IPhone in Thailand

TotallyOz · June 23, 2007

Has there been any news or information on the IPhone in Thailand? It comes out this week and I do intend to get one. I know it will work as a phone with the Thai sim cards. I just wondered if there has been any buzz in the papers there about it or if it will be selling the in LOS.

June 23, 2007

Has there been any news or information on the IPhone in Thailand? It comes out this week and I do intend to get one. I know it will work as a phone with the Thai sim cards. I just wondered if there has been any buzz in the papers there about it or if it will be selling the in LOS.

The iPhone is scheduled for Asian release in '08.

June 23, 2007

"Apple's perfect storm - Bangkok Post

Apple Inc got set to release the iPhone during the perfect storm; the US International Trade Commission did a huge favour for Steve "President for Life" Jobs by banning phones with 3G chipsets by Qualcomm, which is involved in a messy patent dispute with Broadcom; the ban will hurt some phone companies in the long run, but is a major slap at US deployment of high-speed networks (how can you sell 3G subscriptions without 3G phones?); the ban has no effect on Apple, whose iPhone has an actual Internet browser built in. Apple was busy planning artificial shortages of the iPhone to ratchet up the hype to a near-Windows 95 frenzy by release on Friday of next week.

The iPhone is to sell for $499 for the cheap, tawdry 4-gigabyte model and $599 for the excellent, attractive 8GB one - very roughly 17,000 and 21,000 baht in real money respectively, plus an unbreakable two-year service contract with AT&T only; lesser, foreign people (that's you) will be given permission to buy the iPhone when Mr Jobs decides you are worthy, and not a minute before."

http://www.apple.com/iphone/phone/

MUST HAVE - MUST HAVE - MUST HAVE

IPB Image

At least you can get the Safari 3 browser ( for Mac or PC) for free - Blazing Performance http://www.apple.com/safari/download/

Bangkok Post

I wrote to an Australian friend who is stock exchange savvy and asked how to buy Apple shares and if he thought they would be soaring. He said he though not and suggested something else. I did nothing. Within a month Apple had soared 22%.

TotallyOz · June 24, 2007

The way the stores in the USA are doing it is they are closing the ATT stores at 4:30 and then reopening them at 6:00 PM. The first ones in the door get the phones. I have been told by many stores there will be lines. I am not opposed to bribrery and I tried. It has not worked at any store and all the managers say the same thing. They don't know how many they are getting and they are being watched to be sure they are distributed equally. I bet if I was in Thailand, someone would let me buy a bit early.

I have seen demonstrations of the phone on apple.com and it looks fantastic. As Thailand always gets stuff there from Japan pretty early, I cannot imagine that Tut Com won't be selling them for a huge markup by beginning of July.

June 29, 2007

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6250192.stm

Well sales have started. I did not realize that not only is it expensive but you have to take out a 2 year contract with AT&T at US$60 a month!

July 1, 2007

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?s...op=1%26fsoo%3D1

iPhones on e-Bay

TotallyOz · July 5, 2007

Well, having played with mine for a while now, I can honestly say that the gadget is incredible. I have really enjoyed it.

First, you don't get your phone number or activate the phone at the ATT store. You only get a box and you hook the phone up to your ITunes and follow the directions to activate the phone, get your number, and choose a plan. I have always done this inside the store but now, with the Iphone it is all on line.

The battery has lasted a long time and no issues there.

The camera is good but not great.

The Internet on it is better than I have seen on most networks but not as fast as ADSL or cable modem but it will get you there to each page on a OK speed.

The e-mail is all syncned with your computer and I have played with the e-mail features and they are all easy to use and to keep track of.

The keyboard is easy to understand and use.

The sound quality is excellent. The screen is sharp and clear and easy to touch.

So, my review of this device is that it is great if you really need to check e-mail often but not a replacement for a laptop. I am sure they will start appearing in Tut Com soon. Stop by and check them out. They are an eyecatcher!

August 25, 2007

iPhone to be Thai MyPhone? -

BangkokPost.com, with background from dpa in Singapore

An American teenager has written a software application that unlocks the iPhone restrictions, meaning the spiffy new phones could soon be on sale in Thai malls. At the moment, Apple Inc has installed hardware in the iPhone that seeks to limit use of the much hyped cellphone to the AT&T network in the US. But a story in MacNewsWorld reported Friday that a hacker has bypassed that protection.

If the story pans out - and there seems to be strong proof that the iPhone protection has been bypassed - that would open the iPhone for use on any phone network, including in Thailand.

The still somewhat complicated hack would also allow the phone to be used on networks in countries outside the US.

