Using an iPhone & iPad in Thailand Tips, App Reviews and News for the iPhone and iPad by Richard Barrow

Comparing DTAC & True Packages for iPhone

The iPhone officially arrived in Thailand in January 2009. It was sold by True Move who enjoyed a monopoly until March 2010 when DTAC started selling the iPhone. Of course, unlocked iPhones have been around in Thailand since almost day one. Even the iPad could be found in Bangkok a few weeks after the American launch. However, no news yet when True or DTAC will sell the real iPad.

We were hoping once we had two providers that the competition would bring the prices down a bit. However, the price of the  iPhone handset for both DTAC and True are the same. (The second price below is for handset only.)

3G 8 GB  18,900 baht (19,900 baht)
3GS 16 GB 22,900 baht (24,500 baht)
3GS 32 GB 26,400 baht (28,500 baht)

The prices don't include VAT. They also both have 0% instalment plan, though TrueMove has some restrictions.

DTAC and True  have three packages, though for True the third package is for people who bought their iPhone elsewhere:

DTAC iPhone S: 449 baht/month, 225 mins voice, 200 SMS, 30 MMS, 100 MB Edge/GPRS
True Lite Package: 399 baht/month, 100 mins voice, 50 SMS, 0 MMS, 200 MB EDGE/GPRS, 5 hrs WiFi, 500 MB 3G

DTAC iPhone M: 580 baht/month, 250 mins voice, 300 SMS, 50 MMS, Unlimted EDGE/GPRS
True Basic Package: 599 baht/month, 300 mins voice, 300 SMS, 50 MMS, Unlimited EDGE/GPRS, Unlimited WiFi, Unlimited 3G

DTAC iPhone L: 699 baht/month, 350 mins voice, 400 SMS, 75 MMS, Unlimted EDGE/GPRS

TrueMove also have an iPack Package similar to the Basic Package for people who didn't buy the iPhone from them. This costs 699 baht per month.

None of these prices include VAT. So, my 599 baht package with TrueMove costs me 640.93 baht per month. I would say that True is the better option if you are mainly around Bangkok. However, during my recent trip down south, I didn't have a signal on the islands when other people were still using their phone. So, from that point of view, DTAC is better. AIS maybe even better. However, to be clear, in most other areas down south, I was able to use the phone for voice calls but was only able to use EDGE in the cities.

The good news is that the iPhone from True is NOT locked. This means, in theory, I can buy a cheap SIM card at 7-Eleven if I am travelling in areas not covered by True. You can also buy SIM cards with data plans. More about these later.

If you have any tips about using an iPhone in Thailand then please post them in the comments.