Obviously, if you’ve been following recent developments, you know this is not the case. But at the rate that MAS has been advertising this in the past few days, I wouldn’t be surprised if people looking at the advertisements in the newspapers as well as pictures that have appeared in websites (for example, the official Malaysia Airlines employees blog) thought that this was a special iPhone/iPod Touch application, judging by the number of iPhones appearing in them.
See the full page advert in today’s Star newspaper, as well as pictures of the stewardesses all holding iPhones to demonstrate the service below.
However, if you read closely, the flymas.mobi website actually supports almost all phones.
All major operating systems and manufacturers are supported including Blackberry (RIM), the iPhone, Android Google phone, Symbian (Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson) and Windows Mobile (HTC, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson). flymas.mobi supports any screen above 128 pixels.
I guess it’s a little worrying when companies resort to using the wrong devices to advertise a service that is in fact available on all devices. It’s only a disservice to themselves if people get the wrong idea and not use the service because they get the impression from the ads that the service is only supported for the device used in the advertisements.
On the other hand, it shows just how popular the iPhone is in Malaysia, and how it is currently commanding the mindshare of the masses. If this is not a worrying signal for the likes of Nokia and the rest, I don’t know what is.
WOW – you are sharp = a picture is better than a thousand words – only the Iphone can access flymas.mobi – an oversight by the ad agency
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
December 10th, 2009 at 10:40 am
@readycompanies, I must be too free!
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I dunno but, in the calendar year of 2009 so far, I’ve seen a grand total of 1 person toting an iPhone in public. Maybe I’m mixing with the wrong crowd, or, iPhone-type people are discreet, sophisticated individuals, unlike the Nokia/Samsung/SE rabble.
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
December 10th, 2009 at 10:41 am
@tympg, really? If you had met me earlier, you would have met a person who carried two iPhones!
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It is there for a purpose, as Maxis is the official partner for this MAS mobile booking launching. That why u see iphone in their advertisement…but i doubt why need to partner with telco since anybody with mobile phone can access it…
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
December 10th, 2009 at 10:41 am
@JC, that is a rather silly reason to be using the iPhone exclusively in the ads…
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i still cant afford to travel in MAS… only Air Asia….
hope Air Asia , also can use iphone to do booking…
especially during the big offer …my NB cant even go into the wedsite….
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
December 10th, 2009 at 10:41 am
@andy, I don’t even have enough money to travel nowadays!
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maybe the site only looks good on the iPhone… like most sites do
Is there an official number of iPhones that Maxis have brought in. I heard the last order was 200,000. Any truth to that?
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
December 10th, 2009 at 10:43 am
@Ben, haha, it’s a text based site, so will look the same on any phone.
As for the numbers, I honestly don’t know. Unless we can see some documentation, no one will know for sure, apart from some top dogs within Maxis. But whatever it is, it is a drop in the ocean in their overall business, judging by their quarterly profits.
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what ever it is, I still cannot afford both, MAS & Iphone…pity me…
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I am already suffering from Iphone overdose, and I don’t even own one!
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
@Jack, time to get one then!!
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To all: watch for Google Android phones: they will bring better than iPhone functionalities and user experience at a much lower price over the next few years. I expect that Android phones will capture 90% of the phone market and that they will sell for below 100 USD within 3-5 years (hardware price with no contract needed).
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