Day 0: Apple iPhone Arrives in Malaysia

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Danny and his Apple iPhone It was weird noticing many not talking about the Apple iPhone in Malaysia. Hence, the first article I wrote; Why Malaysia is Not Talking about the iPhone? Then approximately 2 months later at a recent Apple event, Steve Jobs announced the new line of iPod Nano together with the iPod Touch.

In less than a week, I got wind many who were reselling Apple iPhone in Malaysia. Some were doing it through the Low Yat forum while others ordered through blogs like iPhones Unlocked. And thanks to Shiew from iPhones Unlocked, I’ve a 7-day (or longer) ownership of my very own Apple iPhone in Malaysia.

I collected the Apple iPhone from Shiew at Centrepoint around 10am. To my surprise, I never did realize how thin the Apple iPhone would really be. Upon delivery, he helped me activate the Apple iPhone and showed me what was needed to be done if I needed to activate another sim card.

Just in case many do not know, the Apple iPhone can be used in Malaysia with DiGi and Celcom networks. However, you will have a problem receiving incoming calls on a Maxis account. Because of this, I’ve went out of the way to purchase myself a DiGi starter pack.

The activation of the sim card on my Apple iPhone was relatively easy. The wireless worked great as well while at Starbucks with Shiew. He even proved to me the YouTube function now works with the firmware; 1.0.1. The newest firmware is 1.1.1 but the folks of iphonesimfree and iPhones Unlocked are working out the kinks before an official release.

After the collection of my Apple iPhone I headed home and fiddle with my new found toy. As usual coming from Apple, the packaging is top notch and the contents are placed very tightly and neatly in the box. In the package, you will receive a pair of earphones, a dock (which contributes the weight), a wall plug (though American standard) and a USB sync cable. Inside a thin black package, you’ve got a quick iPhone tutorial leafleft, an iPhone terms and conditions and a cleaning cloth. Trust me, by the end of the day you would be anal about cleaning the Apple iPhone. Especially with all the oily food we eat in Malaysia.

Once I was done inspecting the Apple iPhone, I tried setting up the Apple iPhone to my wireless network. The bad news here is after fiddling with the configurations for 20-30 minutes, I couldn’t get my Apple iPhone to connect. In conclusion of the time wasted, the Apple iPhone doesn’t support ‘all’ routers. I’m currently using a PLANET LAN router together with a PCI wireless router. I tried setting up both DHCP and Static settings on my Apple iPhone but still failed.

Wireless networks aside, it was time to setup my Apple iPhone for calls. Due to Maxis not enabling me to receive calls, Shiew suggested me to use my Maxis in my Apple iPhone then use my DiGi number in my old phone. What will happen is if a call tries to connect to my Apple iPhone, I’ll forward it to my DiGi line to answer. Therefore, unless you’re already on DiGi then you won’t have such a tedious time with your Apple iPhone.

Once everything was set up, it was time to sync my Apple iPhone with my Windows PC for the first time. Once connected, the iTunes popped up and detected my Apple iPhone device. Here, it took to a very simple wizard asking how I wanted to sync my contact, my calendar, my internet browser bookmarks, music, podcasts and videos. The syncing of data was very fast and photos I took with the Apple iPhone were transfered unexpectedly very fast as well.

Now, the Apple iPhone camera may not be a 3 Megapixel or 10 Megapixel to brag about but I have to admit this camera is one heck of a capture tool. Pictures taken in good light seem to look clear on the Apple iPhone screen and makes you doubt if it is that clear. And I have to admit it, the pictures were really that clear. Phone cameras in low light have never been expected to produce top notch camera quality so the Apple iPhone is about the same here.

As the day ended and I flashed the Apple iPhone to a coupe of friend in Malaysia, it was time to see if my Bluetooth handsfree could be detected with the device. Before I tell you how that went, here’s some additional information about the Apple iPhone. You can’t transfer files to friends via Bluetooth. According to Shiew, he said this is to prevent the ability to hack your Apple iPhone later. Anyway, the connection of my iTech Bluetooth headset didn’t prove successful. So I’m assuming that’s another strike for universal compatibility of the Apple iPhone.

Tomorrow, I hope to tryout the iPod and video functionality of the Apple iPhone. Hopefully as well, I could get Hotlink to answer to my query on how do I forward calls using my account. So that’s that for now on the Apple iPhone in Malaysia from me. Please feel free to click on the images and view them at a larger state.

Question of the day:
Would you like to tryout the Apple iPhone I have?