Thai technicians already are expert at making phones designed for US-based CDMA networks function on the GSM networks in this country.

The development could represent a serious blow to the US phone giant AT&T, which had been hoping to leverage the popularity of the sexy new phone into a dominant position in the US market. But they failed to take into account 17-year-old George Hotz, and his desire to use the phone on the T-Mobile network.

Hotz posted details of the 10-step hack on his blog and also a video of the procedure on YouTube. The video has already been viewed more than 130,000 times.

"My iPhone works with T-Mobile now, and that's all I ever wanted," Hotz told MacNewsWorld, adding that it had taken him about 500 hours to figure out the workaround.

Hotz reportedly began working on the project on June 29, the day the iPhone was released, along with four other online collaborators. Working 8 to 10 hours a day, he finally distilled his efforts into a two-hour process that involves both soldering and software skills.

"I'm sorry about how hard (these instructions) are to follow, but someone will get them to work, and simplify them, and simplify them more," Hotz wrote on his blog. "Hopefully a software unlock will be found in the near future."

"I think this is a great thing for users," Hotz said. "What I want is for people to be able to buy an iPhone, unlock it and use it."

August 25, 2007

I read the kid's blog today and he gives a step by step direction on how to do the work around. He has pics on the web and all. It is really an interesting process and many seem to have collaberated on the project.

I love my Iphone and wonder how I have lived with out it for all these years. I was a bit worried when I went back to Thailand how I would live without it as I really have enjoyed all of its features!

Gaybutton · August 26, 2007

I read the kid's blog today and he gives a step by step direction on how to do the work around.

I read that blog too. It's not something I would want to try doing myself, that's for sure. Somebody with the skill and equipment to do it is going to make some serious money.

August 29, 2007

I am currently in Rio De Janerio, Brazil. I am having a blast but that is not so unusual. I brought my Iphone with me and have been using it. A few suggestions for those taking theirs overseas.

If you have your Iphone on and you are getting calls, you are charged from the first ring to the end of the message. In Brazil, that is 2.49 a minute. The ATT rep I spoke to suggested that I keep it off unless I want to make a call. She said if I had voice mail, that I could open the phone and it checks voice mail and downloads to your phone but at 2cents a kilobit or about 20 a Meg. That is the same as checking e-mail and using the internet.

There is a data plan that works overseas but Thailand and Brazil are not on the listed countries.

If you use your SMS messages, it is free to get them coming in but cost 50 cents to send them out.

The reception has been great in Rio and I have been taking a few pics of the boys in the sauna for my Iphone collection.

Rio is cold and it has rained the past 2 days. I love a good rain as the saunas are packed with boys as they have little to do outside.

August 30, 2007

I am currently in Rio De Janerio, Brazil. I am having a blast but that is not so unusual. I brought my Iphone with me and have been using it. A few suggestions for those taking theirs overseas.

If you have your Iphone on and you are getting calls, you are charged from the first ring to the end of the message. In Brazil, that is 2.49 a minute. The ATT rep I spoke to suggested that I keep it off unless I want to make a call. She said if I had voice mail, that I could open the phone and it checks voice mail and downloads to your phone but at 2cents a kilobit or about 20 a Meg. That is the same as checking e-mail and using the internet.

There is a data plan that works overseas but Thailand and Brazil are not on the listed countries.

If you use your SMS messages, it is free to get them coming in but cost 50 cents to send them out.

Try to unlock the phone dear

Any help ?

B)

August 30, 2007

Try to unlock the phone dear
Any help ?

B)

Well ... I have to take back what I said.. This seems to be more complicated than I thought.. I am not going to try anything with mine.. cause I am going to break the whole thing...

Will wait for a software

Good luck

August 31, 2007

Matching set? Apple shares soared this week on the rumour that they will announce a new iPod next week which is to have an iPhone glass type touch pad control.

Gaybutton · September 5, 2007

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST:

_____

UNLOCKING THE IPHONE

Apple's iPhone is a marvel of modern technology, but getting it to work in Thailand can be equally impressive

Story by B J JOHNSON

An American business associate who frequents Thailand gave me an Apple iPhone as a gift. I should be pleased to have one of the first iPhones in Thailand, but there is a problem. The iPhone has a built-in dual locking system that prohibits unauthorized activation of its internal programs, while it ''locks'' the phone to AT&T, a US mobile operator.

Locked in a box Only AT&T is authorized to activate and unlock iPhones. But since AT&T does not operate in Thailand, I have a very expensive, iconoclastic icon of advanced technology that can only be used as a fancy and lifeless paperweight, a sort of snow globe without the snow.

