Posts tagged iphone
M1 – Reserve your iPhone 3GS today
Nov 13th
Yes, it’s finally here. Rejoice M1 customers! Wanna get your iPhone 3GS?
Click here to preorder
I think I’ll look around first. I wonder if there will be a new model of iPhone next year as well.
Singapore iPhone 3GS Shootout
Nov 10th
It is officially a free-for all for the iPhone in Singapore. And while the public can expect charges to drop – and the telcos anticipate high take-up rates – news yesterday of StarHub’s entry to the iPhone market nonetheless drew a bittersweet response from some consumers.
The telco’s announcement that it has reached an agreement with manufacturer Apple to offer the smartphone means by next month, customers of all three telcos here will be able to get their hands on the gadget.
In its statement – a month after M1 broke SingTel’s 14-month monopoly – StarHub said it would offer the iPhone “later this year”, along with “a range of tailored service plans”. Pricing, tariffs and availability dates will be released in due course.
The news sent StarHub’s share price up 7 cents, closing at $1.95 yesterday.
Copywriter Daniel Lee, a decade-long StarHub customer until last week when he switched to another telco, felt “quite bummed”. Said the 29-year-old: “I think I’d be echoing the same sentiments as others who ‘jumped’ … (StarHub) wasn’t fast enough on the uptake.”
Mr Lee contemplated switching back to StarHub after its announcement, but decided against it due to the hefty penalty he would incur for breaking his new contract.
But another StarHub subscriber Khaled Talib, 44, will finally be getting the iPhone – the Blackberry user was put off by the long queues in August last year when the iPhone was launched here.
iPhone charges are set to drop if Australia’s experience is anything to go by, said telco analyst Aloysius Choong.
Data plans, based on Gigabytes per month, fell from above A$150 ($193) to below A$100 within a year when Hutchison and Virgin entered the fray, said the research manager at IDC’s Asia Pacific personal systems group.
“In Singapore, we should likewise see some price competition in iPhone subsidies and tariffs, although not in the same magnitude as Australia,” he said.
But consumers looking to get smartphones from Apple rivals such as Nokia, HTC or Samsung might be worse off, as StarHub and M1 now have less need to subsidise these products, he noted.
When contacted, M1 was tight-lipped about its iPhone launch date and pricing plans. SingTel spokesman Chia Boon Chong said: “To date, we have put tens of thousands of iPhone 3GS in the hands of our customers. We review our price plans regularly to ensure that they offer the best value to our customers and remain competitive in the market.”
M1 To Offer iPhones To Consumers
Oct 14th
I’m a happy man! Well, not because I’m sick, but I’ve came across a wonderful news. M1 will be bringing in iPhones later this year and it has been confirmed! Interested? Read down further!
MobileOne (M1) has broken SingTel’s monopoly of the Apple iPhone market in Singapore.
M1 on Tuesday said it has secured a deal with the US computer giant Apple to sell the iPhone in the city. But details on pricing and when the handsets will be released will come later.
If one wants to buy an Apple iPhone now, one can only choose SingTel. But that will change when M1 starts selling its own iPhone handsets.
Analysts said the iPhone could help M1 reduce its customer churn, or the rate at which it loses customers over a specific time period.
Ng Kian Teck, research associate, SIAS Research, said: “M1 is taking on the younger crowd, and the iPhone is something that the crowd is looking forward to. And this will lower its churn rate.
“At least for the last one year, quite a substantial portion of customers are being lost to SingTel because of the lack of the iPhone service.”
He added that M1’s current churn rate is about 1.5, compared to 1.2 for the other two mobile operators.
Meanwhile, some consumers have welcomed the news.
Business development engineer Jaycee Lim, an M1 subscriber, said: “Since there is no more monopoly on the iPhone, the telcos may try to compete on the prices of their mobile phones as well as data plans. I will definitely be considering getting the iPhone when it is available, providing the price is reasonable.”
The question now is how much the M1 iPhone will cost and its data plans.
Analysts said M1 has much to do to catch up to SingTel’s 14-month lead – so this might result in cheaper rates. This will sit well with its mainly youth customer base, who are likely to have limited spending power. M1 is also likely to roll out a range of plans to allow for some flexibility.
When contacted, SingTel said it will continue to collaborate with Apple to introduce the latest products to Singapore.
