I know nowadays phones are becoming like computers, which means to say phone software are getting crappy like our beloved Windows *cough* *cough* is. But it does get a little worrying to get reminded how lousy the iPhone software is. Look at the change log of the latest iPhone 2.1 software, for example, which lists one highlight as “fewer dropped calls”. You mean it has been dropping calls?
Hello, Singapore. SingTel has announced their iPhone 3G prices. You could get the phone free, if you’re willing to shell out $205 every month for the next 24 months. The prices are high, but not unexpected (see here and here). Once M1 and StarHub get into the fray, the prices might fall. Or it might drop anyway soon after launch, because Singaporeans are not going to fall simply for the iPhone “wow” factor.
After much speculation over the last many months, it is now officially confirmed that SingTel will launch the iPhone 3G in Singapore on 22 August 2008. The same day will also see the iPhone 3G launched in about 20 other countries. The Reuters report of SingTel’s announcement said nothing more. I guess the next biggest question on everyone’s mind is: How much?
Apple claims to have sold 1 million units of the new iPhone 3G in the first weekend of its launch. Just three days to sell 1 million units. I find it incredible, considering that there were so many complaints of delays due to activation problems. Many things have been happening with Apple the past week. Some good, some not so good.
The iPhone 3G has been launched yesterday in 22 countries worldwide. First to get their hands on the iPhone 3G were New Zealanders when the iPhone 3G went on sale at midnight on July 11 local time. Although there were queues for the iPhone in most countries, it seems it didn’t quite get much excitement in Italy. There’s now a whole bunch of reviews, reviews, reviews, unboxing and disassembly posts all over the net.
The worldwide launch in 22 countries does not include Singapore. SingTel is expected to launch the iPhone 3G here in September. Just about 2 more months to wait.
My blog cum homepage is currently at PageRank 4. It’s been at 4 for several months already, so actually this is not new. I’ve found that getting to PageRank 4 is easy; Getting past 4 seems to be the challenge. But why do we care about PageRank at all? For me, it is something that eventually helps to earn more side income from Adsense. More money is cannot be bad.
Even though the new 3G iPhone will sell for quite cheap in the US (US$199 and US$299 for the 8GB and 16GB models respectively), I did not expect the prices in Singapore to fall as low. Yesterday’s Sunday Times carried an article that put the initial iPhone price in Singapore between S$500 and S$1000 (presumably with contract). Not cheap. Considering other premium phones like, say, the Nokia N95 8GB was launched at S$798 (I think?). The initial iPhone selling price may be slightly marked up because it is sold only by SingTel. What happens when the other telcos start carrying the iPhone?
Apple has announced the much anticipated 3G iPhone at WWDC 2008. Finally, the iPhone is catching up with comparable specs of other multi-function smart phones out there: 3.5G, Wireless LAN 802.11b/g, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, camera, and all the apps one would expect to come with a smart phone. The phone will also be cheaper. It makes the 1st generation iPhone look like a piece of ancient history, even though it is less than a year old.
SingTel has finally acknowledged their deal to bring the iPhone to Singapore. In an unusually brief press release, SingTel said that more details will be released at a later date. They have also provided a registration form to users to sign up to be alerted for more details.
More details about the second generation iPhone have surfaced. According to Engadget and AppleInsider, the upcoming iPhone will have 3G (don’t know about HSDPA) and a real GPS. It will be about the same size and shape, although slightly thicker than the original iPhone. The whole phone will be glossy black (as opposed to the metal back in the original iPhone).
I think we had 11 oysters each, from The Line restaurant at Shangri-la Hotel. It's a big buffet with plenty of food.
Lunch at Lerk Thai some weekends ago.
