Will iPod Touch overule the iPhone in Malaysia?

45 thoughts on “Will iPod Touch overule the iPhone in Malaysia?”

1. I think new iPod Touch will be more attractive and overule iPhone in Malaysia. It is cheaper and smaller in size and more handy to bring around.

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2. It’s good if you already own a phone which manages your contact and appointments well. Not to mention, it syncs better with Microsoft applications.

   However, like me, since I don’t have a PDA-phone yet…this is a tough decision. :)

3. I usually prefer a separate pda from phone, so i can continuously play with it without worrying that the batt will go flat and I can’t make a call when i need to….so the Ipod touch is definitely something I’ll get, not the iphone.

4. Leona:
   That’s an interesting comment indeed. So you wouldn’t mind carrying more than 1 gadget to suit ones business lifestyle?

   I think the only phones which has super long battery life now are the old ‘black and white’ phones which now retail at RM130-RM250.

5. where can get the iphone at malaysia

6. elly:
   At the moment, the Apple iPhone is unavailable in Malaysia. The some who have managed to get their hands on them have either a friend which loaned them a unit.

   Though the recent InTech reported China has the Apple iPhone selling for twice the price in the US, it can’t make outgoing calls. So it might be some shady parallel product if you asked me personally.

   Speculations are still the iPhone may only reach Malaysia in working condition next year but who knows. It’s still AT&T and we’ve got hackers breaking the network provider barriers. :)

7. You know anything about these ppl?
   http://iphonesunblocked.blogspot.com

8. Nope.

   But I do know their blog has been probably removed by Blogger already.

9. My mistake, it should be http://iphonesunlocked.blogspot.com

10. I personally think they are overpriced and are trying to ride the iPhone market hype.

    Do not be mistaken. I too want an Apple iPhone but to pay RM2998 (USD859) for the device and the ‘software’ required to unlock the device is not feasible in my opinion.

    The Apple iPhone only costs around RM1392(USD399). Paying RM1606 extra for the cool factor is definetely not worth my money. If it was RM1800-RM2500 then it will probably be.

    But most definetely not what these guys are trying to do by becoming unofficial Apple iPhone resellers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

    But it’s not saying there is no market for them. The rich or geek (not even all geeks) may buy it from them. Otherwise, they target international patrons as there may not be enough resellers anyway.

    Did you put an order in Global? If No, why not?

11. I did :-)

    But they quickly came back that I can expect a cut of between 300-600 (depending on model) off those prices, thanks to Steve Jobs! Please dont quote me!

    The phone is delivered unlocked – Celcom, Digi, Maxis. At that level, I’m good to go. You?

12. I think RM2998 is the latest price (after Steve Jobs keynote address). From what I’ve read, they will cut it further if you and friends bulk an order for yourselves.

    Well, I don’t have RM2998 to burn at this moment. I probably might at the end of the year. ;)

    If you have a blog, I hope you could share your photo journaling experiences with the phone.

13. I think iPhone is just so much overrated…it’s (actually) a typical phone with gravitational detector embedded inside it. minus the mms feature, autofocus camera, a freedom of plug-and-play-and-sync (itunes evrywhere) it’s sure a drawback rite? but plus the style?? how much can you trade your style with functionalities? 3g video call with your loved ones? (it’s still new though it’s fun to have it rite?) in my humble opinion i rather buy an ipod and for the phone part i just let my phone does the job..

    Sorry if i offended anyone and for my poor english..

14. Nakael, that is a very good insight and observed comment. I suppose this is what you’ve learnt before you bought your N73 Music Edition. ;)

    Howevever, other than 3G (which many Malaysians still don’t use often) I think the #1 thing I’ve missed out is the camera. Having a camera is becoming a standard – even to business people.

    Conclusively, yes the iPhone at the moment is overrated and everyone is trying to profit from the hype.

15. i definitely will go for ipod touch.. cant affort that much. by the way, will ipod touch be available in malaysia end of this september?

16. Joseph, from what Jason (MacAsia 1Utama) has informed me is the iPod Touch will be touching down in their store; October.

    The exact date isn’t known but he’ll let me know so I can go there to play with it. :P

17. I am a tech junkie and have over the past 8 months changed about 9 phones from the 02 atom, D810, 838 Pro, E90, Hp6828, O2 Zinc, O2 Exec , N80 and now finally stuck to the N73. I get push mail on the N73 so that I get office email via the Exchange software.

