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

True Offer up to 50% Discount on iPhones in Thailand

True Move have just made a bold, if not shocking announcement that they are cutting the prices of their iPhones starting from an amazing 50%. There are of course strings attached, but if you are in for the long term and don't mind paying up front for your data package, then this special offer could be very attractive.

The new prices are as follows:

iPhone 4 (8GB) 9,250 Baht
iPhone 4S (16GB) 13,500 Baht
iPhone 4S (32 GB) 17,200 Baht
iPhone 4S (64GB) 21,200 Baht

Here are the strings which come attached:

1. The offer is from 21 February until 12 April 2012
2. You must apply for the XL data package for 18 months
3. You must pay for 7 months upfront
4. You must be a customer of True Online or True Visions for more than 12 months

The XL Package is 899 Baht per month which gives you 500 minutes of talk time, 300 free text messages, 50 MMS messages and unlimited 3G+ and WiFi.

Why I like my iPhone 4S: Better pics, types my tweets & sets my alarm

Before iPhone 4S was launched, I had decided that I would only upgrade if the camera was significantly improved. I know on the outside everything looks the same which I am sure made quite a few people disappointed. But for me, and more importantly for my work, the camera is the crucial part. I think I would agree with most people that if you have an iPhone 3GS then upgrade to this one. If you have an iPhone 4 then you might want to wait for the iPhone 5. But, for myself, as I use the iPhone for my work and also 24/7, I decided that the changes were enough to make it worthwhile.

Hopefully in these first two pictures you can tell straight away that the top one was taken with my iPhone 4S and that this one was taken by my friend with his iPhone 4. You can see that his picture has a lot more noise. That was always the problem with the iPhone 4 in low light. But now the new one can do a much better job. During the day the colours are much more vibrant and realistic. The second test we did was to see how long it took to open the camera app. Something that really frustrated me before and made me miss some pictures. But, the iPhone 4S is significantly faster.

The reason I bought the iPhone 4S was because of the new camera. But, I have also now been sold on Siri. I didn't think I would use it. But it is so useful. You can ask Siri to call someone for you or even text them. Kind of fun but I am not sure how often I will use that. But, what I will use a lot are things like the alarm clock and reminders. In the left picture, I asked Siri to "wake me up at 5:15 a.m. tomorrow". What you see is the result. She turned the alarm on for me. In the picture on the right, I asked Siri "remind me to go to the post office at 11 a.m. on Wednesday". She then put this in my "To Do" list and she will remind me at that time tomorrow that I should be going to the post office. She does a lot more but I am still exploring.

One final thing that has really made me happy with the upgrade is the microphone which can now be found on the keyboard. It is next to the space bar. Siri cannot open any of the apps for you yet, so you cannot ask her to tweet something. But, this is the next best thing. Just open your favourite Twitter client, click on the mic icon and then dictate your tweet. I found it to be remarkably accurate. What is also interesting is that it seems to be learning as it goes along. So, I can now tweet without typing, upate Facebook status and even type in notes without even touching the keyboard.

Official Prices for iPhone 4S in Thailand

The official prices for the new iPhone 4S have now been announced on the website of True Move. The other carriers such as DTAC and AIS are expected to sell at the same price. As you can see, the prices are slightly cheaper than iPhone 4. The following prices include VAT:

• 16GB - phone only: 22,450 baht / with data package: 21,700 Baht
• 32GB - phone only: 26,350 baht / with data package: 25,400 Baht
• 64GB - phone only: 30,250 baht / with data package: 29,100 Baht

Source: http://www.truemove-h.com/iphone4s_prebooking/

iPhone 4S will be sold in Thailand on 16 December

It is now official. The iPhone 4S will be released in Thailand on 16 December 2011. It will be officially distributed through AIS, DTAC and TRUE. Contact your provider to register your interest. They will then get back to you soon about how you can pre-order. No news yet on official prices. But you do have a choice between black and white.

When will iPhone 4S be Released in Thailand?

After months of waiting, we now know the details of the latest iPhone mobile device. It is called iPhone 4S and will be released in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK on 14th October 2011. Two weeks later, on 28th October 2011, the iPhone 4S will be released in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. By the end of 2011, the iPhone 4S will be available in over 70 countries. The expected release date in Thailand, going by the 3 month delay for the iPhone 4, will be either December 2011 or January 2012. However, we are expecting to see unofficial imports of iPhone 4S at MBK in Bangkok by the end of October 2011. The new operating system iOS 5 will be available for everyone for free on 12th October 2011.

On the outside the difference between an iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S is much the same. But under the hood you will be getting a much better device. Everything from the new Apple A5 dual-core processor to a re-worked camera with a 8-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor and 1080p HD video recording. There is also Siri, an intelligent assistant that will understand your voice commands. The release price in America shows that the new iPhone 4S will be coming out at the same price as the older iPhone 4. In America the prices are, before sales tax, $199 16GB, $299 32GB and $399 64GB. In Thailand, the price of the iPhone 4 is presently 22,250 Baht 16GB and 26,000 Baht 32GB. We are expecting the iPhone 4S to be released in Thailand at the same price or slightly lower. For the latest news about using an iPhone in Thailand follow @RichardBarrow on Twitter.