So, the prepaid Blackberry 8520 packages offer from Hotlink has now gone live. Click here for the Blackberry 8520 microsite on the Hotlink website. As I posted two days ago, Maxis, via its Hotlink prepaid service, will be introducing Blackberry prepaid packages, specifically, four of them – see below. The monthly premium one has gone live, as I have mentioned here; the remaining three packages will go “live” by October 20th, which presumably means that the first 8520s will be available. Strangely however, the newspaper advertisement (see below) states that the 8520 “is here”, whatever “is here” means. I’ve pre-registered for the prepaid package, but until now have not received any confirmation to go collect my Curve. This is getting to be confusing.
These packages are available for all Blackberry models, not just the 8520. As usual, please do read the fine print:
- Social, Messaging & Weekly Premium pckages available from 20 October 2009. Premium package available now.
- Subscribers can enjoy usage up to 100MB for Social and Messaging packages, up to 50MB for Weekly Premium package and up to 1.5GB for Premium package. Subsequent data usage will be charged at a pay per use rate of 1 sen per kB (peak) or 0.5 sen per kB (off peak).
Now, I don’t know what control mechanisms Maxis is putting in place to ensure that prepaid subscribers do not end up paying thousands of RM monthly should they exceed their data quota, so caveat emptor – the safest avenue is to have as little credit as possible in your prepaid account, so that even if you blow your monthly/weekly quota in one day, at least you know, because you’ll be disconnected due to insufficient credit when you try to do more. To be fair to Maxis though, at the Hotlink brand refresh launching, they did mention that alerts will be sent to the customer when the data quota is close to being exceeded.
And don’t get too excited about the price yet. It’s not that you pay RM 899 up front to purchase the 8520. You need to pay RM 1,199, then a “rebate” of RM25 monthly will be credited into your prepaid account over a 12 month period. So, this prepaid package is actually a postpaid package, let’s call a spade, a spade here. To enjoy the rebate, you are required to be active for 12 months. I’ll leave it to you to enjoy reading more fine print below. The FAQ also tells you your entitlement in terms of data usage for each of the packages.
By the way, if any Maxis personnel is reading this, please do proof read the FAQ – there are glaring grammatical errors 
FAQ on Prepaid Blackberry Curve 8520 device Subsidy |
||
| 1. | How can I be entitle for the Prepaid Blackberry Curve 8520 Subsidy? | |
|---|---|---|
| Blackberry Curve 8520 MUST be purchase from Maxis at RRP and rebate of RM300 will be given monthly across the contract period of 12 months with condition that Prepaid BIS subsidy subscription either Monthly BIS Premium – RM98 , Monthly BIS Messaging – RM28 or Monthly BIS Social – RM28 MUST be Subscribe and Maintain Active within the 12 months contract period. | ||
| 2. | When will the rebate be given? | |
| The rebate will be given at the end of each monthly Prepaid BIS subscription period across the 12 months contract prior to subscription renewal . RM25 for 12 months (RM300) | ||
| 3. | What happen if the Blackberry service is not renewed within the 12 months contract? | |
| If monthly Prepaid BIS subsidy renewal subscription fail at the end of the subscription period. Renewal will be auto retry for 5 days to continue rebate subscription. If Prepaid BIS subsidy subscription is not renewed within the 5 days grace period. Subsidy contract is breach and rebate will be void. | ||
| 4. | Can I continue to enjoy the Prepaid BIS subsidy after the 5 days grace period ( i.e. top up to reactivate the BIS Services) | |
| Rebate will be discontinued if the Prepaid BIS subsidy subscription is not renewed within the 12month period. ( I.e. Rebate will not be given if the renewal takes effective after the 5 days grace period) | ||
| 5. | How do I check if I have received the RM25 each month? | |
| You can check via your e-statement via the Hotlink website. | ||
| 6. | Can I transfer the rebate to my other prepaid account? | |
| Yes you can but you must ensure that you have sufficient credit when the renewal takes place. | ||
Like I said, caveat emptor. Well, looks like my ambitions of owning and using a Blackberry are over. I don’t like this at all.
