Celcom has launched the iPhone 4 sometime last month. We have been getting some emails on which iPhone 4 packages are supposedly better or more attractive since their launch. So, we have decided to do a short review of the iPhone plans that are being offered by all the telcos in Malaysia. Let’s first review the newcomer to the iPhone 4 i.e. Celcom.

Celcom’s iPhone 4 package comes months later than Digi and years later than Maxis. Although, Celcom may be late, the iPhone market is still not saturated yet and there are many iPhone users who are looking at upgrading to newer models. Looking at the monthly sales volume of the iPhone, the market is certainly worth competing in. If Celcom does not offer the iPhone, certain segments of the market will be out of reach for them as some companies have decided to use the iPhone for their top management. So, although Celcom may be late, it is definitely still better late than never.

What are Celcom’s iPhone 4 packages?

table above is extracted from Celcom’s official iPhone Page on the 24th May 2011

What are the interesting features of the above Celcom plans?

1.  6,000 minutes of free(“bundled”) calls. This is great for a user who calls other Celcom users a lot. This feature also encourages the users to convert their family and friends to Celcom as well.

2.  Low purchase price of the iPhone 4 with 24 months contract period starting at RM248 and RM538 for the Celcom Exec i248 Plan for both the iPhone 4(16GB) and iPhone 4(32GB) respectively.

What are Digi’s iPhone 4 packages?

table above is extracted from Digi’s official iPhone Page on the 24th May 2011

What are the interesting features of the above Digi plans?

1.  Low monthly commitment fees especially after auto-billing deduction. This is good for the younger generation who do not need a high commitment plan.

2.  No extra charge after monthly data usage. There will be no bill shock for this plan. i have personally known some iPhone users who gets bill “shocks” which is definitely not a very “shiok” feeling after changing to iPhone. iPhone is a smartphone and can do many things including auto-download information from the internet connection especially when

What are Maxis’ iPhone 4 packages?

table above is extracted from Maxis’ official iPhone Page on the 24th May 2011

What are the interesting features of the above Maxis plans?

1.  No contract plans for the low iData plans. This may be good for existing users who do not intend to upgrade their iPhone.

2.  Free iPhone 4 with higher commitment plans eg iValue 4 plans. This is good for high commitment users who do not mind paying a high monthly fees to get the iPhone 4 for free. This is also applicable for company lines which the monthly commitment fees are paid by company and the employees have to purchase their own phones. Using this plan, it will benefit the employees.

The comparison of the above plans are based on consumer packages that are available from the internet. These plans do not include any special packages that may be offered during “roadshows” etc. It is not easy to compare each plans and have the ultimate plan. All plans have their own uniqueness and strengths and are targetted to various segments of the community.

The introduction of the iPhone 4 by Celcom is certainly welcomed by the Malaysian folks who look forward to stronger competition and better pricing for the iPhone.

Two of the best and most popular phones on the market today are the iPhone 4 and the Android HTC EVO phone. There are definitely 2 groups of very loyal followers and supporters for each of them. On paper the HTC EVO appears to be superior on the specifications eg it has an 8MegaPixel back camera compared to iPhone 4′s 5MegaPixel camera. Is it really better?

Do check out the video below to see the real comparison between the 2 phones:-

Read the rest of this entry

KT has finally launched the iPhone 4 in South Korea on 10th September, 2010(Friday) after regulatory approval had prevented the iPhone 4 to hit the stores earlier this year. Customers have patiently braved the rain and waited in long lines to be among the first in the country to get their hands on the Apple iPhone 4 device.

KT has received over 300,000 pre-orders, but only 10,000 units available for sale during the launch according to Korean Times.

