News update!!!!

Channel 5 news cited that Singtel has clinched the deal with Apple to bring in iPhone to Singapore in Sep 2008!!!!

Malaysia boleh?!!

sauce?

this is good news...but bottomline whats the price?

S$650.. didn't say if 8gb or 16gb

wow so cheap?
so maybe next time iphone in malaysia will be coming from singapore instead of US

Source please. I've been googling up the keywords and nothing but "speculations" from an someone who claimed to be an "insider" that this will happen "before 2007", which is old news, not to mention expired already.

If this happens, that means Malaysian iPhone is not far off. How they are going to deal with activation is beyond me, since no iPhone have been launched outside an iTunes-launched region. Hell, even Australian have yet to see their own locally launched iPhone, and THAT even are rumored to be launched in June with iPhone firmware 2.0 + Telstra.

Source please, or this does not happen. No "my friend whose uncle knows his girlfriend that his grandma told him" kinda source.

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Added on March 19, 2008, 10:44 pmI could simply add in "an insider" told me that DiGi is going to get iPhone when launching here 2008. See how "broad" and "general" that piece of news is?

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Mar 19 2008, 10:44 PM

Give us the iSauce or it didnt happen

The only proof i can see is this taped Youtube video of a news blurb in Singaporean TV about news reporters interviewing key figures about a possible iPhone launch in Singapore.

http://bettytlopez.i.ph/blogs/bettytlopez/...ore-in-sept-08/

At one point , the news put up a screen with a quote:-

.

Who says this? A mysterious "Local vendor". How accurate and credible!

Based on what they conjectured and speculated, this is at best is what it is : Speculation. The moment Apple announces the first Asian country to get the iPhone is when the news gets REAL. Until then, trust all the allegations and propagandas terrestrial TVs are tell you all you want. A reliable news article would definitely have words like "confirmed" and such, not "probably" or "more or less".

http://jobs.apple.com/index.ajs?BID=1&meth...4&CurrentPage=1

Hmm, how's this?

Why is the job title "iPhone Buyer"? Am i then employed by Apple already since im a buyer as well? Hell, arent we all buyers already, so we're "iPhone buyer" Malaysian division now?

Do the search again at this link:-

http://jobs.apple.com/index.ajs?Language=en

Type in keyword "iPhone" and "Singapore" and there arent any matches. Weird?

if you look closely at the subtitle during the beginning of the youtube video, it says " September by Singtel". When I first watched the news, it didn't have the "more or less" part. That must have been added on the later broadcast. lol

As for the Apple jobs, type 'iphone planner' and you will find the result... which concluded their search engine sux. However, if you try to search Singapore in country, it is not listed.. either it has been taken up or scrapped.

I'm not trying to misguide anyone but I'm so thrilled when I first heard and wanted to share it with all you guys

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Added on March 19, 2008, 11:49 pmTitle : Industry sources say SingTel will launch iPhone in S'pore in Sep
By : Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia
Date : 19 Mar 2008 2313 hrs (GMT + 8hrs)

SINGAPORE: Industry sources said Apple's iPhone will be launched in Singapore by SingTel this September, but the telco has neither confirmed nor denied this.

With its cool functions and design, the iPhone has got millions of American admirers hooked since its debut in June 2007.

Even before its official launch in Singapore, retailers estimated that gadget fans here have snapped up about 10,000 iPhones through different avenues, with some paying over S$1,000 to be the first in Singapore to own the device.

More people will soon be able to get their hands on the iPhone as a local vendor, who works closely with Apple associates in the US, revealed that "SingTel has more or less sealed the deal". The vendor refused to be named.

Observers said such a deal is consistent with Apple's track record of working with top mobile operators.

They said, however, it is unlikely SingTel will agree on a revenue-sharing model with Apple on phone sales, as it is currently done in Europe and the US.

Aloysius Choong, research manager for IDC Asia/Pacific, said: "We've heard an Apple executive coming out to say that they don't necessarily need to go with that model. So it could be, and it will be in the long term, (going) back to a more familiar relationship where you distribute through the operators, you get a subsidy through the operators."