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

Posted by dannyfoo on October 2, 2007 | Filed Under Apple iPhone | View Comments |

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Response #1 by Chewxy on October 2nd, 2007

Sweet. The iPhone isn’t in Aus yet!
Response #2 by Sunflower on October 2nd, 2007

I am grinning coz I have both Digi and Celcom but not Maxis. For some reason I am biased against Maxis, haha.

I’m happy with my Nokia… I don’t use the more advanced phone features anyway so there’s no point for me to get an iPhone. I only use my phone to call, SMS, set alarm clock, put event reminders, and calculate figures! (My phone has no camera function)
Response #3 by iPhones Unlocked on October 2nd, 2007

Our experience with WiFi is typically trouble free. This could be a case your router being some weird genre rather than the Apple’s non-compliance.

On bluetooth compatibility, our experience is similar to yours. The upshot is, you have VERY good reason to migrate to Apple’s bluetooth headsets. Check out their designs!
Response #4 by Danny Foo on October 2nd, 2007

Chewxy:
If you bought one of them, I bet you’ll have a ball using it in Australia. I can’t fully utilize my Maxis here on the iPhone.

Sunflower:
I’m actually starting to need a proper appointment organizer which syncs to my Outlook so the iPhone is handy in that. As for the calculator, I’ve got a big one on the iPhone.

Besides that, well, if you don’t do much on the phone then you won’t enjoy much of it’s features.

iPhones Unlocked:
Yes, I realize it’s something to do with my settings or wireless setup itself. I’ve tested so far on different locations and can’t seem to get it working on my home network. However, my Apple MacBook doesn’t experience any of these problems.

As for the bluetooth, design is one thing but I’m not too happy of having to buy an additional bluetooth for the sake of a new phone. Bluetooth and wireless are meant to kinda be ‘universal’ so if I had to buy a different tools for different devices, it isn’t feasible to me.

Anyway, so far I’ve gotten a lot of enquiries on the iPhone this morning.
Response #5 by Warlock on October 2nd, 2007

Got an iPhone myself, same problem. On Maxis, I cannot receive calls or sms. Tried it on Celcom and had some problems as well. Tried it on Digi prepaid and it worked fine. So I guess I’ll be getting a Digi prepaid sim.

Wifi wasn’t a problem, using a D-Link modem and router. Loving this baby to death!
Response #6 by Warlock on October 2nd, 2007

“Today, with my Apple iPhone in Malaysia I’m exploring the iPod capabilities. So far as I’m listening to it, it’s really really really good.

How much of the Apple iPhone have you explorer so far?”

Had it since Tuesday last week, can’t take my hands off it since I got it.

1. iPod
iPod sound is great, and actually very ok using the speakerphones. Haven’t tried in noisier environments like malls.

2. Video
Used Handbrake and ripped The Last Samurai on to the iPhone. Video is good and smooth.

3. Imported about 3000 contacts from my Palm LifeDrive to the Address Book, then synced with iPhone, no problems, except maybe a slight delay when selecting a contact to SMS.

4. Synced all my LifeDrive events on calendar since 2003, into iCal, then synced with iPhone, again, no problems. Love the Calendar interface on iPhone.

5. Safari works great! One of the things I love most about the iPhone. I recommend http://iphone.beejive.com for your IM needs, at least until Apollo IM includes gtalk support.

Hmm apart from that just general fiddling around. Only thing I wish there was a To-Do List. For now I just name the first note in the Notes Applications as “To-Do List” and list everything out there.
Response #7 by Danny Foo on October 2nd, 2007

Hey Imran,

1. I’m doing a followup on this as you know.

2. Haven’t tested the video yet but from what I’ve viewed via YouTube. The quality is great.

3 & 4. You’re syncing the phone to your MacBook if I’m assuming correctly.

5. I’ve got to give that a try.

I haven’t had the need for a to-do list but I guess it’ll most likely come in handy as a shopping list later.
Response #8 by rashow on October 3rd, 2007

aw man i wish i could get my hands on this puppy why are you guys driving me nuts this side, give us details on how to get one i have been waiting too long for the iphone, i’m even considering on getting the htc touch cause i can’t get my hands on an iphone. Loyal fan of apple.
Response #9 by Danny Foo on October 3rd, 2007

The Apple iPhone woops that particular model any day.

And I have to admit as the days passed, I’m loving the iPhone more and more. *grin*
Response #10 by Yoga on October 3rd, 2007

Hi guys, got an iphone. Tried out Maxis, Celcom and Digi. As expected, only celcom and digi allows calls to be sent and received. HOWEVER, SMS cannot be received from all 3 systems. Is this the same experienced by all or is it just me…