Apple launched the iPhone 4 on June 24 in the United States and several other countries. Since then, the company has been expanding into additional markets around the world. News from some insiders indicate that the iPhone 4 will be hitting the Malaysian shores sometime end September. We shall see if this will generate as much an interest in Malaysia as compared to Korea. i am sure many people are just as eager to get the iPhone 4 in Malaysia as compared to Korea……  

Below are the extracts from the news on Korean Times website:-

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/09/133_72869.html

Read the rest of this entry

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced during the iPhone 4 press conference that Apple will be giving away the protective cases to buyers of its latest iPhone to alleviate the so-called “death grip” problem in which holding the phone with a bare hand can muffle the wireless signal. This will be eligible to the more than 3 million people who have already bought the iPhone 4 as well as new buyers through Sept. 30. People who have already purchased the $29 “Bumper” cases on their own will also be refunded. In addition to that, if purchasers are still unhappy with the iPhone 4(before or after they have got the free cases), Apple will offer a full refund if the iPhone 4 is returned undamaged within 30 days. So, the message that Steve Jobs is sending out is quite loud and clear and that Apple loves their users and try very hard to delight and surprise them.

Below is the live coverage on how he communicated this message during the iPhone 4 press conference call:-

So, apart from this key message that Apple CEO Steve Jobs would like to convey to the new purchasers of the iPhone 4, what else did he cover during the iPhone 4 press conference?

Read the rest of this entry

iPhone 4 is finally launched in the US, UK, Germany, France and Japan. The pre-orders for iPhone 4 has exceeded 600,000 and is giving AT&T servers some problems last week. The iPhone 4 launch is probably going to be another big hit and may yet set another record for the Apple launches.

In June 2010, apart from the “Waka Waka” style World Cup Kickoff in South Africa which is gaining a huge following, i suppose the iPhone 4 launch is also not to be left out.

Below are some of the pictures captured before the launches at various places above. The below pictures are courtesy of Engadget.com and Wired.com.

Read the rest of this entry

With many people still wondering what is really new with the new iPhone 4. Let’s listen to what was presented by Steve Jobs himself at the WWDC conference in San Francisco recently. Enjoy the video. i particularly like the way he was joking about some of you might have already seen this……but believe me. You ain’t seen it.  :-)   This is how a genius turns something that is negative into positive. Instead of reacting negatively to the iPhone leak incident, he has responded positively and make a joke out of it. Steve, you really deserve to be the man of the decade! Enjoy the video.

One of the most anticipated news at the WWDC today has to be the announcement about the 4th generation iPhone. Without much surprise, Steve Jobs has finally officially announced the new 4th Generation iPhone which is called the iPhone 4. Thanks to Gizmodo for unveiling lost iPhone prototype which has now turned into somewhat of a legal battle(between Apple and them), we have more or less anticipated how the new iPhone looks like a few months ago. Anyway, we now have confirmation on what the “real” thing looks like and what specifications and features it comes with.

So what is new with the iPhone 4:-

• Retina Display: 960 by 640 backlit LCD with a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch. This is 4 times the previous iPhone’s pixel density giving much better resolution
• Engineered glass, chemically strengthened to be 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic. More scratch resistent than the previous models
• Stainless steel band – 5 times stronger than standard steel provides rigidity to the phone and acts as an antenna
• Powered by the A4 chip (same chip used in iPads)
• Gyro plus Accelerometer – built in 3 axis gyroscope paired with accelerometer producing great motion sensing which translate to greater gaming experience on the iPhone 4
• Larger battery means 7 hours of talk time, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music and 300 hours of standby
• Video calling via Facetime app – currently only works with other iPhone 4 and within Wifi networks only.
• 5Megapixels Primary (back) camera giving better resolution photo shoots
• Dual microphone system – one for voice and video calls located at the bottom of the iPhone 4 and the other at the top for noise cancellation giving better voice call quality

Below is a comparison table of the specification/features in the iPhone 4 vs the iPhone 3GS:-

Below are some pictures from the WWDC:-

The iPhone 4 will be on sale in 5 countries(US, UK, Germany, France and Japan) on the 24th June. 24 more countries will get it in July and 88 more countries in September. Not too sure when this will be launched in Malaysia…..

Below is the Youtube video on iPhone 4 posted by Geekwood…..