The iPhone that is making its way in Singapore is likely to be the latest model.

Zachary Wong, retail operations manager of iShop, said: "You never expect what Apple is able to pull out. The 3G model could be in Singapore as well. 3G is the industry platform for this part of the world, so I say the demand for the newer model of the phone will be much, much higher."

Retailers expect the phone to be priced around S$690.

Industry players said there will be no shortage of takers.

"When it first started in late June 2007, the demand was extremely high. It tampered down a little bit but demand is still very strong," said Mr Wong.

Mr Choong agreed: "Consumers are looking for... design and brand. And these two are really what the iPhone has in place. And not just that, one great thing about the iPhone is that it goes beyond the usual business of tech early adopters."

"I think you're going to see demand coming from various segments, from the business users to the moms and pops," he added.

Apple has said it plans to sell 10 million units of iPhone in Asia this year. - CNA/ac

This post has been edited by mybargain: Mar 19 2008, 11:49 PM

Malaysia tak boleh... it never could...

so id it true? or it just a rumors ?

Oh dear where do i start? Please understand that this post is not meant to rip you apart, mybargain, this post is meant as an analysis of what this news broadcast meant to me.I appreciate your work in reporting this in.



Im not surprised that that is your first reaction, because that reaction , being "thrilled" is the very objective this news blurb wants to achieve. Why? Because by "thrilling" you with its headlines, you will pay less attention to the content of the news, and once you analyse the news, you will realise that the news is nothing but rumors and conjectures, and not based on any hard evidence or conclusive sources. Let me explain.


This part alone makes this news article a non-credible source. When you have no confirmation on what you are reporting , your news material loses credibility and is relegated to "gossips and rumors".


This part of the news is aimed to sensationalize and make the news seems big and noteworthy. All you have here are estimates, conjectures and no hard numbers. "Estimates and conjectures" again makes for no credibly news. Statistics does.



A local vendor? Who? This again reinforce the fact that without credible sources, your news becomes rumors and gossip. The reluctance of the vendor to be named here can mean two things, to keep the news worth skepticising over, and to keep the viewers hooked to the later parts of the news. Viewers who are able to read between the lines knows this "keep your sources a mystery" ploy is an age-old tactics to lend your news material credibility, without revealing whether your sources are real or made up. This is called "Plausible deniability". The refusal of the vendor to be named is his escape clause should the claims of his does not come true, so that angry Singaporeans who have waited that long could not track him down adn rain fury on his speculative ass.


More analysis on this later, i will elaborate on why this point is important. Also another point to ponder, who are these "Observers"? Why arent their credentials and names mentioned? Again, the ploy for "plausible deniability" here.


The only part of this news that is possibly right. This is also the basis of all estimations on which telco will get the contract from Apple to partner with, judging from the current pattern Apple is using to launch the iPhone on a particular region/country.


Notice the elaborations stops there. Nowhere here is explained why Apple went "with that (business) model". Partnership with particular telcos here means the said telco bears a portion of the cost of the iPhone, in which they regain that cost by introducing new voice/data packages with contractual agreement to stay with that said telco between 12 to 24 months. The "more familiar relationship where you distribute through operators in Singapore here means that you get those phones tied down again with monthly subscription (based on Singaporean phone operator model) without tying them down to a longer agreement as mentioned before. The phone price, in this case, the iPhone, however will not be priced at the current price seen in the American operator business model, it will be much higher. This piece of information is conveniently omitted to keep the news on high gear, high spirits and warm on sensationalization.


Even a non-informed user here can make that call.


Again i ask, who is this guy? This is like asking the shop manager of Bluecube, the store that operates under Celcom banner here to ask his opinion on what/when he thinks the iPhone is going to be coming locally. iShop has no connections nor sources to higher Apple management to be privy of such knowledge. All this Zachary Wong is saying is that he hopes(from his "never expect" line) the iPhone to come over to Singapore and he wants the 3G version to come, not the current EDGE model. What basis this comment of his is based on? Nothing but hope and wanting.


