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

Thai Survival Phrases on the iPhone

Posted on June 30, 2010

It seems like a good idea to learn Thai on your smartphone. After all, it is always going to be with you wherever you go and so you have no excuse not to learn some phrases in a spare moment.

My first learning Thai app is called SurvivalPhrases - Thai and it seems a good starting point. What you get are 60 short audio lessons in the following seven categories: Asking for Help, Basic Conversation, Etiquette, Food & Drink, Shopping, Transportation, and Travel & Accommodation. They admit themselves it is not going to make you fluent, but it does give you a good grounding on what you need in order to survive a holiday in Thailand. In addition to the language lessons, you are also given culture tips as a kind of added bonus.

The lessons last on average about five minutes. At any point during the lesson you can pause and rewind. There is also a transcript which almost follows faithfully to the audio file. I wasn't sure why that was needed at first, but then realized the accent of the speaker wasn't always that clear. Don't get me wrong, she is very fluent in English and I would be happy to have her as a one-to-one Thai teacher. However, I think it would have been better to get a professional narrator for the lessons and let the Thai speakers narrate the Thai sections only. Having said that, It is easier enough to follow her. When she speaks Thai, she says the phrase first at normal speed and then breaks it down much slower word-by-word. She also does it twice for female and then male speakers. At the end of each lesson there is a chance for you to test yourself by translating phrases that she says in English.

While you are listening to the lesson, you have the option to following along with the transcript, read the culture tips or review the vocabulary and phrases. Unlike the transcript, you get the Thai script in the vocabulary section. I know you don't want this as a beginner, but it is helpful if you have a Thai friend who will probably have difficulty with karaoke English. I am a bit disappointed that there isn't a chance to hear this vocabulary word or phrase. I would find that much easier to learn. The way it is set up is that you would have to find that particular phrase in the five minute lesson to hear it again. I would have also liked to have seen additional vocabulary that could be used with the phrases. For example, in the allergy section, it only talks about a few things that you could be allergic to. It would have been nice in the vocabulary section to have added a dozen or so other common allergies. Not only don't they do that, they don't even have all the phrases used in that lesson.

I sort of liked this app for the iPhone, but I kept getting the feeling that it could have been a lot better if only they had done their research. Basically, a lot of missed opportunities to make it a great app. I think I am right in saying that this app started as a podcast and then someone thought it would be a great idea to collect all these podcasts together into an app. Which is fair enough but it needs to be more interactive. Otherwise, we might just as well listen to the podcasts on our iPhone. It even has lesson numbers which seem to relate to the podcasts. However, none of the lessons on the iPhone app are in the correct order. So, the one at the top of the list might be "lesson 45". Very confusing. If it was indeed a podcast first then they should have at least edited that bit out. Or, given us an option to choose the lesson we wanted. If they had let us do it that way instead of by category, then it might have been easier to see our progress.

When I first started to review this app just over a week ago the price had just dropped to $9.99. I was actually going to make the comment that I felt that although there was a lot of content, I didn't feel that at that price we were getting our money's worth. Now I see that they have raised the price back up to $19.99 which I think is a mistake. It is not a perfect product. You have a narrator with an accent who makes basic grammatical mistakes when speaking English. Even the transcripts have grammar mistakes and typing errors. See how many you can spot in their screenshots above! I also had a problem with the programme crashing at times and I had to restart. It is possible that might have to do with the recent OS upgrade. Which reminds me, there is no multi-tasking capability. So, you cannot exit the programme without losing the sound. I also had a problem when listening to the lessons in my car. My iPhone goes to sleep after 2 minutes and so does the sound in the lessons! Obviously I would have to turn that off. Overall there is a lot there that you can learn from this app. But, they either need to make it more interactive, or bring the price back down to below $10.

Filed under: Learning Thai 1 Comment

Radio Thailand app for iPhone

Posted on June 24, 2010
Radio Thailand app for iPhone

There are probably half a dozen different Thai Radio apps available for the iPhone. There are often as good as each other. However, only Radio Thailand has updated recently to take advantage of multi-tasking on iOS4. This means that you can listen to the radio in the background while surfing the net or reading an iBook.