    I was in Singapore last week and there was a store selling the unlocked version for SGD2388 which is about RM5500. I would have been on drugs to buy the phone. The only gadget I would buy now is the HTC Tytn II and the iPod Touch. The iPhone lacks the 3G or 3.5G support. I like the iPod Touch because of the Wifi and Safari browser. I do not think buying the iPhone with Edge would be worthwhile unless there is a version that supports 3.5G. Otherwise, what looks nice would remain looking nice. The other drawback friends is that the iPhone has an in-built battery meaning once it is dead, would you be willing to send it back to Apple for replacement. Could you live without it?

18. Ravi, your mobile purchase history has definetely made you very much aware of your buying habits for a mobile device today. :)

    And yes, the big issue of the Apple iPhone battery should be a large concern. This is like the continuing chapter from the iPod battery.

    Following your question, although I wouldn’t mind changing the battery once every 1-2 years I don’t think I’ll want it to burden me my whole life if the device is suppose to be that good.

19. For those who wonder what is the diff between iPhone & iPod Touch …
    http://www.iprong.com/article.php?id=3003
    It is NOT just the phone feature.

    Since we are NOT able to sign up for an iTunes account (Not avaliable in Asia), I’m not able to update cover pictures into Cover Flow in my iTunes. So, the Cover Flow feature is worthless to me.

    Without Cover Flow, I’d rather go for iPod Nano, rather than the iPhone or iPod Touch.

20. hmm… thats a great news. By the way. danny. can we malaysian buy apple products through internet?

21. Jason:
    Those are very important points made at iprong. Especially about the mail application, calendar and notes. The ability to sync my Outlook calendar onto the iPod Touch would have been great plus. I really do hope they come up with something like that in the firmware upgrade.

    Joseph:
    To date, Malaysians can’t buy any Apple products through an online Apple Store (even if it was as near as Singapore – f*ck) As for purchasing through 3rd party websites or even Low Yat forums, I would say there is always a risk especially when it arrives in someone else’s hands first.

    For example; if the package went through customs. They most likely may ‘tax’ you for it. And in worst case scenario, the package unknowingly goes missing even with a tracking number.

    So if it’s electronic items, I’d say either be prepared to pay ‘tax’ or just don’t buy these online from overseas sources. Unless of course, they have a guarantee of some sorts. :)

22. Contrary to popular belief, you CAN buy the iPhone online, but not from Malaysia, and you have to include an American postal address to ship to. Once that is done, you can either retrieve it from that address, or ask it to be shipped to your own Malaysian address. On both cases, it has proven to work, as the first scenario was done by me, and the latter, a colleague of mine.

    I bought mine last week, while i was vacationing in Florida. Bought the iPhone for USD399 + tax at the Apple Store online, and shipped to my vacation hotel in Orlando. Unlocked it and already played and made calls with it by the time my plane landed in KLIA. Cost? RM1500+. Not the bloated price it will be tagged onto once it is made official locally here.

    Sure, when you think about it, no guarantee since it was brought outside of US, but im well prepared to pay the charges for repair and such from the savings i have made from buying this in the States, than buying it locally , IF it even arrive here at all. I have also played around with the iPod Touch before heading to the airport on my way back to KL, and i can tell you, you get what you pay for. Substandard screens (still made of glass) which made the black level on your video look like film negatives (inverted blacks), and build finishing not as classy as the iPhone. And to say that the iPod Touch only loses the phone function of the iPhone is an understatement. iPod Touch loses Bluetooth, built-in microphones, SPEAKERS (for quick preview of the songs you have just bought from Starbucks perhaps?), and the camera. All this made up for the fact that you gain an additional 8Gb of storage for the top of the end iPod Touch. Justified? Your call.