Very very broad and non-specific, clearly indicating conjectures, speculations and rumor-mongering. The phone? Which model, 8Gb or 16Gb? EDGE or 3G? 3G iPhone at that price, WITHOUT Apple demanding 30% revenue from the awarded telco there? Anyone with a common sense knows that unless some other form of sponsorship is tied into this deal (government subsidy for example), this business model has little to negative profit margin.

Again, all this are word on the street. The news reporter is interviewing people on the street, if you watch the news broadcast, so all this are the hopes and wants of the people, which is not necessarily what Apple wants IF (A very big If) they launch the iPhone there at all.


Unless this is quoted word-for-word, i'd like to slap this Valarie in her face. Anyone who had read Steve Job's aspirations and target for iPhone's sale KNOWS that that 10 million units iPhone sold is for WORLDWIDE, not in Asia. Clerical and in this case, inaccuracy in news reporting indicated that this news reporter has no in-depth knowledge on the focus of the news she is reporting, and is reporting merely out of getting sensational news for the primetime slot.

Now, my reasoning why this news broadcast is inconsequential, and not trustworthy:-

1. Where are the facts? Sources? When your sources are from speculating analyst, a "local vendors who refused to be named" and "nameless observers", and when you take your word on the street as bullet-points for your news, that kind of news is the kind you see repoted in gossip columns about Britney and her antics.
2. Anyone who keeps up with the Singaporean telcos and their connections with who will get the iPhone contracts, knows that the rumors flipflops between Singtel and Starhub. I see this news blurb as merely ammunition for the profiting side(in this case, Singtel) to sway Apple's vote to award them the contractual agreement instead of Starhub. By sensationalising and reporting the what seems to be overblown needs of Singaporeans to get the iPhone and how their Singtel "connection" is much more intimate with Apple, this bolsters the public conception on which telco in Singapore is a telco of choice. Remember, iPhone is a huge deal, and whichever telco who got this lucrative deal could possibly hold sway a large majority in subscriber numbers.
3 . This next point is also common sense. We all heard Apple's desire to launch the iPhone to the rest of Asia Pacific in 2008. What countries are most likely gets launch news first compared to the other. We have all heard Apple's negotiation with China Mobile that went on and off and then on again (latest news still no go), and rumblings from down under in Australia, for Telstra coming up strong to be the likely awarded contracted telco. These two market alone should and must get news first before other smaller region gets any notice from Apple. Look at how Apple handled Europe. UK with O2 and CarPhoneWareHouse, Germany and France with Orange and T-Mobile, Italy...then we move to smaller countries like Switzerland, and latest is Austria and Ireland. See the pattern here? Bigger to smaller countries. Would it make more sense that larger countries in Asia Pacific region, like China, India and Australia would get their launch news first, than a country with an aggregate of 1 million cellphone subscriber like Singapore? Hell, i'd say even Thailand, Phillipines , Hong Kong and even Malaysia should get launched first if Apple is really serious about Asia, since these countries hold larger subscriber base numbers, than tiny Singapore. But have we heard any news other than rumors, at this points, about likely awarded candidates in Australia or China? What's so special about Singapore that likens Apple to award or announce their awarded contract first before these other larger telcos in larger countries? Think about it that way, and you will see , all there is to this news broadcast in Channel 5 in Singapore is nothing but the attempt to keep the public interest in the iPhone high, as well as the agenda i've explained in #2.

I dont know about any of you guys, but the reason why i stopped reading local newspapers and watching local terrestrial primetime news here is the same reason why i abhorred and disgusted with the kind of news i read and watch about this so called "Singtel in September" news : Zero substance, all conjectures. There is little to zero information that can be gleaned from that news article quoted by Mybargain, and im sure if i do watch the news broadcast on Channel 5, i would already have switched channel the very moment the reporters says "Local vendors refused to be named". When the anchor of your news, the very pillar of your broadcast, the material of your article is based on vague and non-sbubstantive sources and anecdotal evidences, your news no longer deserve to be called "news", it is now "gossips" to my eyes.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Mar 20 2008, 02:55 AM

wow that's rough!
btw for malaysian market, maybe it's true, or maybe not. we still dunno what trick does Apple have hidden in their sleeves. maybe they still using the same business model, or not (by eliminating the telco-subsididised for some countries). we still dunno yet.

