedesignMalaysia has to say about Maxis Broadband and his first post for 2009 here.

Maxis & iPhone 3G
The iPhone 3G was successfully unlocked during New Year and based on the latest report, most iPhone 3G seems to work on the Maxis network. See the list here.

iPhone 3G coming to Malaysia?

Looks like iPhone 3G is coming to Malaysia, officially.

It was first reported in The Malaysian Insider that the iPhone 3G will soon be available via Maxis and it will be priced under RM1,000.

Later Maxis's spokesperson said that we "decline to comment on speculation", as normal.

In the 2008 Mobile Content Challenge that took place last Friday, the CEO of Maxis said "As and when Apple decides to finalise its plans for Malaysia, Maxis hopes to be one of the operators to offer the iPhone".

But here's more!!!

Based on a reliable source, Maxis does not seem to be the only one talking to Apple. Celcom on the hand is rumored to be talking with Apple since last year.

If you notice, some or maybe all Celcom/BlueCube stores sells Apple products and accessories such as this. Don't you think Apple will support companies that supports them? That's why AT&T was the first operator in the world to sell the iPhone.

Anyway, you never know that suddenly DiGi might launch its 3G with iPhone 3G.

Time will decide !!!

What to expect from the year 2008

Here are the list of what to expect in 2008:


Nine Mobile operators

The number of Mobile operators in Malaysia will probably reach nine. Here is the list:

1. Celcom
2. Maxis
3. DiGi
4. Merchantrade-(MVNO on Celcom network)
   
5. REDtone-(MVNO on Celcom network)
6. Tune Talk-(MVNO on Celcom network)
7. U Mobile
8. Time/DiGi
9. XOX.Com-MVNO
   

Mobile Number Portability

The Mobile Number Portability(MNP) is expected to launch by second quarter next year. Although Malaysia is late to offer this service-Singapore started in 1997, Hong Kong in 1999 and Australia in 2001- it would still be an advantage for Malaysia to learn from these countries as MNP has resulted bad damages to the mobile industry in certain counties.

With MNP, you could remain your number while switching your mobile operator. This gives a clear message to the mobile operator that the best services/offering wins the biggest pie of the market. In other words, as an example, DiGi could lead the market overnight although it is cuurently the smallest mobile operator.

WiMAX

Four 2.3Ghz operators will launch their WiMax service this year.

• Packet One- They are expected to sign an agreement with their suppliers this Tuesday and will launch their service between first quarter or second quarter this year.

• Asiaspace- This company has the expertise of building the infrastructure. They plan to launch their service by the end of the year. They will invest RM500 million in the next three to five years.

• REDtone- This company will launch their service in East Malaysia. They will first target business users with speed up to 155Mbps. -Read here
  

• YTL e-Solutions- Not much news from them but they recently joined the WiMAX Spectrum Owners Alliance (WiSOA) . Read more here. However, they are not excepted to launch their service this year.
  

The 2.5Ghz and 3.5Ghz spectrum will soon be taken back by the Government due to poor planning by the related Government bodies, failure of the service providers to commercially laucnch the service and the interference issues with Measat-3.

Do expect WiMAX hardwares this year. Soon, new notebooks with Intel and Mac will carry WiMAX chip on it. WiMAX routers and WiMAX PC cards will also be available soon.

Mobile TV

This year is guaranteed to be a mobile TV year. U Mobile will soon launch its DVB-H service and more phones with mobile TV capability such as DVB-H are expected to be launched in Malaysia this year.

Fibre-to-the-Home(FTTH)

Telekom Malaysia plans to launch its Fibre to the home service by the fourth quater this year. It will offer super fast broadband service up to 100Mbps. Read here.

Android

This Google OS for mobile phone is set to take off on the second half on this year. 34 companies joined the Open Handset Alliance, to develop the Android OS for mobile phone. Read more here.

Through the power of the alliance, it is possible that Android will land in Malaysia this year.

Faster Streamyx

With Telekom Malaysia leading the consortium of companies in building the new undersea fiber optic cable between Southeast Asia and the United States, I believe streamyx will be faster this year. This new undersea cable is expected to be ready on December 2008. Read more.

Smarter Mobile Phones

I believe mobile phones will be smarter this year. As the competition heats up, mobile phone makers will definitely create better phones. This will include mobile phone with advance connectivity, better interface, more features and better capabilities.

Credit Card inside your mobile phone

Soon, mobile phones will have Near Field Communication(NFC) chip in it. With this chip, users can make payments by waving their mobile phone over the merchant’s contactless card reader. Maxis has been trialling this service between their high rank staffs since last year. Trials of this service is also taking place in Australia, read here.


If you think there are more things coming up in 2008, drop me a comment. Also do comment on this article.

iPhone Hacking history

Here are the history of iPhone before and after it was launched according to WIRED.

Spring 2003 - Apple CEO Steve Jobs says that Apple has no plans to release a tablet PC or a new Newton, instead identifying cell phones as important devices in need of better software. Better software.

Dec. 2006 — Cisco announces the iPhone. LOL.

Jan. 2007 — Apple announces the iPhone. OMG.

Jun. 11, 2007 — Apple says only web-apps will be permitted on the iPhone. WTF.

Jun. 29, 2007 — iTunes 7.3 released, containing support for iPhone "service activation."

Jun. 29, 2007 — iPhone hits stores. Utter bedlam. The first hacks are destructive and result not so much in bricks as in brick dust.

Jul. 3 — DVD Jon bypasses the official activation procedure and publishes instructions.

Jul. 18 — The iPhone Dev Team partially unlocks the iPhone, allowing the use of non-iPhone AT&T SIM cards (such as pre-paid ones.)

Late Jul.-Early Aug. — the iPhone's system software and internal operations are exposed and explored.

