Will the iPhone sell in the Philippines?
Posted Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 2:50 am by Miguel Paraz
Viewed 21005 times | Related entries: Gadgets
So Steve Jobs announced the iPhone. They say it will be available for Cingular Wireless only at first. Will our local 3G telcos carry it, or will they support units coming in through Apple dealers or the gray market?
Will our local cellphone users buy one? Perhaps if it’s good enough, it will make people go for a premium-priced smart phone. After all, people are willing to buy iPod instead of China OEM MP3 players.
Will the cellphone masa get to run Mac OS X? I can imagine the Apple shops getting even more traffic.
Related Entries:
52 Responses to “Will the iPhone sell in the Philippines?”
one more question…
Will greenhills start selling iPhone before Apple start distrubuting it in 2008 to Asia? hehe
I’m sure they will, like they do the Wii and other game devices in the gray market.
The question is, can you use it with Globe/Smart? Unless somebody cracks the firmware to break the Cingular SIM locking, this will just be a WiFi terminal like the Nokia N800.
As for the hardware capabilities, it’s been identified as a possible OEM/ODM by FIC.
[...] No, I don’t think the iPhone will sell here. Not yet. Unfortunately, the Philippines is simply not Apple’s target market. I give it probably 2-3 years before I’ll see it amongst ordinary Pinoys. [...]
I’m sure the Showbiz and Biznesspeople of the Philippines will be the first ones to get it from the US once it gets out in June. Hmm, but to use it here with a “cracked” Cingular lock? That’s the thing. It’ll just be a regular ipod then till someone figures out how to “remove” the code (Dvd john?)
More than an iPod since it was WiFi.
Wait a minute… will The Steve offer WLAN VoIP on the iPhone?
hopefully it improves, but the published specs is only edge 2.5… no 3g
cingular multi-band phones phones work in the Phils if unlocked. but Apple always makes it difficult for anyone to tamper with their products. If you break your iPod, for example, they make extra difficult and expensive to get it repaired.
i for one will get it, but some of the features will not be available if it will be unlocked here, ie visual voice mail. As for 3G, i dont mind not having that one, 3G doesnt add value to calls, and iPhone has wifi to boot.
napa trouble pa ata ang Apple iPhone
http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2007/corp_011007.html?CMP=ILC-001
Having WiFi but no 3G is no problem in the US where there are Municipal or telco-operated WiFi networks.
Another reason why iPhone v1 is only EDGE – that is what Cingular has in most places and their 3G is limited.
How to unlock the iPhone and use non-Cingular networks? I’m sure many people want to know.
hmmm.. 5 hours of battery life (talk/videos/browse).. think again hehehe
I guess if you just use the phone, you can charge it everyday.
Which reminds me: with Apple products, you can’t replace the batteries! Will they change that for the iPhone?
I think it is a little expensive because:
-2MP camera only
-65K screen resolution only
-5hrs of battery life
and that I’m worried of the risk of having another touchscreen broken like the SE P910i…
@ Miguel
When Apple ships iPhone units to Asia, obviously, it won’t be locked to Cingular anymore. :p
@AnP
No. It is locked to Cingular. Apple does not allow any other developer to create applications for the iPhone, for now that is. Apple is very careful with their products. They implement a lot of security measures in their devices. Like what Steve Jobs said, it runs OS X.
Well maybe some people will be happy to use it as a WiFi Internet access device + iPod.
But what if Apple decides to make it exclusive per country? For example, when it comes to the Philippines, it’s only for Globe subscribers, or exclusive to Smart subscribers?
If they do exclusive deals, then the telco that gets the deal would hopefully market it properly. Before, the exclusive contracts like that of the Microsoft Smart Phone wasn’t really marketed properly to the public, despite having a pretty good phone.
The “Smart Amazing Phone” / HTC Voyager/Tanager? I didn’t watch what was happening since I didn’t care of smartphones at that time. How did Smart handle it? Paging Ka Edong…
I hope someone in the philippines will be able to unlock this phone…I plan on buying this as soon as it is released.
Even if somebody unlocks the iPhone for Philippine telcos, the network-dependent features like visual voicemail probably won’t work. The local Apple distributors won’t be able to offer tech support, either.
[...] This looks like Cingular will have a special “iPhone plan.” But the Philippines is prepaid country – look how many people carry high end phones but use them on prepaid. So, if the iPhone sells in the Philippines, would it be a success under these conditions? Or will Pinoy iPhones be gray-market unlocked units? [...]
i think iphone will sell in the philippines. apple has a very good phone. i saw it on cnn. we filipinos are very hospitable to new technology and new products. i guess thats it.
i think iphone will not be much of a hit in the philippines. nokia pa rin tayo!!!!!!!
It going to be hit here in the Philippines…
especially here in Dumaguete..We got alot of Hotspots and we’re using Mac here…
i love iphone…how wish telecos in the philippines will try their best to work on it…il be looking forward for the filipino people..thank’x and have a nice day everyone!
if globe/smart will offer FREE wi-fi spots or like prepaid wi-fi’s (50/hr or lower) then iPhone will be a HIT.! but internet browsing + music + calls + sms ….uhmmm wi-fi spots must double their outlets…=)
iPhone now released… how long until it hits Greenhills… the Philippines, rather.