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Added on March 20, 2008, 2:53 amyup, also found that this news is kinda sensationalising the words on street. more like rumours to me. but if it's true then it will be great.

This post has been edited by LaskarCinta: Mar 20 2008, 02:54 AM

Once Apple is done with China and Australia, then i'll believe on this Singaporean launch nonsense.

I know i may be raining on the parades on some of the hopefuls here, but i'd rather you have the straight analytical mind than being overblown with hope with this rumor-mongering of a news. The last thing we need are more whinings and b****ing about why you waited till September and still the "news" you hear have not come to reality.

I will be the first to line up for an official iPhone in Malaysia if this thing comes true. Hell, even if it does come true in Singapore, i'll fly down there and get myself one. I've done so for my previous N91.

wow!!! great! i must buy one when it comes to Singapore!!!

but i believe we have to sign a contract with the service provider to use the phone.... just like that one in UK now...

This post has been edited by cereal1: Mar 20 2008, 10:01 AM

Applaud for stringfellow's detailed analysis I admit that I'm skeptical about the "news". But never say never - history told us that Apple won't speak a word about product launch until the actual day. And it's the success mix behind Apple's hype. For the same reason, all Apple resellers whom found breaching the NDA will say bye-bye to their franchise. I guess that's why the so-called "local vendor" wants to remain hush-hush.

China has bigger plan now than iPhone - Olympic 2008 in Aug. Telcos are busy trying to promote their pre-pay subscriptions and less bothered to really sit down to discuss the meticulous contractual details. They have time and chips to wait out the deal but Apple can't. Given the continuing pressure from stock analysts whether Apple will pass the mark of 10 million iPhones sales in 2008 which they claimed, the current market is near to saturation, to cross the hurdle, they have to expand to new markets - and where else than Asia - or drop the price further to target the next lower market segment (they already did so in sep 07 by cutting iphone 8gb by 200usd which left many early adopters seething - they won't repeat the same strategy so soon)

Singapore, though tiny, has a higher mobile penetration of 125% than most would expect. Total mobile subscription based on Q1 2008 statistics amounted to 5.7 millions. Post-pay subscriptions (2G+3G) are about 3 millions. If priced at $690, it is not hard to capture 30% of the market, noting smartphones on sale now have a higher price-tag. 1 million iPhone sale is not small matter to Apple, considering Europe only contributed only 1 million sales. Jobs claimed that they are already halfway to their 10 million target... 1 million sales to their next 5 million milestone sounds like a good deal to me.

Statistics cited from http://www.ida.gov.sg/Publications/20080212114723.aspx

The role of purchaser is not simply to buy iPhones - he/she forecasts the market demand-supply and proposes the most effective market distribution channel to maximize profits. The job offer is an indication that Apple has taken one step forward to making its presence in Pacific Rim (Singapore is the Apple HQ for PacRim) and wants to do their own assessment to match up with what the telco would claim.

Singtel website, http://home.singtel.com/about_singtel/glob...investments.asp, reports the groups' foreign investments includes:

Advanced Info Service,Thailand,21.4%
APT Satellite,Hong Kong,20.3%
Bharti Group,India,30.5%
Globe Telecom,The Philippines,44.5%
Pacific Bangladesh Telecom,Bangladesh,45.0%
Telkomsel,Indonesia,35.0%
Warid Telecom,Pakistan,30.0%
Optus,Australia,(wholly owned by Singtel)

Singtel claimed that this represents a subscriber base of 136 millions. This is the largest mobile customer base in Asia outside of China. Without a doubt, Singtel is using a multi-nation launch as their trump card on the negotiation table. Like my mom used to told me, "it's difficult to break one group of chopsticks that are tied together" hahaha

