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

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".

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?

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

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.

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.

Being a lawyer automatically disqualifies you from entering Heaven. Politics? I hate it with a passion. Right kind of politics can do a lot of good to the community, while the wrong kind gets you into the situation like you see in the recent election. Or like what you're seeing with the brwon-nosing in the power structure in this very forum itself. Oh yes, i've heard and seen how a few characters here in this forum do to get themselves into that power position (moderator, and go from there on).

My long explanation is my own intepretation of the news, because Malaysians are only use to read, listen or watch news and take it at face value, without thinking beyond what the intention and objective of the news, and who stand to profit from the news itself. Just doing my civic duties of saving gullible forum folks from their own gullibilities.

The fact that you do reply to my post proves that some DO read, they only shy away from posting their own thoughts, or realize how they have been duped all this while and too ashamed to reply at all.

The irony is that im already enjoying my iPhone since September last year, while those who pining and hoping for a local launch have already stretched their neck giraffe-like waiting for something that has yet to materialize .

And what's even funnier is the fact that these "waiting folks" spend more time convincing other that their local-launch iPhone is coming , while folks like us are already enjoying it for quite sometime already.

Either my sarcasm-meter is broken or you are actually serious on that last post.

Dont know about you, but for me, i'd rather shorten the suffering and get it over with quick. I'd like to prolong the pleasure im getting though. The same principle applies when it comes to either moving on to an iPhone or sex.

Some actually HATED the iPhone because the process of owning one FORCES them to change the way they are used to do things. From ditching the stylus to using the finger as how nature intended it to be, to their fear of having to turn legit and move away from piracy.

After all, why do people stayed with Windows platform when the Mac OS X experience is a breathe of fresh air? Because it is easier to find pirated products on the former platform than the latter.

The fact that you make it harder for them to search makes these folks chose Windows instead of Mac, which is good because we can keep the pirates on the other side, not on this side. They smell.

Good games, i'll definitely buy. Helps them make more good games, which in turns gives more enjoyment to me.

I think the App Store is an extension of the iTunes Store, not the Apple Online Store. And when it comes to iTunes Store, Singapore does not have one.

Trust me, i want this as bad as the next guy here, but putting much hope on this, and hoping that Singapore will extend the same courtesy to Malaysia is setting yourself up for a major disappointment.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Mar 21 2008, 12:16 AM