iPhone Hits Malaysia, A Little Too Late & Why It Would Fail.

Friday 13 March 2009 @ 10:35 am

iPhone 3GJust received an SMS yesterday evening from my mobile service provider, Maxis, informing the launch of the official iPhone 3G in Malaysia.

Well, after about 2 years since its first launch in the US, the long-awaited iPhone has finally hit Malaysia… a little too late.

Last December, I wrote a post about the failure iPhone 3G suffered during its launch in India. Frankly, I would expect the same will happen in Malaysia.

Below are my top 8 reasons why official iPhone 3G would fail in Malaysia :-

  • 1. The hype of iPhone is certainly over. What iPhone? It’s all about recession right now!
  • 2. Many iPhone killer (mostly touchscreen mobile phones) are freely available with no string (the stupid subscription plan) attached.
  • 3. One of iPhone rivals, Nokia XpressMusic 5800, is selling at less than half of the iPhone 3G’s price. Would you pay around RM3,000 for an iPhone 3G, while you can get a XpressMusic 5800 for only RM1,400?
  • 4. Too costly, for a mobile phone with only 2MP camera, no MMS, lack of Bluetooth support, no Flash support, no cut&paste function, etc.
  • 5. No unlimited data plan. The maximum data usage included is 3GB and you have no other choice to make it unlimited using their subscription plan.
  • 6. Reading through the lengthy terms & conditions before signing up makes me dizzy. The killer is actually the last term saying “Other Terms and Conditions apply.“! o_O”
  • 7. You can get unlocked smuggled iPhone 3G easily, at a much lower price. This is Malaysia, you know! You may then top it up with an unlimited data package for only RM120 RM99/month from the same provider (Maxis). LoL!
  • 8. The real iPhone killer is launching soon! The price is about the same too.

I understand iPhone fans may not agree to any (if not all) of the reasons above. Anyway, tell me what do you think.


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23 Responses to 'iPhone Hits Malaysia, A Little Too Late & Why It Would Fail.'

  1. horizon - March 13th, 2009 at 2:50 am

    Very true, i cant even afford RM1400 phone right now… *sob*

  2. horizon - March 13th, 2009 at 10:50 am

    Very true, i cant even afford RM1400 phone right now… *sob*

  3. al - March 13th, 2009 at 10:11 am

    It’s definitely too late, with other brands releasing phones that are so much better than iPhone. SE coming up with something, Nokia too…

    iPhone craze in Singapore has pretty much died down. iPhone did not sell in Japan as well…

    Apple has better come up with something more substantial come Q3 09…

  4. al - March 13th, 2009 at 6:11 pm

    It’s definitely too late, with other brands releasing phones that are so much better than iPhone. SE coming up with something, Nokia too…

    iPhone craze in Singapore has pretty much died down. iPhone did not sell in Japan as well…

    Apple has better come up with something more substantial come Q3 09…

  5. Ben - March 14th, 2009 at 1:41 am

    Dude,

    I’m not too sure about the hype being over but there’s one point I completely agree with you – the terms and conditions… and stupidly priced plans…

    Here’s one scenario, imagine yourself being a Maxis Value Plus 150 plan customer with 2 family (supp) lines. Both you and your family members have been enjoying free voice calls, video calls, sms to each other. Everyone’s paying only 10 cents a minute for calls.

    Once you switch to ANY iPlan by Maxis – YOUR PRIVILEGES ARE STRIPPED OFF COMPLETELY. No more free calls between you and your supp lines, no more free smses, no more free video calls – and to top that off, since the closest iPhone plan is at RM 155, you’d be looking at 12 cents per minute for calls – which is still fine BUT your supp lines will be reverted to the regular plan of 15 cents / minute!

    COMPLETELY & UTTERLY DISAPPOINTING

    I got so upset that I sent an open letter to Maxis (you can check it out on my blog).