Solution: I'll ask Apple Thailand for help. After all, Apple has its money and I have an iPhone. I just need to activate and unlock the phone so I can subscribe to a local phone service, and everyone will be happy. Right? Wrong! Surely, the famed mobile phone hackers at MBK can unlock it. Right? Maybe.

Sleuthing around Seri

I infrequently do investigative reporting, but having one of the first deadweight iPhones in Thailand is a good excuse to feign Sherlock Holmes. I started at the smaller stores to assess the market, learn the jargon, and get the names and mobile numbers of people who can spark life into my not-so-handy handset.

My first stop was at a small Apple shop in Seri Centre on Srinakarin Road. Several salespersons admitted ignorance of the iPhone. Only one had heard its name and added that it was on the company's ''Don't Touch'' list. He directed me to Apple's corporate office, 25th floor of Siam Tower, on Rama 1 Road, Pathumwan. He jotted down the phone number. I remembered to ask, ''You got a name?'' No names.

The Smart Mac shop was a short distance away in Seacon Square. Again, I explained that I have an iPhone that needs to be activated and unlocked. ''But we are not a phone shop,'' was the response. The staff was similarly unaware of Apple's iPhone. Eventually, Mr Tuk gave me a green map containing directions to the Macintosh Centre, an Apple Authorised Service Centre in Siam Discovery Centre. ''Thanks, but do you have a name?'' I queried. Still no name.

Realising that Apple has not informed its staff of its hottest product since the iPod, I decided to try the hordes of independent mobile phone vendors on the ground floor of Seacon Square. After flitting about several shops that didn't know about the iPhone, I happened upon a vendor that directed me to the 3G Service shop, proudly managed by Mr Chairat.

Chairat couldn't solve my problem but directed me to the venerable MBK, the Mahboonkrong shopping mall known for mobile phone outlets. The price to unlock a phone is 300 to 400 baht, Chairat offered. ''Yes, but do you have a phone number, perhaps a name?'' I ventured. Pausing, he said, ''Yes.'' I was to see Mr Ton on MBK's fourth floor.

Down(town) time I'll use the figurative 45 minutes it takes to drive 20 km from Seacon to Siam Discovery to describe the coveted iPhone for readers not familiar with it. This is not a review of the iPhone, but the quickie description below will suffice.

The iPhone is a 3.5-inch touch-screen-operated quad-band GSM EDGE-supported multimedia and Internet-enabled smartphone that is (to quote the phone itself) ''Designed by Apple in California [and] assembled in China'' and boasts web browsing, visual voicemail, Wi-Fi connectivity, email, and an auto-resizing virtual keyboard that predicts your next word and corrects typos with a dynamic dictionary. Its top model sells for $599 (20,000 baht) in the US only and the buyer is locked into an unbreakable two-year service contract that costs an additional 50,000 baht. It is a closed platform (uses only Apple software) device that has single-handedly catapulted the paradigm for mobile phone design ahead by five years. Its synergy between platforms, programmes and tasks is unrivaled. It is thin, powerful, and very ''bling-bling''. In short, it is simply awesome!

It is for these reasons that I'd take a day out of my life to render an iPhone operable.

But it is also accoutrement deficient _ it has no case, no games, no video camera, and it is not GPS, Java or Flash compatible. For a complete review of the iPhone, visit http://tinyurl.com/yo4np9 or do the video tour at http://tinyurl.com/2hlaow .

!

A recent report in Post Database said 270,000 iPhones were sold on its release date, but weeks later AT&T had only unlocked 146,000. So, are the other 124,000 iPhones posing as paperweights too? Or are there thousands of global iPhone owners, like me, seeking alternative methods to liberate their handsets?

If so, help may not be far away. Just recently, one youngster discovered a ''hardware unlock'' of the iPhone by re-soldering its internal wiring; and white hat hackers confirmed the first software unlock of the phone. But they were prevented from releasing the code by a 2am ''cease and desist'' email from AT&T's lawyers. So, my trek continues.

Too hot to touch

You can unbuckle your seatbelts now; we have arrived at Siam Discovery and are in the tiny but plush environs of Z29 Co, Ltd, the AppleCentre, where I'm talking with the supervisor. Namfon ''Fon'' Chaitaree is very familiar with the iPhone.

Choosing her words very carefully, Fon reported that Apple does not ''recognize'' the iPhone in Thailand, and does not sell, support or service it here. Disappointed, I asked to meet with corporate management. She resisted. I insisted. She suggested the head office.

