Singtel and Its iPhone Craze

What is the hype with iPhone? When Singtel announces it's launch of iPhone this 22 August (the first operator to bring this phone into Singapore), I least expected that people would line up to get the phone just to be the first few to lay their hands on an iPhone. There was a queue to get the phone hours before the 12am launch time and finally one boy became the first person to get it at the stroke of midnight for his girlfriend.


Least that I expect that I will be one of them in the queue to get the phone too since I am not a Singtel subscriber. So, today, I found myself joining the crowd and became a proud owner of the 'I Got iPhone' handbag as I signed up a Singtel line (iOne Plus) just to get the phone at SGD848 for a friend in Malaysia who found out that Singtel is the only operator that did not sim locked the device. A bit pricier than United States but Singapore is the closest place to get this phone.


After toying it with the phone for a while, I realised why I for one will not consider buying this phone. One is the inability to switch sim cards easily as one has to poke a hole at the top before opening the sim container. Without the needle, my sim card is as good as stuck on the phone, reason why it made sense for US and Australia operators to sim lock the device. Singtel meanwhile did not take the trouble to do so thus making the device usable on any numbers, encouraging even non-Singtel numbers to get the phone. The battery is non-removable making the task of replacing batteries one that can only be done by sending the phone to a service centres.

The phone is only 2 mega-pixels and the photo quality seem to be quite blurry especially when comparing with Sony Ericsson's 5 megapixel phones. Videos cannot be recorded using this phone and MMS cannot be sent. Not of high priority but will be good to have on a phone.


However, the phone does win my approval in terms of the incredible touch screen that allows websites to be browsed fully across it's large screen and zoomed easily using the touch of fingers. This means loads of YouTube that can be easily viewed clearly through this screen. The GPS features are also good allowing its users to search for location and be pinpointed it's location when they are lost. Last but not least is the phones easy integration to iTunes allowing one to download as many songs as they want into the 8GB or 16GB memory. I also liked the phones' repository of applications that allows users to read iBooks, play games and install productivity softwares.

I am still not convinced to buy an iPhone but owning one for a short while today made me hip and happening especially when I can show off the sleek interface and thin structure of the phone. The buyers are buying its brand, not its functions as I am sure a lot of its functions can be improved. An iMac or iPod owner will most likely get it due to brand loyalty, something Apple has successfully done to the people of the world. Those who did not own iMac wil get this as a status symbol and to make themselves look good. All in all, Apple has done a good job branding their products with quality to boot. A good move by Apple is to open it's API for the development of more applications to be downloaded onto iPhone making it one of the phones where designers and programmers will grow to like and there will be more things for consumers to try on their iPhone. I for one would enjoy free applications on my phone. It is no wonder the line to get this phone has not stopped since day one.