Radio Thailand claims to have over 150 online radio stations. I am not sure how true that is as there were too many for me to count. However, as on other radio apps, you will find that there are a number of radio stations that just won't work. Either the server is down or they have changed address. But during my test over the last two days I was pleased with the number of stations that I could connect to very quickly. You have the option to add them as favourites and there is even a history so that you can see what you played recently. During my tests, the app seemed to be a drain on the batteries so you probably won't be able to listen to Internet radio on the beach all day. Overall this is a nice radio app for anyone around the world who wants to listen to Thai radio on their iPhone.

WIN A RADIO THAILAND APP FOR THE iPHONE

You can buy Radio Thailand for $1.99 in the apps store at iTunes. Or you can win a copy of this app for free! Yes, this week we are giving away FIVE Radio Thailand apps to five lucky readers. All you have to do to enter is write a comment below. It is that simple. On the evening of Sunday 27th June 2010, we will be picking five readers at random. Make sure that you enter your email correctly so that we can contact you.

Register Interest for iPhone 4 in Thailand

Posted on June 23, 2010

The iPhone 4 will finally be available tomorrow, 24th June 2010, for those people lucky enough to live in US, France, Germany, Japan and the UK. Expect  long queues and units sold out that first day. In Thailand, the iPhone probably won't enter the grey market at MBK until the end of June at the earliest. More likely to be early July. Expect to pay premium prices at MBK as iPhone 4 units will be in short supply elsewhere in the world due to high demand. You can only officially buy two units per person.

Personally, if I chose to buy an iPhone 4, I would wait for the prices to stabilize closer to the launch of the official units in Thailand by DTAC, TrueMove and for the first time by AIS. We are expecting this to happen about mid-August 2010. In the meantime, check out the excellent review of the iPhone 4 by Engadget which is very detailed. It includes samples of pictures and also a video.These new features would be the only reason for me to upgrade. If the camera and flash and the HD video are not up to scratch, I won't be upgrading this time round. At present, I am very happy with the upgrade to iOS4 which makes it feel like I have a new phone already.

The True Move website have also added a form now so that you can "Register your interest". Make sure that you don't use your personal email account as Thai companies are notorious at selling your private details. By registering you are not committing yourself to buying one from True. However, they will send you details about pre-ordering, prices, tariff plans etc. as soon as they become available. We will of course be posting all the latest information here as and when we receive it.

Filed under: Latest News 1 Comment

First Look at iOS4 for the Thai iPhone

Posted on June 22, 2010

At exactly midnight last night, the eagerly awaited new operating system for the iPhone, iOS4 went live and became available for download for the first time. Like other people around the world, I was there waiting with my finger on the update button.

This is a fairly major upgrade, in particular for the iPhone 3GS, as the over 100 new features makes it feel like we are upgrading to a new phone. I will run through a few of the major changes that I have spotted so far after playing with it for a short time. However, as I only finished installing it at 1 a.m. in Thailand some of the features I won't test out until the morning.

Multitasking: Now you can run your favorite third-party apps — and switch between them instantly — without slowing down the performance of the foreground app or draining the battery unnecessarily. Not all apps will work with this yet until they have been updated. Make sure that you are upgrading all your apps. I hear Skype is bringing out their update for this real soon. To access multi-tasking, double tap the home button.

Folders: Organize apps into folders with drag-and-drop simplicity. Get faster access to your favorites and browse and manage up to 2160 apps. This has been the feature that I have been looking forward to the most. It is much easier now to organize the apps into groups. Just start off by dragging an app on top of another to form a folder. The folder will be given a name according to the category (for example games) but you have the option to change this. There is a limit of 12 apps per folder.

Even better Mail: See messages from all your accounts in a unified inbox, organize messages by threads, open attachments in third-party apps, and more. Looks good so far. You have the option to see all your emails on one page or open them for each account.

Create playlists: Create custom playlists right on your iPhone.

5x digital zoom: Get closer to your subjects by zooming in up to 5x. Sounds great in theory but really all you are doing is cropping a larger picture. You might just as well use an app for that. You won't get much out of this unless you have the new iPhone 4.

Tap to focus video: While shooting video, tap the display to choose where to focus. This is going to be a really good update and cannot wait to test it out once we have some daylight here in Thailand! But looks good so far testing it out here.

