If you don’t know yet, the Philippines is considered as the `SMS capital of the world.’ This little distinction gives us Pinoys some insight on cell phones. We’ve had quite a number of advanced value-added mobile services like G-cash or Smart Money. We buy and sell cell phones like candy.
My opinion: The iPhone is not for Pinoys.
- It’s too expensive. US$499 and US$499 (somewhere around Php30k & Php40k) is too much for a lot of Filipinos. The fact is, you hardly see people with Treos, N90s or blackberries here. The price range is exclusively for the high end market.
- It doesn’t have 3G. I am told that 3G is not prevalent in the US. Here, my tech buddies rely on it for mobile Internet. They usually use a bluetooth-enabled laptop that connects to a bluetooth cellphone with 3G. The internet experience has been pretty good and is much more practical than PLDT weRoam or Globe Visibility. You get 30 minutes of decent Internet connectivity for 10 pesos (20 US cents).
- It will take too long to be released here. The iPhone is slated for release in Asia in 2008. That’s one whole year of waiting. I’m pretty sure that by that time Sony-Ericsson and Nokia while have released more affordable alternative devices. Their goal would be to beat the iPhone before it comes out. With an established distribution network here, Nokia, SE and the other companies already have an enormous advantage.
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.
BTW, Angelo asks about the Cisco Trademark problem for the iPhone. It seems that there is already an arrangement but Cisco still sues.
January 10th, 2007 at 10:20 am
[...] Apple has joined the mobile war with the announcement that confirms the rumors last year. Apple is going to release the iPhone this year. The blogsphere is abuzz with reactions, from the ecstatic to the cautious. I agree with Jozzua’s comments. [...]
January 11th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
[...] But I’ve already read several shortcomings of the iPhone as well as counterarguments to those. And I’ve noticed another reason why, specifically for Filipinos. [...]
January 14th, 2007 at 6:44 am
i was one of the many who were glued to their seats awaiting the Mac Keynote- i had to read the play by play via mac rumors. During the announcement, my gut reaction was to mail my wife telling her that we are buying apple stock- this was BEFORE i heard the part where the phone will be exclusively on cingular, a company i HATE due to my own experience with them- this was BEFORE i heard of the 5-6 bill price tag, and before i knew that the phone will REQUIRE a 2 year contract. i love the phone, and think it will sell, however it, like the countless 500 and up phones are for a niche market. most of my friends cringe at the thought of spending 300 on a phone when you can literally get one for FREE here with a contract. This made me wonder about the philippine market- a lot of people i know who are based in the phils REFUSE to go with the ipod because of the proprietary file formats, inability to share music (without a hack) etc. i picture the iphone to fall into the same trap. I could be wrong but it seeems that the mac is not as ubiquitous as the PC in the phils- this alone could be an indicator that the iphone wont make it big.
September 22nd, 2007 at 9:55 pm
if u gonna buy iphone u have to have an desktop or a laptop cause iphone doesnt transfer file via bluetooth….
October 19th, 2007 at 1:32 am
Hello
I have Brand new and Unlocked ready to use Apple iPhone 8GB Phones.
PRICE: $300 USD per unit
SPECIAL OFFER ” BUY 5 UNITS AND GET 2 UNITS FREE” + FREE SHIPPING.
In the box:
iPhone
Stereo Headset
Dock
Dock Connector to USB Cable
USB Power Adapter
Documentation
Cleaning/polishing cloth
To purchase the iPhones ,pls get back to me with these details below :
How many units do you want to buy ?
Where are you located ?
How soon do you want it ?
Feel free to contact me via e-mail at : datadltd {at} gmail.com
Cheers
John
October 19th, 2007 at 4:45 am
Hi John. An advice, don’t leave your email adds around comments or forums. Spam bots harvest emails and automatically send you SPAM email messages. I changed your email’s format for your benefit.
By the way, would you like to post an article of at the Philippine Cell phones website? You can basically tell us about your personal experiences on the iPhone, where you sell it and how people can buy from you. Just send me and email at jozzua {at} gmail.com and some pictures to show to people you really have an iPhone.
October 20th, 2007 at 8:34 am
in case people are wondering about ‘unlocked’ iphones, i know some folks whose unlocked iphones got bricked after the last update.
once you unlock it, you also will never be able to get apple support for it.
October 20th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Yes, someone suggested that if you unlock your iPhone and want it replaced by Apple, make sure to fry the circuits first. Plug it in a socket or something, so Apple support can’t tell that you unlocked it.
So do you have an iPhone already Mike?
October 21st, 2007 at 8:03 am
waiting on 2nd gen. although i do want the new ipod ^^
October 24th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
weh…you guys are really talkin’ tech…weh,…oh, and Jozzua…i’m intrigued by your fluence…
_wahahaha!!!why am I even here????bwahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 29th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
update on the ipod…just got it and all i can say is the ipod touch is gadget porn.
October 31st, 2007 at 6:09 am
gadget porn eh..
January 14th, 2008 at 8:46 am
whatever… iphone still is soo cool… been witing for its release this 2nd qtr. surely it will rock the nation…hehe
January 17th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
my sister both a 16 gig iphone,and it’s quite boring actually. iphone, for me is just only a luxury phone and not very practical for filipinos.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:31 am
1. Too expensive for this country
2. Who needs an iPhone when you’ve got both a good iPod and a nice phone which are probably half the price of one iPhone
3. Yeh, its just for luxury looks