A SingTel spokesman said: “SingTel is pleased to have been the first operator to bring both the iPhone and iPhone 3GS to Singapore. Coupled with our unrivalled 3G mobile network coverage and our innovative services like Live TV, our customers are enjoying a superior iPhone 3GS experience.
“We will continue to collaborate with Apple in introducing the latest products to Singapore. To date, we have put tens of thousands of iPhone 3GS in the hands of our customers. We review our price plans regularly to ensure that they offer the best value to our customers and remain competitive in the market.”
Both M1 and StarHub have been vying for the rights to sell the iPhone in Singapore. Analysts said the chances of StarHub getting its own deal now appear slim.
Mr Ng said: “The likelihood is not that high – because Apple is looking for a significant proportion of sales. So it is not possible to have too many players selling iPhones together. For example, if you want to sign a contract, you may have had to sell at least 100,000 phones.”
StarHub told Channel NewsAsia that it is still interested in bringing the iPhone to its customers.
“We are interested to bring the iPhone to StarHub customers. After all, we offer the highest mobile data network speeds and the best smart phone plans in town,” said Michael Sim, senior manager, Corporate Communications, StarHub.
Student Peggy Chang, a StarHub subscriber, said: “Of course, I am not happy that StarHub is now the only one who does not sell iPhones. When my contract expires in one year’s time, I will definitely switch providers.
“But the best scenario would be for StarHub to get the rights too, so consumers can compare prices among the telcos. I assume they will each try to offer competitive deals then.”
Some market watchers see M1’s iPhone deal as a double whammy for StarHub, which earlier this month lost its broadcast rights for the English Premier League, from the 2010 season, to SingTel
Source: CNA
nudge! Instant Messenger 10
Jul 23rd
Before Tweets, FB and iPhone, there was IM. And even after that, IM will be around for the billions around the world who want to chat while at their desktops, laptops and mobile.
Believe it or not, 10 years ago in July, made its appearance and things haven’t quite been the same.
“We are really happy that users around the world have embraced Messenger” said Craig Law-Smith, Marketing Director, Online Services Group, Southeast Asia.
“It continues to be one of the favorite ways for people to stay in touch with the people who matter to them, simply because it’s just fun and easy to use.”
Back in 1999 the service first appeared as MSN Messenger and snowballed worldwide in just six months to 4.5 million users.
Today, there are more than 330 million active users and part of the reason could be the pervasiveness of Messenger which is available not just in 59 countries and 36 languages, but also on mobile phones with voice and video message options.
The strategy not to beat ‘em but join ‘em has also paid off for the Windows team with users able to link up with friends, family and everyone in between through popular networking social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
“The Windows Live Messenger offering is significantly more robust than ever before, with the introduction of features such as the What’s New feed, which allows our users to be constantly connected and updated through our partnerships with more than 20 social networking sites” said Law-Smith.
A decade since the arrival of Windows Messenger has seen more messaging services being offered by other providers, a move that can only be seen as the best form of flattery.
Looking to the next decade, the Windows team seems certain that Messenger could overtake Singapore’s current favourite form of communication – texting or SMS.
“Given that increasing numbers of consumers can now also use Windows Live Messenger on their mobile phones, we expect to see the number of instant messages sent daily to increase even further and eventually reach and overtake the daily number of SMSes sent by Singaporeans which currently stands at 60 million” says Craig Law-Smith.
Currently the chatter in Singapore through Messenger is about 51 million messages per day.
So the magic number for Windows Messenger is yet again, the perfect 10.
Source: CNA
Apple Promised Fix for iPhone Security Problem
Sep 1st
Apple has promised a fix this month for a security problem that enables people to access data on password-protected iPhones.
It’s not a pleasant thought if you own an iPhone. Even if you have the handset password-protected, someone with access to it can still bypass your security and access your voicmail, e-mail and texts.
It’s done by pressing the emergency call button when on the unlock screen, flowed by a double click on the home screen. That takes you to the favorites page without needing to enter the unlock code.
However, according to MacWorld.com, that’s going to be remedied very soon. Apple has promised a fix this month for the rather gaping security hole.
In an email to the site, Apple spokesperson Jennifer Bowcock wrote:
“The minor iPhone security issue which surfaced this week is fixed in a software update which will be released in September.”
In the meantime Bowcock suggested that, for security, users set their iPhones so that a double click on the home button takes them to the home screen. If password protection is turned on, that’s the unlock screen.
Source: Digital Trends
