This is certainly the first time in the history of Apple that a new product “preview” was released before it was actually launched. Apple has not done this before and i think they will hope that it will not happen again. They have always been very secretive in their launches until the very last minute when the Man of the Day, aka Steve Jobs will reveal what the new toy of the town is going to be. Not too sure if anyone would be fired for this, though. It has certainly created a lot of buzz in the market place on what this next generation of iPhone is gonna be.

So. how did it all started?

Well, it all started when a software engineer was celebrating his 27th birthday in a German pub in Redwood City, California. It was just simple, honest mistake that anyone could have done in the midst of a celebration. The iPhone 4G prototype was left in the pub and was later picked up by someone who sold it to Gizmodo for US$5,000. Not bad for a prototype phone who is not even working well. Since then, Gizmodo has dissected the lost iPhone and published an article with some photos of it on its website. Gizmodo has got many hits on its website when this leaked iPhone story was published. So, i guess spending US$5,000 to pull this publicity stunt is still very worth it after all.

So. how does the next generation iPhone looked like?

Below are some of the photos courtesy of Gizmodo:-

Above is the youtube video on what potentially happen(of course with lots of humour and exaggerations!). Please watch it before it is taken down.  :-)

Steve Jobs has done it yet again!

He has once again revolutionize the tablet PC. As you know, the tabled PC has been quite a failure for many companies. Not for Apple though. It sold more than 300,000 iPads on the first day of launch and is expected to touch half a million within the weekend.

On the 8th April 2010, Steve Jobs gave a big presentation on what’s coming in the next version of the iPhone operating system.

He said there will be 1,500 new APIs for developers. Of that, he highlighted 7 big new features that most of us iPhone users will be eagerly looking forward to in the new(yet to be released) iPhone OS 4 :-

1.  Multitasking

This is the biggest news of the day from a user’s perspective. Apple is adding multitasking to the iPhone. With Apple’s multitasking, you’ll hit your home button twice. A tray will pop up with the apps you have running in the background.

It is 100% true multitasking though, rather an advanced form of app switching. Apple wants to preserve battery life, while still allowing some background processing. So, the specific functions listed below can run in the background:

• Background audio for an app like Pandora.
• VoIP so you can get Skype calls at any time.
• Push notifications
• Local notifications
• Task completion
• Fast app switching

2.  Folders to organize apps

Apple is adding a way to organize all apps into folders. With your current OS, you can probably store up to only about 9 pages of apps on your iPhone. With the new iPhone OS 4.0, you will be able to store over 2,000 apps on your iPhone. You can make a new folder, label it, then throw apps into it. Click on it, and you can see all the apps in there. So, in future, you will not need to delete apps if you wanted to add more apps.  :-)

3.  A unified inbox

With the iPhone OS4.0, you can get all the inbox in one place. In addition to that, you will also be able to have multiple exchange accounts.

4.  iBooks

Apple is confirmed bringing its iBooks application to the iPhone. Previously, it was for iPads only. Well, for a smart person like Steve, why would he want to limit his sales of the iBooks to iPad users only? If he enable it for the iPhone users as well, he will be able to multiply his earnings. i foresee this is going to be a big revenue earner for Apple in the future. With ebooks priced much cheaper than the hardcopy editions, and the ease of reading an ebook using the iPad or iPhone, this new app should do well.

5.  Enterprise enhancements

Apple’s fifth big announcement for the day was more for enterprise. Apple would like to see more Enterprise users for this neat device and give BlackBerry a run for their money. The below features will be added to enhance the Enterprise iPhone offering:-

(a) Even better data protection

(b) Mobile Device Management

(c) Wireless app distribution

(d) Multiple exchange accounts

(e) Exchange Server 2010

(f) SSL VPN support

6.  Social network for gaming

One of the key reasons why many people loves the iPhone and iPad is because of their super solid apps especially their gaming experience. To make the experience even better, Apple is adding a social network for gaming called the Game Center. In a press release, Apple says it will allow “developers to create apps with the ability to invite friends to play a game, start a multiplayer game through matchmaking and track achievements and compare high scores on a leader board.” This is gonna be a good addition for the gamers out there.

7.  iAd

Mobile ads suck says Steve Jobs, so he’s introducing the iAd. With the iAd, Apple is hoping to help developers that give away apps for free make some money. Developers get 60% of the ad sales revenue, Apple gets the rest. During his presentation Steve Jobs took a swipe at Google saying the search doesn’t work on mobile like it does on desktop. Apple wants iAds to be more interactive, and keep people in the applications. This is a genius enhancement(not so much for the users of iPhones, though) for Apple to make more money from advertisements as well as to encourage more developers to develop free Apps that could benefit the iPhone community. This is what a win-win-win is all about. Win for the developer who develops free apps. Win for iPhone users who will see more free apps offered because of the first win to the developer. And a big win for Apple who shares in the ad revenues as well as more devices sold.

