SingTel to sell faster next-gen iPhone this year
Consumers can expect to pay about $270, much less than the first version sold elsewhere
By Chua Hian HouTHE new version of the iPhone unveiled by Apple boss Steve Jobs on Monday will be on sale here this year and probably at around half the price of the original.
This will please Singapore buyers who have not been able to buy the original iPhone from an official dealer here since its launch a year ago.
As fancy mobile phones go, the Apple device proved an instant hit despite its US$600 (S$820) price tag last year because of its sleek design, revolutionary touch screen and nifty Internet and e-mail access.
Aside from being considerably cheaper, the new 3G model will enable users to download data twice as fast as the original.
SingTel announced yesterday that it will be the first to launch the new version here.
But when? The telco would only say: ‘Later this year.’
StarHub spokesman Michael Sim said the telco expects to sell the phone eventually while MobileOne is in talks with Apple.
This means Singapore buyers are nowhere near the front of the queue as the new phone will be available in 22 markets, including the United States, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico, from July 11.
Analyst Nathan Burley of consulting firm Ovum expects it here not long after, and said the delay is probably because of Singapore’s small size.
SingTel did not say anything about the price, but Mr Burley believes it will go for near its US price of US$199 - $270 - after operator discounts.
Mobile phones are usually sold at a discount, but subscribers must sign two-year contracts to get the subsidy.
The original iPhone never had an official seller here, but an estimated 60,000 iPhones still arrived. Some people imported them, others bought them on the grey market for up to S$800 apiece.
They were not brought in by mobile operators reportedly because Apple demanded a cut of revenues in exchange for the right to sell.
But it has scrapped this demand for the new version, opening the way for more than one seller here.
The new phone’s price, half that of the original, reflects Apple’s desire to increase its mass market appeal, said Mr Burley.
It may be harder to sell, not least because there are many more similar-looking devices with similar features today than when the original iPhone burst on the scene last year.
‘Since the new one doesn’t look very different, those who want it to make a fashion statement might not be interested in upgrading,’ said Mr Burley.
Even the iPhone 3G’s sharply discounted price could work against it, especially as a large part of its appeal was that it was an expensive, hard-to-get premium product.
A wait-and-see approach might be best. As StarHub’s Mr Sim put it: ‘Smart consumers will know that the best deals will arrive when all three operators are marketing the iPhone.’
Iphone is next gen? It has been around and remain pretty much unchanged for very long! And 3G? I ask you, how many of you are using non-3G phone? Even my M600i that is no longer in production (a very very very old phone) is 3G enabled. Apple is slow in putting out a 3G Iphone. The newspaper should have the headline, “Apple releases 3G Iphone… finally!”
Almost every iPod Touch and iPhone out in the street is Jailedbreaked. Jailbreak is a nicer name for “hacked” or modified, which allows the user to install tonnes of 3rd party applications and games on the phone, making it more useful and not just a pretty face. Jailbreaking is considered illegal. Why do you have to break the law in order to enjoy such an expensive product. iPhone has legal applications that can be installed on them, but most cost money.
Ok ok, it is no longer expensive, with its astonishing price drop that would make early buyers cringe. Why the sudden price drop and the strong push?
Because a truly Next Generation phone is on the way, that strongly rivals iPhone (or should I say pwn the iPhone), and most Singaporeans don’t even know about its existence. Technically speaking, it is not a phone. It is a phone operating system that can be installed on the phone. It can be used by any phone manufacturers, meaning, Sony, Nokia, Samsung can all produce phones with the same operating system to drive up competition and drive prices down. This operating system is also by the very company whose website every internet savvy Singaporeans visit on a daily basis. This company also cooperated with Apple to enable the best features of iPhone: Youtube, Maps, Search etc.
Welcome Google. Welcome to Goole Android. It is an open source 3G enabled operating system that can be installed on phones of any brands with the relevant hardware. It has more features than iPhone, similar gesture powered interface that we all love, and because it is open source, anyone can modify it to their liking, and people need not break the law in order to install 3rd party (free!!!). Because it is based on Linux, you will have no worries that the open source community will churn out tonnes of exciting software for it. Words alone cannot describe everything. It’s time for a little demo.