''May I have a name?'' I asked. ''Mr Phakpoom [setarath, marketing manager],'' she said. She also suggested that I first visit the Authorized Apple Service centre just down the hall. I did. There I met Ms Benz, a warm and friendly service rep. She was the first Apple employee who showed genuine empathy for my predicament.

She was polite, sympathetic and very helpful until she spoke to her colleague in Thai. He whispered that she couldn't help me because they cannot service that product, whereupon her demeanour changed. Now she was strictly business: ''I'm sorry, we can't help you. That's just the way it is. We are not allowed to service that product. You may call our service hotline,'' she said as she handed me the same green map given me by the Smart Mac shop in Seacon, and shooed me away.

So far, I've been to four Apple centres without success. Apple's position seems to be that since the iPhone is a product that ''officially does not exist in Thailand,'' my iPhone and its lack of operability, likewise, do not exist in the Kingdom.

At the core of the Apple After a five-minute walk, I arrive at the head office on the 25th floor of Siam Tower and ask for Mr Phakpoom. Ms Pui was quite surprised that I knew his name, but explained that he is in Singapore, and all the other managers are in a meeting. In desperation, I explained my situation and requested Apple to help a loyal customer in need. When I presented the iPhone she said, ''Oh, we don't talk about that. No one is allowed to talk about the iPhone,'' and disappeared through a door to my right.

Soon, a polite and gregarious man appeared from the door to my left and introduced himself only as ''Gohp''. Later, I learned he is Mr Therdsak Skulyong, general manager. When I showed him the iPhone he said without finishing, ''I'm not even suppose to touch that. I could lose my . . .''

I could see that he was torn between my plight and the company's hands-off policy. Like Benz, he wanted to help me, but couldn't. To assuage my mental anguish they later had Elisabeth Wongwasin, of Apple's outside PR firm, send me lots of free goodies.

Last chance Dejected and unable to get help from Apple, I took the pedestrian bridge from Siam Discovery into MBK and called Krisanai ''Ton'' Chaimune. Within a minute, we were shaking hands. Ton is charismatic, larger than life and willing to please. It is a welcome respite from the corporate ''safe talk'' at Siam Discovery.

Ton made a quick phone call and afterwards said to me, ''It can be done, but after 9PM tonight.''

''How much?'' I asked. ''Oh, 3,300 baht,'' he said. I objected to the obvious price gouge. He insisted. I resisted. He won. I gave him my number on brown paper and left to continue my quest for the Holy Grail.

Unlike at Seri and Seacon, everyone at MBK knew about the iPhone. Several shops offered to buy mine _ top offer: 30,000 baht. Still, no one had ''support'' for the iPhone (translation: the crack is not yet available).

Curiously, a couple of hours later Ton bumped into me at another shop's counter, almost as if he had been watching me the whole time. This time he, too, was brandishing an iPhone. He reminded me of our appointment and slithered into the crowd.

An hour later, I stumbled upon a shop that was obviously equipped to unlock phones. The techie said, ''Hi, come on in. I have your mobile number right here,'' and showed me the brown paper containing my number I'd given to Ton. ''There's a meeting tonight about your iPhone. We'll get it unlocked.'' We shook hands and I agreed to wait for the call.

Saving the best for last

Almost 10 weary hours after I started, I saw a shop that resembles Chatuchak Park crammed into a 7-11 store. It also had an iPhone box displayed in a locked glass cabinet. I swallowed hard, prepared myself for another defeat, and blurted out my story in a single breath.

''I can do it,'' said Id (real name withheld upon request). I cautiously asked, ''How much?'' and he quickly quipped 1,500 baht. I offered the fair price of 300. We settled on 500. I was dreading a wait of several more hours for the Crack of the Year but in less than three minutes it was done. He explained that the phone was now activated and operational, but not unlocked.

So I now have an iPhone that in reality is a widescreen iPod on steroids. It can do most of what the iPhone is designed to do except make a simple phone call. For now, that's okay, since I have a another mobile. At least my iPhone is no longer just a pretty paperweight.

By the way, I never got the late night phone call.

September 25, 2007

Apple says that its next update to the Iphone will make all those unlocked phones inoperable.

http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/09/24/ip....php?lsrc=mwrss

Gaybutton · September 25, 2007

Apple says that its next update to the Iphone will make all those unlocked phones inoperable.

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm wondering why these phones are locked solely to AT&T in the first place. Why isn't that a violation of anti trust laws?

September 29, 2007

Apple pulls the plug on hacked iPhones

Mark Prigg, Evening Standard

28.09.07

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