31 Question Series for The Apple iPhone in Malaysia – Part 2

Yesterday, I shared the first 15 questions Jason pointed out to me. Those were only the simpler question hence the brief answers. And I want to side track a little that I recently even had to converse with a Sabah iPhone enquiry in Bahasa Malaysia. That was very good practice. Anyhow, today I’m listing the second part of the 31 question series.

Let’s start of with Question #16:
16. When was the version 1.1.2 released? I went to Low Yat Plaza yesterday and I heard that the next update is coming in another 1-2 weeks.
Version 1.1.2 was released sometime in November. As for 1.1.3, it’s all rumours so I can’t say for certain in 1-2 weeks 1.1.3 is released.

17. To update to a new firmware, I can perform the jailbreak/unlock again by myself but do I have to pay for the updated version of jailbreak/unlocking software?
So far I’ve jailbreak/unlock my iPhone from 1.0.2 to 1.1.1 using an older version of IPSF. At the moment, because of the difficulty in unlocking 1.1.2, IPSF hasn’t made any statement of requiring to upgrade.

18. MAXIMiphone will produce a softcopy or a hardcopy of the jailbreak/unlocking guide?
They’ll email you the instructions or PDF it and email to you.

19. Can I go and test the iPhone from your reseller in Bandar Utama since the people in Low Yat will not let me?
Yes, of course. Just neet to make an appointment with the reseller.

20. What do you mean by the ‘level’ of bricking the iPhone? Won’t virginizing the iPhone solves this?
Some people think that after an installation goes wrong, they’ve brick their iPhone. But major bricking will occur if you want install an application via a file transfer program from your PC/Mac.

21. The applications for iPhone is free but where do I download them? Is installer.app a site?
Installer.app is in the iPhone itself after jailbreaking. It’s an application to pull a list of applications you can try on your iPhone.

22. I prefer to look for MAXIMiPhone but can I purchase and download the jailbreaker/unlocker from iPhoneSimFree from their website?
Urm, AFAIK…IPSF doesn’t sell direct. They will redirect you to their country resellers instead.

23. I was thinking if its worth buying in the US and then paying to terminate the 2 years plan with the US carrier so I can use it in Malaysia, legally. What is your opinion?
Hmm, if I could just buy the unit without having to sign on…I’d do that then go through the hassle of having to sign up with AT&T. To be honest, I’m not sure how does US work when you sign a line. In Australia, I know you do it in the telco centre like Optus and etc. But for this one, you are buying from an Apple Store.

24. If we all go through 2 years of using our iPhone, will we be able to legalize our iPhone then? I heard that the later you terminate your contract in the US article, the lesser you pay because the value of the iPhone has dropped as well (you might need to forward this question to people in the US).
Urm, I won’t be able to answer this because I don’t know of any iPhone friends in the states.

25. When I purchase an iPhone, what firmware should I be on the lookout for and what I should be very careful with since some firmware version cannot be unlocked and will brick the iPhone for life?
Well, the safest is of course to get your hands on a 1.1.1 version. But most units are now 1.1.2 so…my advice may be to wait until 1.1.2 is stable before buying an iPhone.

26. I read that you also have a Maxis simcard, you can now receive phone calls from your iPhone using the Maxis simcard?
Yes, I can. Since the nationwide rollout, I’ve been using my Maxis simcard in the phone and even tested receiving of signal in Genting.

27. You are very helpful and good in answering all my question woos, is MAXIMiPhone better? If likewise, I would prefer to communicate to them through you since I find your response is very good (even better than maxis, flattery).
Well, I do my best to answer with whatever knowledge I have of the iPhone at the moment. It’s incomplete unlike the hardcore iPhone fellows who go all the way in bricking their iPhone but it’s enough for a buyer to make an informed decision on his/her purchase.

28. No matter how I have bricked my iPhone, iPhone can always be virginized?
Nope. There have been cases where it’s bricked so badly, it refuses to boot or it simply just won’t get fixed even after trying to restore.

29. Does your reseller still have the iPhone with the firmware v1.1.1? If not, can I downgrade the firmware v1.1.2 to v1.1.1 while I wait for IPSF unlock the firmware v1.1.2 to be stable? Is there extra charges for doing this downgrade?
Last I checked with them was 1-2 weeks ago. But he told they’ve got some solution in using the 1.1.2 stably. However, I didn’t ask for the full details. Downgrading should have no extra charge but just ask them to check.

30. Other than calling, can you send SMS and use Maxis GPRS/WAP services from the iPhone, since Maxis does not have EDGE available?
Urm, the iPhone doesn’t support GPRS/WAP. As for EDGE, Maxis does have that but they advised me to use that if I’m on an ‘unlimited data’ package because EDGE is rather pricey and still not as fast as 3G. I’m not on a postpaid line so I can’t use EDGE.

31. I find that buying an iPhone from eBay is much cheaper, which is about USD450-USD700 max (with shipping charges), have you heard of cases where the recipient in Malaysia went into trouble with custom agents or item did not reach their destination or any other similar stories?
Well, I have heard of it but more like rumour than happened. I’d be more worried of those idiots stealing it rather than claiming tax over it. Plus, I won’t be surprised they do put a tax on it as when I shipped some stuff back from Melbourne, Australia, the customs wanted to tax as ‘unaccompanied’ luggage.

And that’s the last question of the 31 question series for the Apple iPhone in Malaysia.

Now you know why I had to break it up into two parts. Not to purposely rake you in back again like how some other bloggers may do. The 31 questions weren’t the problem but the length of the post inclusive of the answers.

In the end, I’d like to thank Jason for asking me these questions and suggesting I posted this on my blog in case anyone else shares his questions in mind.

[tags]Apple iPhone, iPhone Malaysia, iPhone FAQ[/tags]

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