Faces and Places in Photos: View photos based on who’s in them and where they were taken. I love the map feature as I can now see pins marked on the map of all the places that I have been!

Home screen wallpaper: Change the background wallpaper on your Home screen. This is really good to be able to change the appearance of the iPhone to make it more your own.

Spell checking: A built-in dictionary automatically suggests words and corrects spelling. It works in Mail, Notes, and other apps. Obviously this is a great tool for everyone out there who type faster than their brain can keep up with. Misspelled words are now underlined. Even works in Twitter. Tap on the underlined word and it gives you suggestions. Auto-correct is now a thing of the past on iPhone. Tap backspace and a pop-up window will show you your original word.

Wireless keyboard support: Pair a keyboard based on Bluetooth wireless technology with your iPhone.

iBooks: More than a great ebook reader, iBooks is also an amazing place to browse and shop for books, day or night. This app is not out yet but can't wait as I believe it can also hold pdf books.

There is a lot of other things that I am sure I will discover over the next few days. One things is for sure, a whole load of apps in iTunes are now very redundant. Post in the comments some of your favourite new features.

Filed under: Latest News 8 Comments

MSN Arrives for iPhone

Posted on June 21, 2010

I know many Thai people will be happy to hear that MSN is now available to download for the iPhone. I think Windows Live Messenger is the most popular IM software in Thailand. Certainly all the Thai people that I know chat on it all day. Even when they are supposed to be working! However, the bad news is that this new app for the iPhone is NOT available in the Thailand iTunes store.

But, all is not lost. As it is a free app, it is easy to get at the US iTunes store. The other day I told you how to Open an iTunes Account without a Credit Card. Just follow that link for the instructions and then choose  Windows Live Messenge as your free app. I have downloaded the MSN app already even though I am in Thailand.

I haven't played with it much yet, but these are the official release notes:

Use your iPhone to instant message your friends list, view and comment on your friends’ photos and status updates from Windows Live, Facebook, and MySpace, and at a glance, see what your Messenger friends are sharing from Flickr, YouTube, and many other social and photo sharing sites.

Chat: Instant message with your Windows Live Messenger and Y! Messenger contacts on the go so you’re always connected to the people that matter most. You can even receive IM notifications when your app is closed so you never miss a message.

Social: Windows Live Messenger gives you one place to view the updates your Messenger friends are sharing from social networks like Facebook, Flickr, MySpace and more, helping you cut through the clutter on the go.

Photos: Upload photos right from your phone to share your favourite moments with the people that matter most. Create albums, add captions, and let your friends and family comment on your photos.

Hotmail: Access your Hotmail account without leaving the app to read, reply to, and compose emails. Get email notifications within the application so you know when you have new messages.

With the Skype app, when you close it you are signed out. It looks like here that you will receive a push notification if someone sends you a message. I will update this blog later once I have played with it for a few days.

Prices & Release Date of iPhone 4 in Thailand

Posted on June 20, 2010
Iphone 4 in Thailand

At the moment we still don't have any official news of release dates and prices for the iPhone 4 in Thailand. However, the TrueMove website is already advertising on their front page for the iPhone 4 to be "coming soon" to Thailand. At the moment, we are expecting the iPhone to be released during September 2010. However, can you really keep saying "coming soon" for the next three months? Is there any chance that the iPhone 4 will be released in Thailand earlier than expected? The people at www.siampod.com speculate that it could be earlier. In fact, they reckon it could before 15th August 2010 for the release of iPhone 4 in Thailand.

UPDATE ON 29TH JUNE 2010: The iPhone 4 was on sale at MBK over the weekend with prices in the grey market settling at 16GB 54,000 baht and 32 GB 59,000 baht.

If this mid-August release date is true, then that would only be less than two months after the official release of the iPhone in the USA. In America, people will be able to buy the iPhone 4 from 24th June 2010. We are then expecting this to arrive in the grey market in Thailand in early July. Prices of course will be very high. But, if the official iPhone 4 will be sold only two months later by TrueMove and DTAC, is it a good idea to buy on the grey market? As we all know, the prices in the grey market always come down once news of the official release dates are released. At the moment we have news that iStudio in Thailand will be officially selling the iPad as early as the end of July 2010. This news (or speculation) has already resulted in price drops for the iPad at MBK and Fortune Tower. We are still waiting for official prices but it could be just a little more than America.

