According to rumours from The Malaysian Insider, Maxis will offer the iPhone 3G in Malaysia at a competitive price below RM1,000!!! [click here]

can it be true???

Sorry, I DON'T know, only Maxis can confirm that!!! BUT, one thing I am pretty sure is, Iphone 3g will be officially here in Malaysia, either from one of the tel operator, based on the "facts" below...

I found one quite "solid evidence" in the new iTunes 7.7.



Do you notice that iTunes store is now officially offer to Malaysian??

So, what to this meant??

Well, if you are an iTunes user for quite some time, you may notice that iTunes store was not opened for Malaysian to purchase any music or movies online, and Malaysia is not in the "MY STORE" list. Even with this 7.7 version, Malaysian is still unable to purchase music or movies through iTunes, BUT it now offers the App Store officially for us to purchase/download the new iphone 2.0 applications!!
Kindly note that there is only 62 countries are able to ACCESS this App Store at the moment!!! and Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, China and Thailand, the few asian countries which "has been omitted" in the first 70 countries that Iphone 3G is going to launch, is in this App Store list!!

What is that meant, is it an accident??? NOT really!!! Kindly note that some of the so called first 70 countries to launch the Iphone 3g, like Macau and some African countries, are not in the App store list!!! and Brunei, our rich neighbor is NOT in there also!!! Thus, I dont think Apple jsut simply put Malaysia in this App store list for fun and without any purpose!!

Don't tell me, just because a lots of Malaysian is using the first generation iphone.... so, they put us in..
Then, why they don't just put all the countries in the world into the list? and just this 62?? What do they have in mind?? You get my point??

So, what I wanna say today is..... Iphone 3G, may be sooner than what we all expected, will be officially launched Malaysia, soon!!!

Kindly note that, China and Taiwan, which is not in the first 70 countries list, has announced that it will launch Iphone 3G in their country later this year...

Here is some of the free applications I downloaded from App Store!!!



So, prepare yourself!!!! Eventhough it is just my own GUESS!!!

good to hear that .

Yes, Finally

No.

Unless you start seeing Apple providing other contents than Apps, that is not an indication of iPhone coming to Malaysia. Apple is merely providing avenues for iPod touch users here to get a chance to purchase Apps.

I'd like to be as excited and as hopeful as you are, but it does not point towards that way. And it has already been explained in other threads as well.

This move by Apple however, may be a test bed to see how well the response is from Malaysian towards AppStore. If they see that the response is encouraging, they may see it fit to launch a full-blown iTunes Store.

Meaning I don't have to spend crazy money (RM4.2K to be exact) to buy a un-warranty unit from someone here in LYP ?

GREAT ! Patient is a virtue...

I have a suggestion if says iPhone not officially launch in Malaysia and you still want the warranty.

Go to Singapore to get it, in case of any defect just back to Singapore and fix it..

Patience may not be a virtue at all if you're waiting for a train that never arrive at the station. People speak of the train, but all the while, the train goes past by this station and stops only in stations "down south".

We've all been here, and we all love speculations and hopeful rumors. But when you trust non-credible news source and accepts rumors as hard evidence, you'll end disappointed. The Malaysian Insider is good for a lot of other things, but there is a reason why people dont tune to them for technology-related info.

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Added on July 12, 2008, 11:11 am

That is if Singtel allows sale of iPhone without contract, which remains to be seen.

Like you, me too would like to see iPhone to come to our shore - officially. But as stringfellow had mentioned earlier, the situations don't seem to point to that way. IMHO, before we could see an official launch here, we'll first need an official Apple store - which we currently don't.

The rules now have change, you may not need official iTunes store to ensure that your country gets picked up for an iPhone launch. All you need is a telco willing to bring it in, and agree to Apple's own business model. Countries like the ones on the African continent, still do not have their own iTunes store, but their telcos are handling the iPhone's unlocking to their telco's network.

Last time, you need an official iTunes Store to get this done. But now, with the arrival of a customised version of iTunes made available to telcos to do the unlocking, the rules have change. The problem here is, Apple only make that special unlocking iTunes version to telcos they have agreed upon, and I dont see Malaysia in that roadmap during Steve's Keynote at WWDC.

The recent localised iTunes Store move you see is to allow iPod touch users to expand on their Touches with the addition of Apps. If AppStore wasnt available for the folks with Touches, you'll never see this happens.

