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

Prices for iPhone 4 and Packages

The iPhone 4 was finally released in Thailand in the early hours of Friday 24th September 2010. We now know the price of the iPhone 4 and the data packages being offered by the three carriers: TrueMove, DTAC and AIS. I was at the launch party last night for TrueMove at Siam Paragon. I will be going back again this morning to queue up for my iPhone 4 handset. I will be sticking with True as I don't want to change my number as I want to use their 3G service. I normally use 3G all the time with my iPhone as it is widespread in Bangkok and my province of Samut Prakan. This is the main reason I chose True.

Here are the prices for the iPhone 4 handset only:
- 16GB Price 22,250 Baht (VAT included 23,807.50 Baht).
- 32GB Price 26,000 Baht (VAT included 27,820 Baht).

Prices for the iPhone 4 if you have a data package:
- 16GB Price 20,650 Baht (VAT included 22,095.50 Baht).
- 32GB Price 23,900 Baht (VAT included 25,573 Baht).

The following are the new data packages for the iPhone 4 at AIS:

Mini: 275 baht, 150 mins free call, 100 free SMS, 20 free MMS, 20 MB free internet
Medium: 519 baht, 250 mins free call, 250 free SMS, 30 free MMS, 500 MB internet
Max: 839 baht, 500 mins free call, 300 free SMS, 50 free MMS, unlimited internet

[link for their website]

The following are the new data packages for the iPhone 4 at DTAC:

1Phone S: 449 baht, 225 mins free call, 200 free SMS, 30 free MMS, 100 MB free DTAC internet
iPhone M: 580 baht, 250 mins free call, 300 free SMS, 50 free MMS, unlimited DTAC internet
iPhone L: 699 baht, 350 mins free call, 400 free SMS, 75 free MMS, unlimited DTAC internet

[link for their website]

The following are the new data packages for the iPhone 4 at TrueMove:

S: 399 baht, 100 mins free call, 50 free SMS, 20 free MMS, 200 MB free Edge, 200 MB 3G, 10 hours WiFi
M: 579 baht, 250 mins free call, 300 free SMS, 50 free MMS, unlimited Edge, 500 MB 3G, 20 hours WiFi
L: 799 baht, 450 mins free call, 400 free SMS, 100 free MMS, unlimited Edge, 1GB 3G, Unlimited WiFi

Free size: 599 baht, 300 mins free call, 300 free SMS, 50 free MMS, unlimited Edge, unlimited 3G, unlimited WiFi

The "Free Size" package is open to anyone with an iPhone no matter where the bought it.

True has a footnote for their "unlimited" 3G which says "subject to TrueMove fair usage policy".

[link for their website]

Pictures of the True iPhone 4 Launch

This evening I gate-crashed TrueMove's launch party for the iPhone 4 at Siam Paragon. Lot's of HiSo people, movie stars, pop stars and wannabies. The only person I know in this picture, far right, is @WoodyTalk as he follows me on Twitter. Apparently he is a talk show host.

Plenty of celebrities who seemed to already have an iPhone 4. I took pictures of a few of them but the free beer and food was more interesting! I had a play with an iPhone 4 for the first time and was impressed with the quality of pictures in low light conditions.

Outside the Paragon Hall, the "commoners" were all lined up to be escorted in to buy their iPhone 4 handsets. As you can see the queue is very long. Looked like about 500 people. I did ask but the staff were tight-lipped.

A picture of the first guy in the queue to buy an iPhone 4 handset.

He had his pictures taken dozens of times by the media.

I'll be going back to Siam Paragon tomorrow morning to collect my iPhone 4 handset. Looking forward to having a better quality camera and also a flash. Not sure yet if we can change our SIM here straight away or not for the MicroSIM. I would presume you can. I'll let you know tomorrow.

UPDATE: Number of people booking iPhone 4 in Thailand: AIS - 30,000 people, DTAC - 16,000 people, True - 53,000 people.

AIS Release Prices for iPhone 4

All three carriers in Thailand are selling the iPhone 4 at exactly the same price. The midnight launch is tonight and is already fully booked. AIS sold all their quota and now have none left. We expect the same to happen with DTAC and True. In the meantime, we now have the official prices from AIS for the iPhone 4 and their data packages.

Here are the prices for the iPhone 4 handset only:
- 16GB Price 22,250 Baht (VAT included 23,807.50 Baht).
- 32GB Price 26,000 Baht (VAT included 27,820 Baht).

Prices for the iPhone 4 if you have a data package with AIS:
- 16GB Price 20,650 Baht (VAT included 22,095.50 Baht).
- 32GB Price 23,900 Baht (VAT included 25,573 Baht).