So, how much can we expect to pay for the iPhone 4 in Thailand? I think the first indication of an imminent release will be a price drop for the iPhone 3GS in Thailand. At the moment, 3GS handsets still cost 24,500 baht (16GB) and 28,500 baht (32GB). The prices don't include the 7% VAT. The reason these prices for the 3GS must fall BEFORE the iPhone 4 can come out is that we are expecting these to be the Thai prices for the new iPhone 4 in Thailand. If you want to buy a 3GS iPhone then it is best to WAIT until the price drop expected in August. If you want to sell your 3GS iPhone then it is obviously best to do it NOW before prices drop! Obviously for me, as I use my iPhone 3GS for work, I cannot sell this one until the new iPhone 4 comes out. There has been news that True might be setting up a second-hand market for iPhones in the near future. This is something I will be keeping a close eye on.

Filed under: Latest News 86 Comments

600,000 iPhone 4 Pre-Orders On First Day

Posted on June 17, 2010

The interest in the new iPhone 4 has overwhelmed even the people at Apple. On Tuesday this week, Americans could place pre-orders for the first time for the iPhone 4 which is expected to ship on 24th June. But the demand was so high that it crashed the payment servers. Despite suspending pre-sales, Apple still manage to sell 600,000 iPhones in less than one day! Apparently this is ten times higher than the first day of pre-ordering for the iPhone 3GS last year.

This is the official statement from Apple:

CUPERTINO, Calif., June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Yesterday Apple and its carrier partners took pre-orders for more than 600,000 of Apple’s new iPhone 4. It was the largest number of pre-orders Apple has ever taken in a single day and was far higher than we anticipated, resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions. Many customers were turned away or abandoned the process in frustration. We apologize to everyone who encountered difficulties, and hope that they will try again or visit an Apple or carrier store once the iPhone 4 is in stock.

It now looks like they don't have enough iPhone 4 smartphones for everyone placing a pre-order. According to Apple's website, if you place a pre-order now, you won't receive the iPhone until at least 14th July. If you want it earlier, the only alternative now is to queue up outside the Apple stores a day or two BEFORE the 24th June release date. It is expected that these will sell out quickly.

At the moment, we don't know if this high demand will affect release dates of the iPhone 4 in other countries around the world. We are expecting the iPhone 4 to be released in Thailand in September 2010. The iPhone 4 is being sold in America at $199 (6,371 baht) for the 16GB model and $299 (9,573) for the 32GB version. However, it should be pointed out that these prices are subsidized and are tied to contracts with AT&T. We won't be getting them this cheap in Thailand. Unfortunately, we will probably pay nearly three times this amount. However, the iPhones in Thailand will most likely be sold unlocked.

Filed under: Latest News No Comments

Google Earth on the iPhone

Posted on June 16, 2010

When I am off exploring Thailand, an essential tool for me is Google Earth. I love reading maps and also creating my own. But even better, I really enjoy studying satellite images. I have discovered many new places in my neighbourhood just by using Google Earth. Like sunken ships, temples surrounded by the sea, secret government satellite installations and even some new walks through mangrove forests. What I used to have to do was print out these satellite images from my computer and then use these when I was exploring. To be honest with you, one of the main reason that I wanted to buy the iPhone was because of Google Maps and the ability to show your current location on the map. If you have driven around Thailand as much as I have then you will know that most of the map books are either very lacking in detail or are just plain wrong. Google Maps is increasingly doing a great job of bridging this gap between what we have now and what we really need. Even better is Google Earth.

For some reason, even though the Google Earth iPhone app is free, it is not available in the Thai iTunes store. I am not sure why it is like that. However, as I have blogged about before, it is possible to set up an account in the US store even if you don't have a credit card (click here for instructions). The iPhone version works much the same as the software version that we have all played on our computers. However, it will mark your present location with a blue dot. You can also add your own Google Maps. In the above example, I added my Bangkok Day Trips map. I used this on my recent trip to Chonburi. Without Google Earth I would have never found Wat Thammanimit. I had added it to my map before I left. So, as I was driving along, I just needed to follow the blue dot all the way to the temple. If you have a Google account, you can easily add my day trip map to your list so that you can use it in the same way that I did.