    If you ask me, between the iPhone and iPod Touch, i’d rather get the iPhone. but if you’re not even contemplating on the phone feature of the iPhone, and considering an iPod capability the most, i’d choose the iPod Classic 160GB, rather than the iPod Touch. Which is what i have done, both the US iPhone 8Gb and local 160Gb iPod Classic are mine now. iPod Touch, to me, is simply a half-hearted attempt to soothe the disappointed hearts of those who are frustrated at the inavailability of the iPhone on their market, and willingly buy anything that resembles the iPhone, both in looks or functionality. Why buy a wannabe, when you can get the best of the real thing? Want an Apple phone? Get the iPhone. Want an iPod? Get the Classic, coz to me, what an iPod needs to be an iPod is its capability to play music AND storage capacity, and frankly, 16GB will never cut it.

23. That is by far the best (and longest) constructive criticism I have read and had. Thank you so much for the summarized review of the iPhone, iPod Touch and the different experiences.

    I don’t fully understand the method your colleague used. Do you mean to say Apple sent it to an American postal address which doesn’t exist and later requested your colleague for his updated address that ‘coincidentally’ is his Malaysia address now?

    One of the big setbacks of the iPhone usage in Malaysia at the moment is that it doesn’t support Maxis incoming calls well. Yes, you can switch to DiGi or Celcom but that depends how hardcore of an iPhone owner you are.

    As for the remark on the iPod Touch and iPod Classic, well said. After you have said that, it lessens my desire to purchase an iPod Touch just because I could surf WiFi and watch movies in a larger resolution.

    But I guess someone might say, “You might see it that way because you just bought an iPhone…”

    How would you answer to that? :)

24. The “latter” method involves needing someone reliable to ship it over to you. That requires a little something called “TRUST”. My colleague has that with his contact in the States, and thankfully for him, everything went as planned.

    You say
    “One of the big setbacks of the iPhone usage in Malaysia at the moment is that it doesn’t support Maxis incoming calls well. Yes, you can switch to DiGi or Celcom but that depends how hardcore of an iPhone owner you are.”

    My take? Have you notice how the iPhone is being distributed in the States and now across Europe? Apple picks a service provider and provides the iPhone as part of the service plan in which you pay the price of the iPhone + service plan. And also if you notice, Aplle dont choose multiple service providers for a particular country, they only choose one. AT& T for the US, T-Mobile for Germany, O2 and Carphone Warehouse(which is defaulted to the O2 network) and so on. One, and only one. The way mobile phone service plans here are done are also different to that which are practiced in Europe and the US where part of the cost of the phone is subsidised by the service provider , in exchange for longer contracted months on their service plan( the longer you subscribe to their service plan, the cheaper the phone price becomes). Back here in Malaysia, you basically buy the phone at SRP, and pick your service provider according to which suits you, financially or your usage patterns. And from this very line of thought lies the fact: That it is an open competition as to which service provider here gets the iPhone, rather than calling it a “big setback”. Why , you ask? Going from tradition/history of iPhone distribution alone, one ANd ONLY ONE service provider will be awarded the iPhone and its distribution rights here, IF it gets launched here. It is not the case of blanketing all three telcos here with iPhones and see who gets to provide better service with the iPhone in their customer userbase hands. It is about which ONE single telco/service provider here who can win that singular distribution right from Apple, and distribute it within their customer userbase. And judging from how difficult it is to get the iPhone working on Maxis, if im Steve Jobs/Apple, i’d go with either Celcom or Digi. Nothing to lose here, nor are there any difference in their practices before. All you hear on the internet and in messageboards/forums are cries of help from Maxis users to get iPhones working on their Maxis line, and mind you, their numbers are in the minority. When it comes to the time when Apple is ready to release this to the Malaysian market, im pretty sure they will stick to their current practice of “granting distribution rights to ONE telco per country only”. What Maxis needs to do now, is to make their own network compatible, or they would lose out on a major chance to make money from the iPhone’s popularity right now. You see it as Apple’s major setback because Maxis comes incompatible with their iPhone, i’d rather think Apple wont even care if it is such a case, and move on with either Celcom or Digi as their chose service provider/telco. *shrugs*

25. Also on the pricing, the keyword here is “subsidization”. Apple manages to get the pricepoint to USD399 with AT&T covering up the rest of the cost while locking it with their own network. Now iPhone is in the UK at GBP279 + VAT with O2 subsidization. See the pattern here? Should or if, or whenever Apple comes to Malaysia, which telcos here again would go with the subsidization, and swallow part of the cost of the iPhone? Malaysians, as we all know it, are notoriusly cheap when it comes to spending, scrutinizing every angle possible before plonking down the cash.