Next indication to look for are offerings OTHER THAN apps. As long as they stlll stick to Apps, I dont see pining for a local iPhone launch to be wise.

Hi stringfellow,

Thanks for pointing out the ipod touch issue!! However, kindly note that neither Hong Kong nor Singapore is offering any music or movies in their iTunes Store!!!

Another point is, iTunes is NOT a new features for Ipod Touch!!

IF Apple really wanna offer music and movies download for Ipod Touch users, they should already done so.... the only reason I can see why they are not offering is because.... they "DONT expect" many people is going to buy it in Malaysia??? isn't it?? How many ORIGINAL CD or DVD you bought compare to those pirated copies??

Anyway, I am not saying I am RIGHT, as I said, I am ONLY guessing....

Cheers.

raycol97

Yes, all these are guessworks based on current Apple patterns. But the most indicative of a selection of a country as an iPhone launch platform is the inclusion of media downloads. you are right, HK or SG do not have media downloads available for them, on these countries, instead of media downloads, their respective telcos snapped up the rights and handle it as their own launch. Remember, HK and SG themselves do not have official Apple Stores, they rely on Three(HK) and Singtel(SG) to handle all the launch necessities(unlocking, support, etc).

Let's use common sense here. Why wouldnt Maxis, the supposedly telco that gets the rights for an iPhone here, kept mum/very quiet on the issue, and have Malaysian Insider break the news? Why didnt they themselves break the news and generate hype and wanting for their own brand? Why? Maybe it's because the news ITSELF has no credibility and Maxis doesnt want to be seen as an entity spreading FUD.

Trust me, I want it locally here as badly as the next guy here, but I set my foot in reality rather than floating on hope. It is better this way, you dont get hurt too much when reality sets in and you come tumbling back to Earth.

perhaps n..... hopefully...

Two words that does not bring much confidence now , does it?

Apple announced 70 countries - "by the end of this year", even Singapore isnt getting the iPhone on the magical 11th, so, I'm pretty sure they already have their hands full now with 70 countries to launch in.

Besides, if either DiGi, Maxis, Celcom or any provider had a deal with Apple, I'm pretty sure they would be boasting it with advertisement now! Why wait?

Also, why would apple not show us that Malaysia is in the list of countries? They have no reason to do so.

One last thing, apple servers went down because of activation issues on the launching hours. Thats not even a simultaneous launch at all 70 countries. They seriously need to rework the activation load on the servers or acquire new ones to avoid such problems in the future.

So, I'd say its safe to say that we're not in the list of iPhone 3g countries, at least until next year, and when next year comes, the iPhone 3 g would be half a year old, with a newer revision coming out in less than half a year, and we'd be put in this limbo again.

haha...just dun wan give 2 much hope...n at the end falling back 2 earth like wut u said...
but i do waiting maxis to make some miracles...

now wat i worry is when the iphone realli bring 2 msia by maxis but with dunno wat wat wat contract tat cost sky height....faint oso...haha

there is a difference between iTunes Store and Apps Store, the store in Malaysia is Apps Store, not both iTunes Store + Apps Store, nation like Japan and US is iTunes Store and Apps Store, so they have both buying music/video and buying Apps

the Apps Store are made for both iPhone and iPod Touch, it doesnt have to be an iPhone to install the apps.

look carefully, there are apps for iPod Touch too, and also there are even more nation which does not officially have iPhone on the Apps Store list too: China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand

having the Store doesnt mean anything in bringing in iPhone, it could be made just for iPod Touch

unless there is any thing solid (real news not just rumor) in iPhone officially getting into Malaysia border, there is not much thing happy about the Apps Store in Malaysia, look at the pricing, it still in US, just that it enable u to open an account using Malaysia credit card.

if Maxis does getting it in, it will be the greatest news for Malaysia iPhone user + awaiting user, i have also waiting for moment like this

just sit by and watch how Apple continue to revolutionize the phone industry, someday some telco will understand what market Apple has created

If Maxis really bring in the phone, I don't mind paying them some premium, at least, that is a "warranty" iphone!!!

Same here, I like the idea of having myself covered in case something broke down. Thankfully even my first launch iPhone still works, bought more than a year ago, so build quality is not an issue with the iPhone, at least not in my case.