As you can see, AIS are selling the iPhone at exactly the same price as TrueMove and DTAC as it is fixed by Apple. This is cheaper than expected and will obviously effect grey market prices at MBK. Last week they were selling the 32GB for 32,000 baht which is about 7,000 baht more expensive  that the official prices.

The following are the new data packages for the iPhone 4 at AIS:

Mini: 275 baht, 150 mins free call, 100 free SMS, 20 free MMS, 20 MB free internet
Medium: 519 baht, 250 mins free call, 250 free SMS, 30 free MMS, 500 MB internet
Max: 839 baht, 500 mins free call, 300 free SMS, 50 free MMS, unlimited internet

Click here to see package prices for DTAC.

DTAC Release Prices for iPhone 4

Despite the launch of the iPhone 4 tonight by DTAC, AIS and TrueMove, most customers do not yet know the price of the handset and the new data packages prices. Yesterday, we blogged the leaked prices from TrueMove, now we have just received a leak from the DTAC camp.

Here are the prices for the iPhone 4 handset only:
- 16GB Price 22,250 Baht (VAT included 23,807.50 Baht).
- 32GB Price 26,000 Baht (VAT included 27,820 Baht).

Prices for the iPhone 4 if you have a data package with DTAC:
- 16GB Price 20,650 Baht (VAT included 22,095.50 Baht).
- 32GB Price 23,900 Baht (VAT included 25,573 Baht).

As you can see, DTAC are selling the iPhone at exactly the same price as TrueMove as it is fixed by Apple. What will vary are the prices of the data packages.

The following are the new data packages for the iPhone 4 at DTAC:

1Phone S: 449 baht, 225 mins free call, 200 free SMS, 30 free MMS, 100 MB free DTAC internet
iPhone M: 580 baht, 250 mins free call, 300 free SMS, 50 free MMS, unlimited DTAC internet
iPhone L: 699 baht, 350 mins free call, 400 free SMS, 75 free MMS, unlimited DTAC internet

True Sends Invites for iPhone Launch

Late last night I finally received an email from TrueMove about the iPhone Launch. This is a result from registering on their website the other month. At the time they made a big thing about us being the first to know about release date and prices. As it turns out, TrueMove customers have been the LAST to receive their invites. (By the way, if you registered interest in an iPhone 4 with TrueMove but cannot see the email then please check your spam box straight away. Most people are reporting that is where theirs ended up.) I clicked on the link in the email to register and found out that the midnight launch tonight is already fully booked. The only other time slot with True is tomorrow 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Siam Paragon. But, that might go fast. That is what happened to the AIS launch. They are selling the iPhone over four days from 23-26 September. True is only doing two days, tonight and tomorrow.

As some of you know, I have already received an invitation from TrueMove (see here) to attend a seminar this afternoon at Siam Paragon. They said that if I attended that then I would be eligible to attend the official launch in the evening. But, that would mean going to a seminar from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m., having a five hour wait and then going back at 10 p.m. for the midnight launch! I guess I'm getting old as midnight launches don't really excite me any more. So, I registered again using this new invite to reserve an iPhone 4 which I can apparently pick up tomorrow at a more civilized time of 10 a.m. At the moment, we still haven't been told an official price, despite the leak yesterday, and still no official word about the data packages. But, it would seem that when we buy the iPhone 4 tomorrow they will move us to the new iPhone package which we are presuming is going to be more expensive.

Is this how it worked during the release in America? Was everyone in the dark about the price of the handset even on the day of the launch?

AIS have Sold their Quota of iPhone 4

It seems that within a matter of hours, AIS have managed to take pre-orders for their complete quota of iPhone 4 handsets. When I received my e-mail from them at 3.30 p.m. this afternoon, the 3 rounds on Friday 24th September 2010 were fully booked (see previous blog here). This only left the midnight launch on Thursday and this weekend. However, when I checked again at 4.30 p.m. this is what I saw. The four days of the AIS iPhone 4 launch was now fully booked. It is not known the number of handsets they had in their quota yet, but it looks like the first batch is sold out. It is not known when they will be re-stocking.

DTAC customers have also been contacted about reserving their handsets and given a choice of days to pick it up. That only leaves TrueMove, which is sadly my carrier. Not a peep out of them. Like many other people, I registered my interest in the iPhone 4 on their website. I received a few emails but nothing recently. Then I heard news that if you attended a seminar in the afternoon tomorrow you could, in theory, reserve an iPhone 4 handset. I wrote to them and managed to get an invitation (see here). However, there is very little information about what to expect tomorrow. Lots of complaints on the Thai forums about the TrueMove iPhone launch.

At least we know the prices as these were leaked ahead of time (see here). Apparently Apple had forbidden the three camps on announcing any details. I will update on Twitter @RichardBarrow as soon as I hear anything new.