Below is the video of what Steve Jobs shared with the developers recently on the new features of OS4.0 which is coming mid of 2010:-

Digi has finally officially launched the iPhone last week ending Maxis’ monopoly on the iPhone in Malaysia for almost a year. Since then there has been a lot of talks on the blogs and forums as to which plan offers better value to consumers like us. Before we can answer this question, let’s dig deeper and take a look at what are the Digi offering.

iDigi Rate Plan table

Digi’s iDigi plan is very similar to Maxis’ iValue plans in the sense that both offers bundled voice, sms and data. Digi’s iDigi88 planoffers 200 minutes voice, 200 sms, 20 MMS and 1GB data vs Maxis iValue1 plan which offers 333 minutes, 100 sms, 10MMS and 500MB data. At a glance, Digi’s plan seems more attractive because it offers double the sms, MMS and data compared to Maxis’ iValue1 plan and at a cheaper price of RM88 vs RM100. Maxis’ higher bundled voice of 133 minutes is equivalent to RM19.95(based on call rates of 15sen/min. The purchase price of the iPhone 3GS 16GB(based on 24 months contract plans) for Digi is RM1590 compared to Maxis which is RM1390(additional RM200 off). This is based on Maxis’ iPhone Anniversary promotion. So, although the Digi’s monthly price is RM12 lower, the purchase price is RM200 more for the same iPhone 3GS 16GB.

Next, let’s take a look at the payment plans.

Digi’s plan offers 3 different types of payment arrangements:-

• Cash/Credit Card Up front
  Pay the subsidised iPhone price in full according to subscribed iDiGi plan with 6 months iDiGi plan. So, total amount to be paid is RM2,144(RM88+5%tax + RM1590). Let’s compare this with Maxis iValue1 plan. The total amount to be paid is RM400(advanced payment) + RM1390 which is equivalent to RM1,790. This is RM354 higher than Maxis’ iValue1 plan.
• (EPP 24) 24 months iDigi plan subscription(inclusive of 5% tax) + iPhone over 24 months
  Pay the subsidised iPhone and 24 months iDigi subscription(inclusive of 5% tax) over 24 months at 0% Interest by Credit Card. So, total amount to be paid monthly(using example of iDigi88 and iPhone 3GS 16GB) is RM159/month for 24 months. Let’s compare this to Maxis’ iValue1 plan. If you are on the iValue1 plan, you will be paying RM105(inclusive of 5% tax) + RM58(with RM200 iPhone anniversary Promotion) which is equivalent to RM163/month.
• (EPP 24+12) 24 months iDigi subscription + iPhone over 36 months
  This is the lowest monthly ownership but you’re actually paying for only 2 years usage for 3 years. So, using the same example of iDigi88 and iPhone 3GS 16GB, the monthly charges will be RM106 per month for 3 years. On month 25, you will need to sign on another data plan as you are only paying for 2 years usage over 3 years. Maxis does not offer such a plan, so there is no comparison here.

Other information and considerations:-

1.  Digi’s plans have a minimum contract period of 24 months. Maxis does have a 12 months contract plan although the subsidy is lower. Maxis also offers the iData plans on top of their existing ValuePlus Voice plans. The iData plan with ValuePlus Plans are more practical for users who roams and calls IDD frequently.

2.  Maxis should have a much wider 3G/3.5G coverage compared to Digi. In terms of speed, there is a recent 3rd party broadband speedtest conducted by Mobile World which can be viewed at the website http://bit.ly/mwspeedtest . The test showed that Maxis has the fastest speed overall for broadband.

3.  Based on a reliable source, the average data usage on an iPhone is ~300 to 400 MB per month. As a heavy user of the iPhone myself, i am personally using about 300MB data per month only.

4.  Maxis has 1 year headstart in the iPhone in terms of experience, customer service, support etc.

Conclusion:-

i believe most Malaysians will welcome Digi’s entry into the iPhone as this will finally create the competition to allow price war and competitive pressures to enable the entry price of the iPhone to be reduced further.

i must admit that i was a little disappointed as i was expecting a little more aggressive iPhone plans from Digi since they are 1 year late as compared to Maxis. Unfortunately, the plans offered are pretty much the same and i really do not see much savings in the plans.

For someone that makes more calls, the Maxis plans seems more attractive. For those who uses more internet on the iPhone, the Digi plans may be the plan to go for. So, i guess both telcos will have their own target group of customers.

Hopefully, we will see more competitive pricing coming in the future with 2 telcos vying for the same iPhone pie now in Malaysia!

For my existing profile of use, i must say that the Maxis plan is still the better choice for me.

With Celcom’s introduction of the iPhone 4, please refer to the link below to go to my latest comparison of the iPhone packages from Celcom, Digi and Maxis.

http://www.iphonemalaysiablog.com/comparison/celcom-iphone-4-packages-vs-digi-and-maxis