Google Earth has just done an update which now includes major roads as an optional overlay. You also have the option to have markers for Panoramio pictures, Wiki articles, places, businesses and borders. They also have a version for the iPad. I am actually tempted to buy the iPad just for this app!

Filed under: Thailand 2 Comments

Open an iTunes Account without a Credit Card

Posted on June 15, 2010

For most people using an iPhone in Thailand the iTunes Thai Store is pretty dismal. Up until recently you only had access to the iPhone app section. Now it looks like they allow us to browse podcasts as well. However, if you are like myself, and have an account at a store in your home country, then you will realize that there is certainly a lot more out there that we are missing out on.

It is not just the music and movies, there are also a lot of iPhone and iPad apps that are just not available worldwide. Sometimes for a good reason but other times it just doesn't make sense. Recently I wanted to download the Google Earth app but found for some reason it wasn't available in the Thai store. Luckily I also have a UK iTunes store account so I was able to get the free app there.

However, today I wanted to download the new Apple Store app. This again is free but it is only available in the US iTunes store. As I don't have an American credit card I have never opened an account there. But then, I found out it is possible to do so even without a credit card. That is, as long as you want to have free downloads. It doesn't hurt to do this. You only need to have one iTunes app running and just sign in and sign out as you go between stores.

  1. If you already have an account, choose Store > Sign Out.
  2. Pick the country that you want by clicking on the country flag located in the bottom right corner of the main iTunes Store page.
  3. Important: Before proceeding to the next step, you must purchase a free application by clicking Free App. In this case, just go for the new Apple Store app.
  4. You then get the option to create a new account.
  5. Click Continue.
  6. You'll need to read and agree to the iTunes Store Terms & Conditions. Make sure you check the box next to where it says "I have read and agree to the iTunes Terms and Conditions."
  7. Click Continue.
  8. Enter your email address (it needs to be different to your other account), create your password, continue to create and answer your security question, then enter your birthday. Click Continue.
  9. Select None as the payment option.
  10. Continue to fill out the required name and address fields. The US State and Zip Code has to match and also the telephone number must be the correct length. Generate a fake address by clicking here.
  11. You'll then see a screen that says 'Verify your Account'. Click Done and then check your email for a verification email from iTunes Store.
  12. Open the email and click the link enclosed in the email to activate your account.
  13. Once you click on the link, iTunes should then prompt you to sign in with your account name and password.
  14. You'll then see the below "Congratulations" screen. Click Done to be taken to the App Store home page.

That's all you need to do. It doesn't really take that long. At the moment I have iTunes store accounts for three different countries. Now I just need to work out how to get hold of iTunes gift vouchers for the American store!

Filed under: Articles, Tips 10 Comments

Thai TV Drama on your iPhone

Posted on June 14, 2010

Straight in at number one for paid iPhone apps is Thai TV Drama 2010. I can imagine that this app will be popular with not only people inside Thailand, but also Thai expats living abroad. The developers claim that it collects all Thai drama series for the year 2010. There is certainly an impressive number of "lakorns" available. It is sorted by either hit soap operas or by the TV channels. For each series the synopsis is in Thai language only. However, there is Romanization for the titles which will be of use to foreigners using the "lakorns" to practice listening to Thai.

The main feature is the ability to watch the soap on your iPhone or iPod. However, it should be made clear that you are watching it via youtube. So, if your Internet connection is slow or youtube have removed that video then you won't be able to watch it. Having said that, it has already received some good reviews on iTunes regarding fast loading. Some people have mentioned that sometimes Edge works out better than 3G or WiFi so it is worth experimenting. On each video there is also a button to click on if the links don't work. The developers promise to then find alternative videos at other sources.

During the time that I have been testing this app, I have seen that new videos are being added at regular interview. From the screen shot above, you can see this is noted with an "update" button. The Thai TV Drama 2010 app will cost you 99 Cents which I think is good value for money considering that they are doing all the hard work for you in finding the latest videos.

Filed under: Thailand 5 Comments