As from our earlier rumors, Singtel is indeed the official iPhone carrier in Singapore. They have apparently clinched the deal after agreeing to a revenue sharing deal with Apple. Expect more news to be out soon. As for now, the word is that we will see the iPhone here in September 2008, the 8GB model only, and it will retail for S$690.
iPhone
Apple skipping Singapore for iPhone launch?
We all know what the main hurdles to having an official iPhone launch in Singapore are.
1. Setting up an iTunes Store for Singapore
2. Breaking the local laws on locking handphones to a single provider
Well, seems that the hurdles are too high a barrier for Apple to break in order to sell iPhones officially to this small country.
According to a relatively reliable source, the local telcos are reportedly unhappy with Apple trying to get too huge a share of the profits and after looking at the number of unofficial iPhones already existing on their networks, the local telcos might have already given up trying for an official launch. Apple, on the other hand, have both found the possible profits (or the lack of) from having an official iPhone in Singapore unworthy of spending their time and resources here.
According to yet another source, Apple Singapore refuses to even give any unofficial comments as to if there will be an official launch in Singapore.
Looks like Singaporeans will have to resort to using the better iPhone, the unlocked one.
iPhone 1.1.2
Seems like Apple has hit Holy Grail on firmware 1.1.2. As of now there is still no unlock possible for out of box 1.1.2s, and the hackers don’t seem to be making much progress.
Looks like the cat has killed the mouse.
Apple cracks down on illegal Singapore iPhone retailers
So the truth is out. All the so-called rumors of iPhones coming to Singapore in December were right, except that they meant illegally unlocked iPhones. Now Apple is finally cracking down on these jokers. Good bye to those idiots in the HWZ forums buying the silly “official SG iPhone” story that I posted a few months earlier.”
iPod-Touch Phone?
TUAW is reporting that someone has successfully attached a mike to the iPod Touch and make it able to receive and record audio, suggesting that a iPod Touch-based VoIP device is possible, which will (in theory) eliminate the need for the iPhone.
To me this all sounds like the not-so-strong cult following of people who modifies their 1.6 TS Imprezza into aa Imprezza WRX, despite the fact that it will cost a lot of time and a lot more money than if you buy an Imprezza WRX in the first place.
When will the iPhone 1.1.2 be unlocked fully?
With the jailbreak already possible, how long more does everyone waiting to buy the iPhone have to wait?
I’ll say a few more days.
iPhone-ized page for MacRyu
Have used the iPhone plugin to make MacRyu much more viewable on the iPhone. Here’s a screenshot from my iPhone.
What’s fucking wrong with Apple?
When news of the 1.1.2 update arrived via T3, images of more bricked iPhones come to mind. Although seriously speaking, after the last outrage, people should be smart enough not to update their iPhones this time round.
GO UNCHECK THE OPTION TO “CHECK FOR UPDATES AUTOMATICALLY” IN YOUR ITUNES PREFERENCES! RIGHT NOW!
However, what really irritates me this time is the fact that the article specifically states that they will make iToner not work again.
What’s fucking wrong with you Apple? What wrong did iToner do to you? You think everyone will love that fucking crap that you have in your iTunes Store which you call Ringtones? Some of us want Dir en grey in our iPhones! Or anyone else for that matter.
What’s fucking fucking wrong with you Apple?
This is coming from someone who loves Apple so much, who made Apple a large part of my life for the past 3 years ever since I switched.
Looks like even I am frustrated this time round. Go fuck yourself Apple.
Updates – Leopard and my iPhone
Sorry for the long hiatus. It will still continue for a while as I have been busy with lots of stuff.
Meanwhile here’s some updates.
Finally Leopard shipped. And I am the proud owner of a copy of Leopard, LEGALLY. Though it didn’t cost me the full 241 singapore dollars. Hehz. And you know? Leopard rocks. It’s rock solid and stuff.
One bad point: All the various cracks/hacks are broken, including my no-cd crack for Call of Duty 2!!! Darn.
Here’s a picture of my Leopard Desktop.
And I finally got my iPhone. SMS is probably the weakest phone-related app. Instead of having SMS chats appear like iChat chats, it will be a lot more functional to make them like email, having the ability to forward SMSes and to send to lots of people at the same time. Yet Apple doesn’t get this. Freaking hell irritating.
And well the typing was irritating for the first 2 to 3 days. Now I type darn fast, but still with one finger instead of two.
And damn the 3rd Party Apps. They make the OS kinda crashy from time to time. And they don’t seem as cool and powerful the hackers have made them out to be. I have had better experience IM-ing with Meebo.com and Jivetalk rather than MobileChat and Apollo. (Edit: Turns out that Summerboard was the evil causing all the crap here.)
But I love my iPhone.
Just a short update here, will try to post more stuff when I have time.
Third Party Apps on the iPhone
“Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.
It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.
Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,†we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.
We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.
Steve
P.S.: The SDK will also allow developers to create applications for iPod touch. [Oct 17, 2007]”
All hail the great Steve!!!