But it is not wise to rely on hearsay and speculations.

receive the maxis rewards booklet, open up only, u see a picture of iphone liao

string, any idea abt iphone in the uk? my wife will be ther for a year, so if she signs up the 18 moon contract, is the phone locked dead? or still can use back msia sim card?

iPhone 3G for Malaysia.com has opened an online petition to collect signatures.

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ip3g4m

Let's join it!!!!

Two options, O2 or Carphone Warehouse, and I'm pretty sure they are locked down pretty tight. So you'll need to wait for solutions from Dev Team orothers to get it unlocked, O2 or Carphone will not do the unlocking for you. From what I gather, only iPhones from Hong Kong, Italy and New Zealand are unlocked right out of the box, with options to unlock from telco itself, from Australian Optus, Spain, Portugal, France and Norway. If I could not get it from New Zealand, I'll be hoping on France(Orange) from my next trip there on the 22nd. My buddy just missed today's closing time at 1500 LMT(1100 here) and the Vodafone store is closed tomorrow. Only opens on Monday at 0900, and he have to get to the shuttle to the airport by 1050! I'm panicking already here!

hahahha, kinda rush dun u think? might as well get it urself on ur next trip.... hmmm... italy is unlocked eh? any idea how much they selling? need to check how far/long is eurostar from uk to italy though

It don't really think so,not so early....fastest also next year..after singapore

Vodafone Italy is selling the 8GB version at EU499, while the 16GB runs you 569 Euros. I'm still looking around for TIM's rate. Two telcos offering iPhone 3G in Italy, Vodafone and TIM.

Apple's hope always jz bring disappointment to us.

Hmm...from the market scenario, I doubt Maxis is going to launch iPhone 3G so soon, if they were really going to. If not, they would have very aggressive marketing campaign to promote the plan already, since iphone 3G fever is so hot right now. They could not be so silly to wait until the heat cool down then only promoting the plan right?

I mean, i dare not comment as well that definitely iPhone 3G will not be launch in Malaysia/Maxis...but at least, really don't think will be so soon, although how i wish the news from Malaysia Insider is true...I would switch to Maxis without any second thought!

u mean this one right?


haha...really hope it's coming here. but still haven't seen any signs of it coming here, other than just speculations.

where / how u get that picture ?

If Maxs carries iPhone3G (which supports enterprise push email), it might affect the Black Berry services they are offering as well. BB users switch to iPhone

that won't effect but better business to them and im pretty sure it won't go as low as 1k .

mmm...i can't see that as a problem. plus they also provide Exchange push email (Maxis Mail) alongside their BB solutions.

i think if maxis get the business it will surely grab all the customers from digi but this also depends on the plan or contract that they are providing... do not wish they to be like vodafone nz

don't put so much hope without an official announcement. you might get disappointed of waiting. it's not about Maxis would like to offer or not, but will apple take up the deal as well. it seems apple isn't much interested with malaysia, if maxis has taken the opportunities at early stage, we should have seen malaysia on the iphone countries list, not until now where, it's abit too late for inclusion (when other countries have huh-ha of their iphone).

REason why Apple is not interested with Malaysia is that our telcos are an entity on its own. See other ccountries, for example Singtel. Singtel holds percentage interest and hold in companies with large customer bases in Australia and South East Asia, hence their ability to take up presence and charge to do the launch. It just also happen that they are from Singapore and hence passing that right and chance to fellow Singaporean.

What about those little African countries like Botswana and such, you ask? Check their telco, and you'll see that most if not all their telco are telecom multiconglomerate such as Vodafone and such, and since Apple have grant blanket rights to them to launch, Vodafone extends such rights also to launch in those little African countries. The same reason why in certain countries like in Italy, besides TIM, Vodafone Italy is also launching it there, because they are given the blanket rights.

Malaysia? Got Vodafone Malaysia? Orange Malaysia? Or T-Mobile? Nope, we have Maxis, Celcom and DiGi. The very extent of them allowing these large telecom multiconglomerates into Malaysia is via partnership, most evidently by business joint-ventures like Celcom-Vodafone Blackberry service for businesses. Other than that, Malaysia is LOCKED TIGHT, between the three main telcos here. Apple may or may not have negotiated with our Big Three but knowing how Malaysian companies operate (untung besar, on as little as possible investments or effort, eg: TMNET, Proton), Apple decides to not go through here, or probably disgusted/disenchanted with how things are done here. Why bother with such a small market and when the telcos representing us here are acting like hungry whiny babies, wanting to be fed?

