Singapore iPhone Fan

The iPhone 4 has been available in Singapore for about a month. So far, all the people I know using iPhone 4 in Singapore do not complain about the antenna problem even without the bumper. In fact, I tried gripping the antennagate of the iPhone 4 to simulate the problem but was not able to so. It seems like the mobile phone network in Singapore is really better. So Singapore iPhone fans don’t have to worry about the iPhone 4 antenna problem if you plan to upgrade.

One thing that you may not know is that the SAR level (a measure of radio frequency energy that is absorbed by the body) of iPhone 4 is indeed higher than iPhone 3GS but it is lower than iPhone 3G. According to CNET reviews, the SAR of iPhone 4 is 1.17 w/kg compared to 0.79 w/kg for iPhone 3GS and 1.38 w/kg for iPhone 3. If you are concern about the radiation, better stay with iPhone 3GS.

Phones aren’t perfect. We’re not perfect. This was what Job Steve said in the press conference on 16 July. During his presentation, he showed that other smartphones also encounter the same problem as the latest iPhone 4 when the phone is held at certain position. It is a common problem and not peculiar to iPhone 4 new antenna design. However, he admitted that there was problem in the logic which indicates the strength of the signal. That problem is resolved in the new iOS. So, better upgrade your iPhone to iOS 4.0.1

To make iPhone Fans happy, Apple is giving all iPhone 4 owners a free bumper. If you bought a iPhone 4 but not happy with it, you can return it back within 30 days. This policy is valid till 30 Sep and they will re-evaluate the situation by then. So when the iPhone 4 is available in Singapore on 30 July, I wonder whether how SingTel, M1 and Starhub are going to implement it. Let’s wait for one and a half weeks to see.

By now, all the iPhone Fan must be aware about the iPhone 4 since Job Steve officially announced it 2 weeks ago in the WWDC. It is the greatest improvement since the launch of the first iPhone. I didn’t blog about it mainly because I was quite busy last 2 weeks, and also I found that there is nothing really unexpected. First of all, the prototype of iPhone 4 (see my earlier blog) was already reported weeks ago before the WWDC. So, everybody kind of knows how the new iPhone 4 looks like. Secondly, a number of improvements are from the iOS 4 (it is no longer called iPhone OS 4) which is already announced in early April (see my earlier blog).

For me, I am more excited about the iOS 4 which will be available on 21 June. With iOS 4, I will be able to multitask on my iPhone, create different folders to group my applications and read books using the iBook. So I am keeping my eye on Apple website so that I will be the first few to upgrade to iOS 4 once it is ready.

According to the latest news from Apple, the iPad will go on sale in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and Britain from 28 May. iPad will be available in Singapore in July. Singapore is among the nine countries (Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore) to get iPad in July.

To date, Apple has sold more than a million iPad since its launch. iPad took less than a month to reach one million sales whereas iPhone took nearly three months to sell one million units. It will be interesting to see how iPad sales in Singapore, given that iPhone 4.0 with all the new features, will probably be announced in July.

The biggest news about iPhone this week must be the The Next iPhone Uncover published by GIZMODO on 19 April. The phone was found in a bar in Redwood City and it is believed to be the prototype of the next generation of iPhone. It looks like a mini iPad. The size is about the dimensions is about the same as 3GS but is 3 grams heavier. Some of the new features are listed here:

• Front-facing video chat camera
• Improved regular back-camera (the lens is quite noticeably larger than the iPhone 3GS)
• Camera flash
• Micro-SIM instead of standard SIM (like the iPad)
• Improved display. It’s unclear if it’s the 960×640 display thrown around before—it certainly looks like it, with the “Connect to iTunes” screen displaying much higher resolution than on a 3GS.
• What looks to be a secondary mic for noise cancellation, at the top, next to the headphone jack
• Split buttons for volume
• Power, mute, and volume buttons are all metallic

Among the features, I like the front facing video chat camera(this is also a key feature that I find it missing in iPad). I believe many iPhone fans are also looking forward to this. The phone is also spotted with a bigger battery which logically gives a longer battery life. This is another thing that I wish for my 3GS.

With the official release of iPhone OS 4 in June and the past history of Apple launching 3 generations of iPhone in July, there is no doubt that we will be able to hear the good news very soon.