    There are several scenarios:-

    1 – NONE of the telcos here would partner with Apple for subsidization, which is asking them to swallow the cost of the iPhone, in exchange of service plans .If this happens, Apple will wait until the existing contracts with partnered telcos they have signs with ( 5 years with AT&T, ??? years with O2, etc) to expire before allowing Apple-unlocked iPhones to be launched or sold here. Take note that i say “Apple-unlocked”, not the current unlocking softwares available. So….2007 plus 5 years equals…?

    2 – A selected local telco decides to go for it and wins the sole distrbution rights to the iPhone, and with this, agree to subsidize the iPhone with the requirement to sign up for an X amount of months on their service plans. iPhone no longer costs RMXXXX but now becomes RMXXXX + RMYY x Z months for total cost purchased.

    Either way, i see it that the iPhone will either becomes “very merrily” priced (merry to who, that’s a whole different story), or will not be available here until the contracts Apple signed with their worldwide telcos expires, with the current contract with AT&T being the longerst, 5 years exclusivity. Otherwise, providing sim-free iPhones would seriously breach and compound losses to these contracted telcos, and inviting not-so-pleasant responses from their behalf. Remember, Apple did announce that the iPhone would arrive in ASIA early 2008, but which countries in Asia, remains to be seen. My uneducated guess would be Asian countries that has service providers/telco that mirrors the current business plan of subsidizing the cost of a phone, while binding its user to selected months of usage agreement.

    Malaysia’s telcos fit nowhere in this business plan, so that long neck craning for a locally launched iPhone, may grow longer still. :p

26. WhySettleForSecondBest:
    I’m beginning to see our telcos slowly moving in the direction of offering mobile phones at the cheap or for free now. DiGi was(is) runnning a campaign with Samsung at the momnet. And not too many days ago, I noticed Celcom offering Motorola. Maxis…nowhere to be seen. *shrug*

    So like you said, and I have to concur again that most likely DiGi might go full force if Apple does come with the plan to bundle phone and monthly pricing together.

    Seeing how the discussion is progressing, it is beginning to make a little more sense now to shift to DiGi for the sake of the iPhone. LOL! Yellowman, ho!

    As for Asia 2008, my guess would be they’d want to break into countries like Japan and Korea. Singapore might be a problem because though they may have Vodafone, I don’t think they’ve O2 networks there.

    As for the forecast of how many more waiting years, I’d say maximum 3 years-la. If the local telcos were reading more blogs and comments (like these) then they’d probably cut it by…a year maybe?

    Damnit, you just had to make me want an iPhone again. And considerably influenced me to get a DiGi to use it. LOL! :P

27. LOL if you like, im free for an iPhone touchtest between now and 22nd. Free on those two days.

    As for which Asian countries to get the iPhone deal, im doubting Japan as one of those possible country. Japan’s cellphone network have moved faaaaaaaaaar beyond GSM network, which is the current network usable on the iPhone. They have moved to CDMA/UMTS (that’s 3G for us here, simply put), WCDMA, HSDPA, HSUPA and the EVDO network. Same case with Korea, they too have moved beyond standard GSM to faster, more robust network of EVDO and beyond. To offer Korean and Japanese folks only GSM with paltry EDGE connection as their only Wide Area Network connection (WAN not WLAN, or plainly referring to Wifi here) is to put insult on their already available faster connection on CDMA network, with speeds up to 7.2Mbps. I’d figure that Steve Jobs would think twice before releasing the current iteration of the iPhone in these two countries, unless he has plans for at least a 3G/UMTS/CDMA version of the iPhone in the works. If that is so, time for me to upgrade to that then, i’ve been having withdrawal symptoms with my current 3G-to-EDGE downgrade on my iPhone. Wifi aint that widepsread, and free for that matter, to be a viable connection alternative.