Also, there is a hidden agenda for Singapore government to become the first country in Asia to launch iPhone. I won't be surprised that the deal will be heavily subsidized to seal it. Look at F1 first night race, first Youth Olympics, Singapore is trying to market itself on the international scene. tsk tsk Kaisuism

The credibility of the news is not entirely questionable. Well, no one can say for sure if iPhone is or not coming to Singapore. The question is more of if you can wait to that day to come. Honestly speaking, why wait if you have friend or travelling to US, just ask them to buy one for you. The locked version of iPhone is piece of junk to me... without jailbreak, it's worthless. It's the open-source community that writes cool apps for iphone that make it a beauty. Appstore, to be released by upcoming firmware 2.0, will never take over the Installer, looking at the way how Apple reject SDK applicants unless they are backed by prestigious company. And the recent news, that they are blocking app to run in background unless signed by Apple. This is just not going to work - I'm waiting for hacker community's SDK rather.

This post has been edited by mybargain: Mar 20 2008, 02:29 PM

Even by looking at your data on how far-reaching Singtel's influence is, you'd get the gloom and doom scenario set in Malaysian launch possibilities. Notice no Malaysian telco listed there right? If that is news for anything, it means if you do want a local iPhone launch, you need the three telcos here filing teir own proposal to Apple, and not via Singtel's multination launches.

And Apple may not follow as what Singtel has hoped for, especially in Australia, where Telstra is tipped to be the awarded telco, not Optus. If this follows through, the whole "multination" launch scenario breaks apart and will not be the business model Singtel would have hoped for from Apple. In the end, they may only get it awarded to them only on their home turf.

This news, however you spin it, still does not change one thing :How Malaysia's own local launch will proceed? We have no official distribution line other than those served by their Apple affiliates who ultimately ends up getting stocks from Apple SG. We have no local iTunes presence in which an iPhone is used to get registered to a telco and unlocked LEGALLY.And if what you posted is true, even Singtel cant help Malaysia in the launch, since they have no foothold in any of the local telcos we have here, unless there is something else im missing here. Remember, it does not matter who brings in the iPhone here, what matters most is how it is going to get registered to a particular telco here (Celcom/DiGi/Maxis) and what service plan it is tied to. And judging from the lackluster (read: zero responses) from all three of the local telcos here, i dont see any of these three pushing ahead for the iPhone local bid. None of these three wants to lose as much as 30% revenue stream to tie up with Apple.

So, an iPhone launch in Singapore here STILL does not mean anything to iPhone hopefuls in Malaysia, since launches are tied to telcos, not distributors. Back to square one. Unless you are talking sim-unlocked versions of iPhones, that is regardless of any telcos. If this is the case, then you should already be hearing Apple doing so , or planning to do so by now already, since you only have less than 8 months launch window in 2008 to go. Have you heard any of this anywhere? I surf Mac and iPhone related sites everyday, and no windswept rumors of any kind about that anywhere. Why should Apple change their business plan for Asia? And most importantly, what is stopping anyone who is from outside Asia to come over and buy these so-called sim-unlocked iPhones and use it back home in their own country, with warranties and aftersale support, since using them does not require jailbreaking?Even the implications of Apple even thinking of doing this will be disastrous, lawsuits and calls for unfair treatment will hit them like a ton of bricks.

No matter how to look at it, Apple will not change their business plan for one bit for Asia. If they do so, they are at the risk of losing customer purchase (due to inflated, non-subsidised pricetag) and implications back at other launched regions (lawsuits and calls for unfair treatment for sim-unlocking iPhones here with aftersale support, while they have to deal with telco-locked iPhones). The latter will have Apple facing antitrust and monopolisation suits not unlike what Microsoft is facing in Europe.

really wah then free phone register

Sad but true, legitimate iPhone in Malaysia is a bit far-fetched. At least, if iphone launched in Singapore, we will have easier access than to fly to US. All parallel importers will agree with me.