Singapore, being a government proclaimed “IT hub” has a mainstream media that fails terribly to bring to Singaporeans the latest breakthrough and innovations in IT.
3G iPhone as next-gen? Pui!!
For more information regarding the Android OS, an Open Handset Alliance Project, click here .
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I personally feel that it depends on how you define next-generation. I believe the iPhone is truly a next-generation phone that is leading the rest of the phone manufacturers in terms of how users interact with devices. Look at the number of touch-screen based phones popping all over since the iPhone. Sure, touch-based interfaces touch-screen handphones are nothing new, but Apple is very good at taking existing technologies and making it accessible.
You can say that Andriod is next-generation in terms of bringing what seems like a very powerful open-source mobile platform, and I’m not going to argue with that, but I believe that will not appeal to most but geeks who a super-smartphone.
The killer apps for iPhone are its media and web browsing abilities (a third will probably emerge with its gaming capabilities), and I think that’s pretty much aligned with most consumers’ wants. Of course, it’s not going to impress geeks and technophiles, but personally I prefer a phone that calls, plays music, surfs the net well, and I think the iPhone does all of that effortlessly. Anything beyond that is frivolous to me, and probably achievable with add-on apps anyway.
Your comparison is not very fair. Because of the way handsets are developed, there are actually platform-specific and even device-specific problems. This means it might be easier to develop for an iPhone compared to say a specific-Nokia phone running android. Anyway, there isn’t much ground for comparison between the features of an iPhone to an OS/Platform. If you want, you should compare Leopard to Android.
Seth,
Guess what, when iPhone first came out it cannot not send sms to multiple person. This was only fixed in Feb this year.
Currently, the 3G iPhone cannot receive mms, cannot forward messages to other people, cannot use for video conference (a key feature of having 3G) due to its lack of secondary camera. And unlike other phones, there is no way for you to swap in and out the rechargeable batteries. There is no way you can use this phone for extended period of time if you do not have your charger with you.
Sure, it calls, plays music, surfs the net, but it fails miserably as a phone. There is no flash support in its webbrowser, and it has limited audio related features such as EQ and what nots. And once its battery is flat, it is just a paper weight.
It does not play music well, does not surf the net well, does not act as a phone well. It is just a collection of pretty gimicky features with no real substance.
With Android, you get the same gimicky stuff with real substance. And you are no longer limited to one closed hardware (the iPhone.) And it is not for just geek and technophiles, unless you really consider the public to be still living in the stone age where computers was just conceived. Also, if you think of open source as something for the geek, think Firefox and OpenOffice.org.
I just want to know how much is the iPhone 3G? Can’t be SGD299 right? can anyone tell me if it is confirmed out in the stores by September 2008? I need to know now..
@ azmiyogi
Dude, the iPhone is coming out on the 22nd of August. SingTel has yet to release a price list.
@ Mr. Admin man
Sir, I have to tell you that YOU have failed to understand what the iPhone is really about. Apple has always been about simplicity. That is what the iPhone is as well. An intuitive phone that even a construction worker could use (no offence intended). That is how simple this phone was intended to be y Apple. However, due to the heavy price tag, this phone was not too readily available to the masses.
Next thing, the iPhone, being built for simplicity, DOES NOT require a secondary camera. Seriously, who the hell video calls? I am pretty sure as hell that I most certainly do not. It is a redundant feature that the Japanese suddenly thought up off.
Batteries, since when had ANY Apple product (besides MacBook and MacBook Pro) ever have swappable batteries? I am sure iPods don’t… like seriously, the don’t… yet they are the MOST POPULAR, BEST SELLING mp3 players in the industry!
So seriously, if you are such a Linux fan, I suggest you do not write such a biased opinion of the iPhone. You must have single handedly turned off like 200 potential buyers (who have never used an Apple product before) already.
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