Jul. 30 — First native, third-party iPhone apps. Hello World!

Aug. 6 — British hackers fool the iPhone into accepting a SIM card from Orange Telecom It, and other similar reports, turn out to be difficult-to-implement edge cases requiring obsolete SIM cards.

Aug. 14 — Another claimed hardware unlock, more reliable than the earlier methods: the new technique uses TurboSIMs, blank cards sold by Bladox, to deceive the iPhone into thinking it's on AT&T.

Mid Aug. — Application managers appear to aid installation of third-pary apps. iBrickr (Aug 17) for Windows, Breezy for Mac (Aug. 13) and iPHUC (Aug. 15) all do their thing. The popular Installer.app, often called AppTapp, appears on Aug 28. allows the easy installation of third-party applications on the iPhone — all required hacking is done automagically.

Aug. 24 — Teenaged hacker George Hotz gets his iPhone working on T-Mobile using a complicated hardware procedure documented at his blog.

Aug. 25 — Engadget publishes the first reports of iPhoneSimFree, the first software-only solution.

Sept. 11 — iPhoneSimFree opens for business, charging $100 for its unlocking App.

Sept. 11 — iUnlock released, offering free of charge unlocking from the command line

Sept. 15 — AnySIM released, offering free of charge unlocking with an easy GUI interface. iUnlock updated shortly therafter to offer GUI.

Sept. 24 — Apple warns world that future updates may render unlocked iPhones inoperable.

Sept. 27 — Firmware update 1.1.1 renders unlocked iPhones inoperable. Great new features include UI improvements and WiFi access to iTunes. Old hacks are rendered obsolete and unworkable. All in all, it's just another brick in the wall.

Sept. 28 — iPhoneSimFree publishes repair procedure for phones unlocked using its software. Users of free-of-charge alternatives remain out of luck. Some report that completely innocent, unhacked iPhones are also screwed by the 1.1.1 update.

Sept. 29 — A method is reported at the Hackint0sh forums that restores some unbricked iPhones, albeit to a gruesome half life of WiFi-only calling.

Oct. 1 — Partial recovery of some ruined iPhones is reported, but short-term outlook is bleak for adventurous iPhone hackers who unlocked their handsets with free solutions and then, perhaps stupidly, applied the 1.1.1 update.

Oct. 5 — Access gained to upgraded iPhone's file system with a trick involving symbolic links, Unix's equivalent of desktop shortcuts. It signposts a coming flood of developments after a week of hacking horror.

Oct. 8 — Preliminary 1.1.1 jailbreak found. Though not ready for public consumption, it's the first sign of coming progress.

Oct. 9 — Third-party apps recompiled to work on 1.1.1. It's found that 1.1.1 binaries can't be retrofitted to run on iPhone still running 1.0.2.

Oct. 10 — A well-known flaw in the TIFF graphic file format is exploited to gain access to the iPhone and the iPod touch, and is found to work on handsets updated to 1.1.1.

Oct. 10 —iPhone Dev Team announces successful jailbreak of 1.1.1 and makes it publicly available

Oct. 10 — iPhoneSimFree announces a new version of its software that unlocks, but doesn' activate, iPhones updated to 1.1.1.

Oct. 12 — Hackers publish an involved 19-step method to unbrick unlocked iPhones killed by the application of Apple's 1.1.1 firmware.

iPhone going France

Orange in France has been chosen by Apple Inc. to be the exclusive carrier for iPhone in France. The mobile operator which is owned by France Telecom, will be selling the iPhone for €399 ($560). This multimedia device is expected to be available in France starting November,29 2007.

French law bans phones being locked to a network for more than six months. Orange is expected to sell an unlocked version of iPhone and this is a good news for Apple/iPhone fans in France.

Last month, Apple announced that the iPhone will be available in the UK and Germany, however these phones are still locked to the exclusive carrier chosen by Apple.

iPhone to be launch in Britain and Germany

Latest news: The iPhone will soon be available in Britain and Germany according to Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Both consumers in both country will get to buy the iPhone starting November 9.

Britain

Apple has chosen O2 to operate on the iPhone. The phone will cost £269 ($538) and comes with a 18 months contract.The O2 contract,ranges between $70 to $100 a month, includes unlimited use of what the operator calls the Britain's largest public Wi-Fi network.

Germany

Consumers in Germany can own the iPhone for 399 euros ($553). It comes with a two year contract although no monthly subscription fees has been announced.

_____________________________________________________

It is rumored that operators in France and Spain are currently in talks with Apple to launch iPhone in their respective countries.

Apple which released the iPhone locked to a particular mobile network that it benefits from has been hacked few weeks after it was launch in the US on June,29.

Although more than 1 million iPhone has been sold, shares of Apple Inc. has been effected and it angered early iPhone buyers when Apple slash the 8GB iPhone price from $599 to $399 in the US.

The iPhone comes without 3G and is known as an iPod with touch screen capabilities. It supports WiFi, EDGE and is able to store files up to 8GB.

Cheaper iPhone

Now since Apple surprised the world when it stopped production of its 4GB iPhone, the second wave hits again.

This time, Apple cuts down price of its 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399 within 10 weeks of its launch on June 29,2007.

However, those who have bought an iPhone earlier($599) will get a $100 credit, courtesy of Apple. Those who bought their iPhone, 14 days within the announcement will get a full refund.

Read:
iPhone price cut
Steve Jobs sorry for price cut

DiGi first in Malaysia to operate in iPhone

The topics sound very interesting right?

Anyway, according to Hong Kiat, a Malaysian, idamo4u, has unlocked his iPhone to work on DiGi network.

Picture taken from hongkiat.com

Although the picture above is not a perfect iPhone picture, it does sounds great when iPhone+DiGi is put together.................;)

Read more here.