Wanna watch how iPhone gets disassembled? Look here… http://stream.ifixit.com/
people of Apple!! bring the iphone here in the philippines!!!!!!! and 2d major telecoms here,lower ur prices ha if ever u’ll offer the iphone!!! dont jst offer it for postpaid plans…anu ba..
dude, guys.. EVEN IF U HAVE an iphone here… u cannot well, at least to my knowledge.. it would be really hard to get it open-lined. my cousin from the usa came here just yesterday, and she has the iphone. we went everywhere, and they kept saying “sorry po. wala po kaming software at ung sim para ma open line.” or “sorry, we cannot do that” even when we went to apple centers, they said ” we can open line it, but many features MAY be DISABLED.”
yeah, although the iPhone has so many features, users of it in the Phils. will not be able to use all of it. too bad..
i hope iphone will be used hir in philippines.. its cool!
but i think its impossible coz iphone has a lot of features that phil. cant accomodate;(
they must double wi-fi spots hir in the philippines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
di pa nga dumarating sa pinas dami nyu ng sinasabi pabayaan nyu munang dumating dyan i hope na magagawan nila yan ng paraan ok trust na lang kayu!
oh man. iPhone isnt in pinas yet? i was going to ask my dad to get me one (since hes at pinas on vacation) cause its not in canada yet. so sad. might as well go to the us since it aint that far
I’m now using iphone in cebu! works great on globe!
ive been waiting 4 dah iPHONE 2 come here in Philippines.. Coz i would like to have a phone made by apple.. Unfortunately,, the gift of my dad would be posponed since the iPHONE is not yet out in the market..
OMG..I love to have the iPhone soon. I know Filipinos can make it; to accomodate the cutie gadget. Though it’s very expensive, It’s really worthed cos it came from the leading brand. plus lot’s of nerdies is on the go to unlock the said phone. As like now, Jon Johansen, release the window utility called “iPhone actication Server”.
Many people are already using iphone around the world because its already unlocked/hacked so that it can be used outside Cingular or AT&T.
Hey guys, whats going on…. if anyone who’s interested in buying iphone. please check out my ebay i have 8gb and 4gb available..Iphones are going for 590. check it out limited time offer… any question email me at mr_kemikal@yahoo.com iphone is unlocked and good to go will work for globe and smart… free bonuses if you buy now…
http://myworld.ebay.com/mr_kemikal/
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmr_kemikal
Everybody focuses on the material things which in fact will not last a Century. If a thing would be still existing after a Millenium then I would say that that is Essential — what is worth dying is worth living… Every one has an Option why not choose the Best — surely the one which lasts more than anything else. =)
[...] I don’t think the iPhone will sell here. Not yet. Unfortunately, the Philippines is simply not Apple’s target market. I [...]
i don’t think that this phone is gonna survive philippines…yes there’s an ipod on it and everything but what about the internet sevice???that phone here in the us was sold by at&t by 599 to 600 dollars or so but in the passing months…this phones went from 599 to 299 dollars…why???because it stinks it not that good enough to the people here then why bother buying this stupid phone????
just bought the iPhone from a mall in Manila. Have been using it for days using my old Globe sim. I haven’t encountered any problems yet. Battery lasts for a whole day, but of course im on the web all the time..lol
Great for people who’s addicted to internet surfing.
im now looking forward to downloading applications. Any suggestions and tips?
to all who has an iphone, did you buy it already unlocked? or you had it unlocked here in the philippines. if so where? cos i was planning on having my sister buy it for me in the states and she said that its unlocked. help please. thanks!
I just bought an iphone,can i use it in the Phil using globe?its not unlocked.
check out this girl at ebay. im not sure if i can mention her username. she unlocked my phone for me and gave me lots of tips on using mine.
if ur looking where to buy iphone visit http://www.cgena.com
hey u dont need to jailbreak it because they have allowed iphone to use other sims because of its popularity and demand in other countries…
Everybody think!! walang Sim an IPHONE, an nakita r nin jo Fake…………….
Yung kare-release lang na iPhone 2.0, the newer slimmer faster version, is drastically cheaper!!!! Kung dati ang price ng iPhone is $400-$500, ngayon it will sell for $199-$299 dito sa US. Ang laki ng ibinagsak noh? Pero di pa rin ako bibili, meron naman akong cellphone eh.
why dont you guys unlock it yourself? That’s what Im goin to do..just waitin for the 3G version this July
Can anyone tell me how to turn off preedictive texting? It’s driving me nuts, I can’t text using my usual short cuts and it’s predicting long words even if I just type two letters!
I thought this was worth it because of surfing but considering how much Globe charges for GPRS and the promo does not allow shifting to time based browsing, the only positive thing about this is negated. This is really annoying, will try to return or sell my Iphone, I can’t stand it anymore!!
Man I can’t wait for the new iPhone 3G S, my iPhone 1st gen really needs a replacer.
Add your comments