  6. Ben - March 14th, 2009 at 9:41 am

    Dude,

    I’m not too sure about the hype being over but there’s one point I completely agree with you – the terms and conditions… and stupidly priced plans…

    Here’s one scenario, imagine yourself being a Maxis Value Plus 150 plan customer with 2 family (supp) lines. Both you and your family members have been enjoying free voice calls, video calls, sms to each other. Everyone’s paying only 10 cents a minute for calls.

    Once you switch to ANY iPlan by Maxis – YOUR PRIVILEGES ARE STRIPPED OFF COMPLETELY. No more free calls between you and your supp lines, no more free smses, no more free video calls – and to top that off, since the closest iPhone plan is at RM 155, you’d be looking at 12 cents per minute for calls – which is still fine BUT your supp lines will be reverted to the regular plan of 15 cents / minute!

    COMPLETELY & UTTERLY DISAPPOINTING

    I got so upset that I sent an open letter to Maxis (you can check it out on my blog).

  7. shahrul - March 16th, 2009 at 2:35 pm

    Hi, first time posting…

    If you compare each function that iPhone has against Sony/Nokia at the same price point. iPhone will certainly lose out.
    But what it does is good or better than the competition. For me its the Internet Browsing. I used opera on my Nokia E65 and personally feel that its not really usable, not the browser but the implementation of browsing on the phone leaves a lot to be desired.

    I hear music a lot and for me the music function is very important thankfully I already tried Touch and found it to be almost perfect. Don’t forget about the apps so many to choose from and easy to get.

  8. shahrul - March 16th, 2009 at 10:35 pm

    Hi, first time posting…

    If you compare each function that iPhone has against Sony/Nokia at the same price point. iPhone will certainly lose out.
    But what it does is good or better than the competition. For me its the Internet Browsing. I used opera on my Nokia E65 and personally feel that its not really usable, not the browser but the implementation of browsing on the phone leaves a lot to be desired.

    I hear music a lot and for me the music function is very important thankfully I already tried Touch and found it to be almost perfect. Don’t forget about the apps so many to choose from and easy to get.

  9. SapiensBryan - March 17th, 2009 at 12:34 pm

    horizon : You rather pick up some bargains in the stock market huh? :D

    al : Apple just upgraded of their other products, hopefully the new iPhone 3G will be out soon. I’m afraid those who buy it now through Maxis will be cursing then.

    Ben : Not being able to get the iPhone with existing plan is definitely the pain in the axx too. It’s unbelievable if they think most existing clients would be willing to switch plan just for the iPhone.

    shahrul : I absolutely agree the iPhone itself is great, but coupled it with such contracts only makes it less attractive.

  10. SapiensBryan - March 17th, 2009 at 8:34 pm

    horizon : You rather pick up some bargains in the stock market huh? :D

    al : Apple just upgraded of their other products, hopefully the new iPhone 3G will be out soon. I’m afraid those who buy it now through Maxis will be cursing then.

    Ben : Not being able to get the iPhone with existing plan is definitely the pain in the axx too. It’s unbelievable if they think most existing clients would be willing to switch plan just for the iPhone.

    shahrul : I absolutely agree the iPhone itself is great, but coupled it with such contracts only makes it less attractive.

  11. firo - March 22nd, 2009 at 6:00 am

    you can get free iPhone but you have to commit rm250 per month and rm2000 deposit?

    people who are want the iPhone for free is the one without much money to purchase the iPhone in lump sump but afford to pay at least rm200 per month..

    they losing lots of potential customer here…

  12. firo - March 22nd, 2009 at 2:00 pm

    you can get free iPhone but you have to commit rm250 per month and rm2000 deposit?

    people who are want the iPhone for free is the one without much money to purchase the iPhone in lump sump but afford to pay at least rm200 per month..

    they losing lots of potential customer here…

  13. shraqs - March 23rd, 2009 at 6:49 am

    Yes, I totally agree with the post. But, whatever it is i’ve already use it since 2008 (2G & 3G)- unlock model made myself. There’s no chance any other mobile can compete with iphone. Of course i’ll not buy it from Maxis, lock iPhone is like a s**t.