Reserve an iPhone 4 with AIS

Last week I registered my interest in buying an iPhone 4 with AIS on their website. I only did so because I wanted to be informed quickly of the availability. I also registered for TrueMove last month. DTAC have a page as well but only for their customers. So far I have only heard back from AIS. In an email there was a link specifically for me to a page that gave me different options for going to buy an iPhone 4 from them. As you can see, as of 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday is already fully booked. The other timeslots might fill up quickly. I haven't heard anything from True yet even though I am a customer and even though I registered interest on their website. If they don't sort themselves out quickly, I might jump camps!

Official Prices for iPhone 4 in Thailand

With the official launch of the iPhone 4 in Thailand by DTAC, AIS and TrueMove at midnight on Thursday, everyone has been asking about the price. The three camps have been very quiet on this. Which is strange as they are asking us to reserve a handset without knowing the price first. Now there has been a leak of the graphic from True's website at the www.pdamobiz.com forum. This is not on True's website yet so they must have found it by going through the back door. We are expecting all three camps to sell the iPhone 4 at the same price. However, prices of data packages will vary. Interestingly, the iPhone 3GS 16GB and 32GB on True's website now has a "sold out" sign. They only have the new iPhone 3GS 8GB. But then, the price of the new iPhone 4 is very similar to the 3GS handsets so difficult to sell both.

Here are the prices for the iPhone 4 handset only:
- 16GB Price 22,250 Baht (VAT included 23,807.50 Baht).
- 32GB Price 26,000 Baht (VAT included 27,820 Baht).

Prices for the iPhone 4 if you have a data package with True:
- 16GB Price 20,650 Baht (VAT included 22,095.50 Baht).
- 32GB Price 23,900 Baht (VAT included 25,573 Baht).

I will update on Twitter @RichardBarrow as soon as I hear anything.

Invitation for True’s iPhone 4 Launch

This morning I received my invitation for TrueMove's iPhone 4 launch on Thursday 23rd September. It doesn't give much information. It is basically inviting me to attend a seminar on the topic of "iOS 4.1 Thailand" at 2 p.m. on Thursday. Apparently, if I go to the seminar then I am entitled to reserve an iPhone 4 handset which will be given out at the launch party starting that evening at 10 p.m. There is hardly any information or publicity about this event on the Internet. The Thai forums are buzzing with people who are confused and trying to find out what is happening. Some people are worried that if they don't go to the seminar they won't be able to attend the launch party in the evening. In addition, some are complaining that it is going to be a long day with the seminar starting at 2 p.m. and the launch event going on until midnight. No answers yet.

So far, there have been no press releases about the prices for the iPhone 4 handset. I guess we will find out on Thursday evening. DTAC and AIS are expected to have launch parties the same night. DTAC are expected to have theirs at the Jusco building and AIS at Central Plaza Ladphrao. DTAC customers that registered their interest in buying an iPhone have already received an SMS saying that they will be told details of prices soon. AIS have allowed people to register their interest as well but no news from them yet. True were the first to open a form for people to register an interest in the iPhone. They sent out a few weekly e-mails but nothing for a while now. The event is in two days and it looks like True won't be inviting the people who registered. So, what was the point of that?

I managed to get an invite via a posting on True's Facebook page which actually isn't there any more. For some reason it was quickly deleted (see here for original page). The following is what the page said:

ในวันที่ 23 กันยายน 2553 เวลา 14.00 - 17.00 น. ขอเชิญเป็นหนึ่งในคนพิเศษที่ เข้าร่วมงานสัมนาหัวข้อ iOS 4.1 Thailand Dev forum. ณ Paragon Hall, Siam Paragon

ซึ่งแขกผู้เข้าร่วมงานสัมนานั้น จะได้รับสิทธิพิเศษ นำบัตรเชิญเข้าร่วมงานสัมนาไปซื้อ iPhone 4 (16Gb,32Gb) ได้ในงานเปิดตัว Truemove iPhone 4 ที่เริ่ม 22.00 น.

ร่วมเป็นหนึ่งในคนพิเศษกับเราโดยการ
0. "Like" http://www.facebook.com/iPhonebyTruemove เพื่อเป็นช่องทางในการติดต่อกับเรา
1. ส่งเหตุผลว่าทำไมท่านควรเข้าร่วมฟังงานสัมนา iOS 4.1  กับเรา
2. ชื่อ นามสกุล เบอร์ติดต่อกลับ
3. ที่อยู่เพื่อเราจะส่งบัตรเข้าร่วมงานไปให้ท่าน

ที่ convergence.true@gmail.com

I wrote to True last Thursday to say I was interested in attending the seminar and launch party. A few hours later they wrote back asking for my mailing address and which iPhone model I wanted. Other than that, I don't know what to expect this Thursday. If you can read Thai, check this link where people are discussing this event. I will update on Twitter @RichardBarrow as soon as I hear anything.