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Now I know why the device price is cheaper than what offered by telco in Indonesia!
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artic_xp Reply:
October 3rd, 2009 at 11:15 am
1.5 gb only? Yucks!
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 pm
@artic, haha, there’s always a catch!
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Wait. I heard Celcom is launching it at RM 888.
No commitment. A true prepaid. Wait till next week
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 3rd, 2009 at 12:04 pm
@ray, while I really want that to be true, I doubt it’s the case, but I’ll wait to be shocked. I can’t believe the margin on the phone is so high until there can be a RM300+ difference in pricing between Celcom and Maxis. I would think that the RM 888 pricing would come with some commitment, ie. like Maxis – pay RM 1,199 retail, and get the rebate credited into your account over 12 months
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Really? 888 from Celcom?
That’s is really affordable for a BlackBerry.
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 3rd, 2009 at 12:05 pm
@Zaidi, yeah, really good price. I’d get one if it’s without commitment.
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ai said , RM888 i like it ….price war the best.
as i know maxis and celcom is very good tight company.
i believe the price is not much different.
the term and condition is like that one , always favour on big giant company,
for me i used to it……just to avoid , but i may consider.
i realy really like keypad phone
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 3rd, 2009 at 12:08 pm
@andy, ya, not surprisingly the consumer rarely wins in Malaysia.
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dad, after reading your writing and even hotlink site.
i still dont know how much and pricing for prepaid user , can you tell us more about it.
eg. montly will be deducted RM28 from our credit , is RM28 is paying what services , or just rental only ?
eg2. the RM25 is what about ? mean monthly topup for us?
is this phone , ready to collect in maxis ?
thank
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 3rd, 2009 at 12:11 pm
@andy,
(1) pay RM 1,199 for Curve 8520. Get RM25 monthly rebate credited into your Hotlink account. To enjoy full RM300 rebate, you need to be using the Blackberry service for 12 months.
(2) RM 28 or RM 98 deducted from your prepaid account in advance, every month.
I don’t think the phone is available yet.
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Called maxis this morning. They can,t even tell when it is available.
B
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Guys, check out http://www.xpax.com.my. 888 for Curve 8520
88x for
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 5th, 2009 at 12:25 am
@zaidi, yeah, Celcom just updated their website. When I pre-registered some weeks ago, there wasn’t any details. I think they were waiting for Maxis to unveil their offerings, then probably undercut them a little to get some cheap publicity!
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is not a 3G phone right>>> down..
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 12:05 am
@Anna, for that price, no.
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would like to ask whether can I use my existing number for my Main and Supplementary numbers?
Cos I went to two places and get 3 different answers from 3 different staff and this pissed me off. First I went to bandar puteri puchong, and the staff told me that I cant use my existing number if I wanna take the BB Curve 8520 package. Then I head to Sunway Pyramid, asked a lady at the counter, she abit blur, and told me that only my MAIN number can be used while I need to register new supplementary number( which I already have another 2). Then came this guy from the back and willing to assist me, and told me that both Main & Supplementary can use existing number for this package. I just told them to double check with their manager, but they said they have work there long time and knows everything. Well, if they know everything, why can I have 3 different asnwers. Would appreciate if you could assist on this. tq
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 3:36 pm
@DK, have you tried calling the customer service line? You would probably want to take down the name of the person attending to you so that you can quote them if you discover that you’ve been given the wrong information. Are you an existing Maxis customer? If you’re already having so much headache, perhaps it’s easier to port into DiGi, which also offers the BIS service? Or Celcom?
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heyy..the RM28 per month why it still say “coming soon”..isnt it release yet??? n when will it b release??
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
April 22nd, 2010 at 4:45 pm
@bill, I’ve stopped tracking when they will make this available. I think we may never see it!
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