  14. shraqs - March 23rd, 2009 at 2:49 pm

    Yes, I totally agree with the post. But, whatever it is i’ve already use it since 2008 (2G & 3G)- unlock model made myself. There’s no chance any other mobile can compete with iphone. Of course i’ll not buy it from Maxis, lock iPhone is like a s**t.

  15. It’s Finally Here - Part Two « Afternoon nap - March 23rd, 2009 at 10:50 pm

    […] post can be found here. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Finally the iPhone comes to Malaysia!Good News […]

  16. Melody Ng - March 25th, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    Hi Bryan,

    I sent you an email regarding an event invitation. Was wondering if you’ve received it? Let me know when you have, ya?

    And btw, I personally think the iPhone is overrated. Just my thoughts. :)

  17. Melody Ng - March 25th, 2009 at 9:32 pm

    Hi Bryan,

    I sent you an email regarding an event invitation. Was wondering if you’ve received it? Let me know when you have, ya?

    And btw, I personally think the iPhone is overrated. Just my thoughts. :)

  18. Horizon - March 26th, 2009 at 9:21 am

    Hi Bryan… haha if I had bought Apple shares a few years back, my dividends would have paid for a couple of iphone, unfortunately Malaysia got no Apples :) only sour oranges haha! BTW thanks for your comment, glad u find the articles helpful.

  19. Horizon - March 26th, 2009 at 5:21 pm

    Hi Bryan… haha if I had bought Apple shares a few years back, my dividends would have paid for a couple of iphone, unfortunately Malaysia got no Apples :) only sour oranges haha! BTW thanks for your comment, glad u find the articles helpful.

  20. lankapo - April 1st, 2009 at 7:02 am

    hi,
    for me i-phone 3G is sudah basi, with current broadband situation.
    I dont think we can fully utilize it’s potential.

    Plus Maxis iPlan package is so terrible..

  21. lankapo - April 1st, 2009 at 3:02 pm

    hi,
    for me i-phone 3G is sudah basi, with current broadband situation.
    I dont think we can fully utilize it’s potential.

    Plus Maxis iPlan package is so terrible..

  22. Jason - May 18th, 2009 at 3:54 pm

    This comes a little bit late, I know. :)

    The more I look at the iPhone packages, the more ridiculous I think the plans are. Not only one is paying almost 2 times more than the cost of an “illegal” iPhone, the basic features are not up to par compared to most phone’s. It’s more for the cool/wow factor when you use the iPhone, but iPhone is so common these days that it’s not cool anymore.

    Comparing plan with plan, I think Digi’s phone bundle plans are more “reasonable”. A simple survey on the street price for the phones available, you can see that Digi isn’t trying that hard/obvious to rip you off. The phones are actually cheaper when you opt for the correct plan.

    For my case, the SE W760i does go cheaper as my average monthly usage fee is between RM50 to RM600. I get almost RM150 off (comparing to its RPP) and just slightly above the street price (about RM10). Sounds fair to me. :)

    Anyway, Maxis’s plan is just blatant rip off. The RM2000 advance deposit is even ridiculous. It’s like asking the customers to pay for the phone and their loyalty to Maxis. :-|

  23. Jason - May 18th, 2009 at 11:54 pm

    This comes a little bit late, I know. :)

    The more I look at the iPhone packages, the more ridiculous I think the plans are. Not only one is paying almost 2 times more than the cost of an “illegal” iPhone, the basic features are not up to par compared to most phone’s. It’s more for the cool/wow factor when you use the iPhone, but iPhone is so common these days that it’s not cool anymore.

    Comparing plan with plan, I think Digi’s phone bundle plans are more “reasonable”. A simple survey on the street price for the phones available, you can see that Digi isn’t trying that hard/obvious to rip you off. The phones are actually cheaper when you opt for the correct plan.

    For my case, the SE W760i does go cheaper as my average monthly usage fee is between RM50 to RM600. I get almost RM150 off (comparing to its RPP) and just slightly above the street price (about RM10). Sounds fair to me. :)

    Anyway, Maxis’s plan is just blatant rip off. The RM2000 advance deposit is even ridiculous. It’s like asking the customers to pay for the phone and their loyalty to Maxis. :-|

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