There may be exceptions like Hong Kong's "Three" by Hutchison, but I see that as Apple's attempt to penetrate the Chinese market after their failed attempt with China Mobile. they may be sending a signal to Three to push their presence into China and allowing Apple to sell their iPhones there.

See, beneath this desperateness of getting the 3G iPhone, is a well-informed calculative mind. I may not seem rational in my obsessiveness in getting the 3G iPhone, but that is just my nature: I'll do whatever it takes to get one, within reasonable mean. But I draw the line when it comes to others taking advantage of my obsessions, such as local importers here wanting RM4,000 for the 3G iPhone. I seething hate cutthroats like these, no matter how business-minded they portray themselves to look like.

I've been lurking the iphone lounge for quite a bit this past weekend and this is the best reply I've come across. Period.

It's absolutely spot-on, especially the part on Malaysia's Big Three.

It's allegedly reported that the first delivery of RM4.2k 3G iphone has been sold out; and now Maxis rumours of being able to bring it in at RM1k.

Of course, it'd be great news to all if the rumours are substantiated in the near future. But I would recommend stringfellow's reply above as the Golden Rule of not being overly optimistic.

(*continues wondering if HTC Touch Diamond would be a winner...)

OT: I've tried Diamond, and the whole interface reeks! Those comfortable with multitouch would vomit in HTC's general direction, after seeing what pisspoor effort they did slapping a ho-hum interface on top of a crappy OS. No amount of eyecandy wiper wipe animation would make me fall for that.

maybe the HTC Diamond and alot of others are some sort of touch screen phone devices...but in term of smoothness, speed and especially the OS...APPLE IPHONE still the best and no competitors for this moment for sure...

jz wonder maybe the google ANDROID may take the crown in future...but still need to wait for its release... some said end of this year and some said maybe next year...

but for now...not following the trend or what...iphone is the best phone or computerized palm device for me...

bro string, thanks for the pricing, need to do a calculation for my wife, to sign with o2 UK or get one in italy

You're really brave for signing a contract, must be that you have someone in UK for extended period of time to do that. As for the Italian iPhones, be careful. Italians are adept at taking advantage of you while you're not looking, I got conned myself while in Rome. Got a 20 Euro souvenir picture that I dont really want.......long story.

my wife would be ther for abt a year, she is leaving off this August

i got semi conned in rome as well... those blardy pictures....

Try and see if Carphone Warehouse gives a better deal. You should be OK if you sign up later in August, currently O2 is facing huge problem of activating the iPhones, thanks to iTunes 7.7 timing out. Some had to wait hours, and some are even sent home with iPhones unactivated.

OT: For those conned pics, what can I do? Those gladiators are holding swords. Even if they're fake, them gladiators are not messing around with bulging muscles....even the female ones.

thanks for the tips, will advice her on that

OT:

speculation and allegations is only what we have right now. I don't mind that iphone 3g will be brought in by maxis to be true but I doubt the price is as low as 1k.. Because if maxis do so, it would be the cheapest iphone 3g as it termination fee is only like few hundred ringgit if were to follow the way to obtain the phone without contract. So, let say if maxis would ever bring iphone 3g in, price should be around rm2k and above. Hey, no harm for us to dream, after all, if its not true then just take it as a sweet dream and move on with life.

Besides, I would agree what string pointed out in iTunes as there are iPod touch that alot of people didn't thought of why the app store is available for malaysia. Don't forget that iPod touch is also entitled for 2.0 fw upgrade. since I am not too anticipated on iPhone 3g as the price is superbly high by those sellers, I guess I just stay put with iPhone 1st gen and wait for 2.0 unlock..

If I type something wrong please forgive me as I am using my iphone now while my of is reformatting...

this is a magazine?will delivery to all maxis postpaid user?

maxis rewaard

30 quid monthly X 18 months + 99.

it is worthy esp. for the 35 per month deal if you are going to use the 600 mins and the exclusive unlimited wifi connectivity for iphone. if not, might as well get or wait for the pre-pay set set to be announced later of the year.

I guess I've no choice to wait and see. I've had my hands on HTC Touch and Dual. So-so for me.

Thx for the input nonetheless.

so hard to get a good things today....i wonder why...

In my case, I have the money, but vendor dont want to take it! World's gone topsy-turvy these days.