Job Steve has just revealed the key features of iPhone OS 4.0, the fourth generation of iPhone operation system, on 8 April. Here are the 7 “Tentpole” features:

The iPhone OS 4.0 is available to developer now and will be available to public in June. However, only iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch 3rd generation can be upgraded to the new OS. With the official announcement of iPhone OS 4.0, does it signal that iPhone 4.0 will be released very soon? Let’s wait and see.

Thinking of getting a iPad before it arrives in Singapore? From now till 1 May, ZAGG is giving away a iPad every week and a chance to get 50% off discount code. You just need to go to their website and enter your email address every week and you can be a lucky owner of the latest iPad. Good luck!

Apple has just released the much anticipated tablet computer called the iPad. From a first glance, it looks really like a giant iPhone. It has a 9.7 inch (compared to iPhone 3.5 inch) multi touch screen and the familiar Home button. The whole iPad is just 0.5 inch (0.48 inch for iPhone) thin and weighs just 1.5 pounds (4.8 ounces for iPhone). The whole user interface is the same as iPhone except that it is much bigger (1024×768 pixel vs 480×320 pixel).

Apple created iPad to fill in the gap between smartphone and notebook as Apple does not believe netbook is the answer. iPad is targeted to do tasks like surf net, email, contacts, calendar, photo, video, music, games and books. It can access iTunes Store, App Store and the to be launched iBook Store. All the existing applications from the App Store can run on iPad without any modification. On top of that, Apple released new SDK specifically for iPad to take advantage of the bigger screen. Apple also completely re-designed iWork for iPad. All iPad come with WiFi and there is option for 3G model.

So you can see that it is more than a giant iPhone. In my opinion, the disappointing feature in iPad is the camera for taking photo, video and video conference. But I am confident that Apple will add it in the next version. And very soon I, like all iPhone fans, will also become iPad fan.

In my earlier post, I said that M1 has more competitive iPhone plans compared to SingTel. Later, SingTel has upsized their iFlexi plans to include 12GB of free data bundle (instead of the original 500MB) and capped it at $30 per month for excess data usage. Furthermore, they reduced the iPhone price to match M1′s iPhone price in various plans. That makes SingTel’s iPhone plan more attractive than M1. Subsequently, M1 followed up with data bundle to 12GB and price cap at $30 to match SingTel. StarHub has also adjusted its SmartSurf plan to match both SingTel and M1 although its iPhone price is still slightly more expensive.
For the past one year, data usage was a cash cow for SingTel being the exclusive iPhone distributor. Many of my friends had unexpected surprise when they received their phone bill after they bought the iPhone. Now with M1 and StarHub offering iPhone, SingTel has no choice but to offer more competitive data usage bundle. I think the iPhone price war has more and less settled. The Red, Orange and Green will not cut the price further until it hits their bottom line. I believe in the coming months, we will see them introducing more iPhone applications to keep and attract more customer.

(After post edit: I realised that the sequence of events happened between the Red Orange and Green in my post above may be wrong. Anyway, all the three are offering 12GB of data bundle and price cap of $30 per month now)

The wait is finally over. iPhone will be available from M1 on 9 Dec. M1 will hold a mid-night launch at M1 Shop Paragon and West Mall at 12am. Be the first to own M1 iPhone and you can even extend the iPhone warrant at 20% discount during the launch.

M1 has also announced the price plan for iPhone. It is more competitive compared to SingTel. The cheapest plan iPhone Value is $36 per month which come with 100 mins talktime, 500 SMS and 10GB of data bundle. The phone price for 16GB 3GS is $518. This is cheaper than SingTel’s iFlexi Lite plan where monthly subscription is $39 and the same phone costs $548. Furthermore, the data bundle is only 500MB and there is no max data usage cap (M1 data usage capped at $36.38). The 32GB model and higher plan are also cheaper in M1. And if you don’t mind the older iPhone 3G 8GB, you can even get it free with the Take3 plan. You can visit http://www.m1.com.sg/iPhone/plans.html for more detailed information.

As for me, I have been waiting for this day for more than 2 years since Apple launched its first iPhone on 29 June 2007. But too bad, I can’t be at the official launch on 9 Dec as I am overseas. The first thing to do after I go back Singapore is to rush to the M1 shop and collect my iPhone.