28. I don’t exactly have anything on today but it’s a working day so I can’t skip my work for this…yet. But 22nd sounds tempting, if you’re in Petaling Jaya or Kuala Lumpur then I won’t mind meeting up with the iPhone for a quickie. :P

    Will email you. :)

29. In my humble opinion, i prefer iPod touch rather than iPhone…what happens when you combine MP3 player with a phone together, and you you listen mp3 on your ‘hybrid’ phone most of the time? Answer: Short battery life. It’s okay for me to use my phone if i commute to via lrt, but it’s a big no no if i use the phone as mp3 player if i’m planning to travel from KL to Bukit Kayu Hitam….unless i have a spare battery..when i first got my hand with phone with music player (Nokia 6630) dated back in the early 2005, the idea was having a device with mp3 player, phone and a decent digital camera…after few months listening to the mp3 while traveling from KL-IPOH via bus…it was quite frustrating since the mp3 player consumed lotsa my phone’s juice…it’s up to the prospective users whether they want a ‘touchable standalone’ iPod or ‘kiasu-oriented-touchable’ hybrid iPhone (no offence).

    Thank you.

30. Welcome over, Nakael.

    I can’t remember the hours of traveling required from KL to other states but definetely if you are a music junkie and constantly listen to music wherever and whenever then you will need the playing hours to support the addiction. :)

    However, through my review of the Apple iPhone I’ve found the battery pretty good for the average user. I’ve spoken about 4 types of users here; http://www.dannyfoo.com/blog/2007/10/day-1-apple-iphone-and-malaysia-apple-fans/

    I’ve to admit the Apple iPhone isn’t suited for the heavy user at the moment but if I recall correctly, iPod’s faced the same problem as well and it was for until now that it’s playing hours have reached a standard equivalent of its heavy user.

    That said, it’ll take probably 3-4 Apple iPhone generations before the hours are increased on the iPhone? :P

    And thank you for your constructive feedback.

31. :-) Danny, perhaps we have to wait for liquid fuel cell battery inside our gadgets..hehe..gotcha reading through my personal blog…thanks for ur visit..sorry for typo errors in my previous postings…was soo sleepy..had to finisih my final year project…

32. No worries. Well, you could start writing into Apple about that. Though I’m unsure what they’ll do improve the battery like what they did on the iPod. :)

    – posted with an iPhone

33. Correction, ipod touch can sync with microsoft outlook.

34. I guess that’s before they managed to hack all the other apps into the Touch. :P

35. heyyy, i used to live in penang but now im in New york, usa and i think the price is so riduculous no wonder people cant afford these with the wage for mlaysians.

    i think its better to buy from here…im still in contact with family and friends and they say they dont see much of ipods cuz they cost around 800,600,500, and the lowest 70 dollars shuffle 1gb for 2 or 3 hundred

36. That’s been a sad true fact, Jefri. While the iPod or Apple stuff is affordable compared to the price of living there, we’re still finding a balance over here. Which is why many here still prefer buying Apple from Singapore or even Hong Kong.

37. Hi danny, I just dropped my iphone and the first 2 rows on top(icons) are not sensitive to touch anymore. Pls help. Can u tell me where to get it fixed and how much?

38. Jaime:
    How could you drop it?! *gasp*

    Anyway, you only have 2 options:
    1. Send it back to the reseller to ask them for support.
    2. Send back to US and ask a friend to bring it to the service center.

    Of course, if you take option 2 you will need to return it in a state of the original factory product. So your best bet at the moment may be to ask your reseller for help. This sounds to be a damaged hardware already. :(

39. ermm…. for your personal opinion la, Danny foo. which one is the best. Iphone or Itouch…. pls help me? i a little bit confuse here……..

40. Edd:
    You’ll have to first find out what kinda user are you. Do you like listening to a lot of music and watching videos? Or, do you do more calling than entertain yourself?

    The iPhone generally is a great device to keep you organized and make calls. If you’re looking for more of an entertainment device, it was discussed you should just get an iPod Classic or iPod Touch.

    But if you hate carrying too many devices along, then just get an iPhone. Though you’ll want to consider if any problems occur is a repairman nearby. :)

41. hey there..
    i need a “motivator” to do workout…which one is a better motivator; ipod classic or ipod touch?

42. Juliet, if you’re more music – ipod classic. If you watch a lot of motivational videos – ipod touch. :)

43. Can Ipod Touch open and edit E-mail which is send as Word Attachment.
    Thx!!!!

44. No it can’t, Simran.

    I’ve not even the iPhone being able to do that yet. Which to me is a major setback for the business users. But I guess that’s what you get out of a lifestyle phone.