Archive for the ‘broadband’ Category

« Older Entries

Maxis Mission:Possible

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Wow, looks like Maxis is releasing a number of new products/services lately.  Hot on the heels of its new Mobile Jukebox/Love Meter service, comes a Facebook interactive social game, called Maxis:Mission Possible.  As its name implies, this is a Facebook game in the veins of other games such as Farmville, etc.  More details in the press release below.  Maxis also recently launched a broadband package promotion offering a free USB modem, details below.

Maxis offers Something for Everyone on Facebook

Maxis launches interactive social game, celebrity interviews & an online forum

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – 11 March 2010: Maxis Berhad (‘Maxis’), Malaysia’s leading communications provider, recently launched Maxis Mission: Possible, an interactive social game built for Facebook. Maxis Mission: Possible is an extension of the Maxis Broadband campaign, ‘Something for Everyone’, and incorporates the campaign characters – The Blogger, Traveller, Smart Shopper, Explorer, Online Buddies, Gamer and Entertainment Enthusiast.

It is a three episode adventure game that sets players on the hunt for stolen top secret data. As secret agents, players are jetted off to various locations to search for hidden items. Players can play as any of the seven different campaign characters, each with unique advantages and disadvantages.

Matthew Willsher, Maxis Chief Marketing Officer, said, “With mobile data usage growing rapidly in Malaysia, Maxis’ ‘Something for Everyone’ broadband campaign forms an important part of our wider efforts in facilitating seamless and affordable communication and information in the virtual space. The extension to Facebook is a natural move as there are now more than 5.2 million Malaysians on it. We are continuously exploring other engagement opportunities on social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

“We are pleased to make this foray into Facebook to offer our customers a free, simple and fun game that reflects our conviction that mobile broadband has something to offer everyone. In Maxis Mission: Possible players can pick any one of the seven characters which they identify with, and explore the maps for hidden items. It’s a fun way of bringing the Maxis Broadband experience to life.”

Maxis Mission: Possible offers three different maps to players – The Music Festival, The Smugglers Island and The Airport. Players who are able to navigate the maps and find the hidden items in the shortest time will be rewarded with prizes which include a holiday for two to Gold Coast, Australia, iPhones, BlackBerry smartphones and cash prizes. The game is the first full-fledged Facebook application by Maxis, and was created in collaboration with Integricity Corporation Sdn Bhd and Mindshare. The Maxis Mission: Possible contest ends on 25 March 2010. Customers may visit http://www.facebook.com/maxis to begin their adventure and sign up to be Maxis fans.

Besides the game, the Maxis Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/maxis) will also be updated with fresh content in line with the ‘Something for Everyone’ campaign. Customers may sign up as fans to learn about the internet habits of Malaysia’s most popular personalities such as Sarah Lian, Radio DJ Ean, Daphne Iking and Dato’  Lee Chong Wei. The page also has a discussion forum, ‘Talkbox’, which encourages participants to share information including useful tips, reviews, and recommendations for shopping, blogging, entertainment and travelling.

In addition, Maxis recently launched a new broadband promotion which offers customers a FREE modem when they subscribe to the 1.5GB, 3GB and 6GB packages. These three packages come in a special promotional price from as low as RM48, RM68 and RM98 per month, respectively. Visit your nearest Maxis Store or maxis.com.my/broadband for more details. The promotion is valid until 30 April 2010.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tags: , ,
Posted in telecomunications, wireless broadband | 3 Comments »

TM To Launch HSBB On 24 March

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

TM is reported to be launching the high speed broadband (HSBB) service come 24th of March.  That’s March, of this year, 2010, before you start making sarcastic comments like “which year”, TM says.  TM will launch the service at Dataran Merdeka – a bit ironic since we are still not guaranteed freedom nor independence from TM’s wired broadband monopoly after all these years, don’t you think?  The PM himself will launch the service, in conjunction with the launching of the National Broadband Initiative.

TM’s CEO says that the HSBB service will be “premium service, but not premium pricing.“.  Let’s certainly hope so.  We are already falling behind in terms of world standards – LTE/4G wireless broadband trials in the US has already surpassed the “best effort” speeds of HSBB – and this from a wireless service!  Oh, and those 4 areas covered at launch may be called “high density” areas – hence the choice for initial launch, but the more cynical amongst us will say that they were chosen because they were “affluent” areas, able to afford the service.  It looks like the dream of a high speed wired broadband service will indeed remain in the realms of the rich, just like the wired fibre broadband service launched recently by Time.com.  Oh well…

As usual, TM’s own website doesn’t carry this press release or press statement, but we’re not in the least bit surprised, are we?  Go on, write in with your thoughts – I know you’ve got a lot of snide ones to make!

Source.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tags: , ,
Posted in broadband, wired broadband | 13 Comments »

Get A Blackberry 9700 Bold 2 At RM 1,299!

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

A “crazy deal!” says DiGi, only I’m not too sure.  RM 700 off, they say.  Alas, you have to sign away 2 years of your life to DiGi, committing a minimum of RM 58 monthly (although you can get a small discount monthly for auto-debiting your credit card), for 24 months.  It seems that packages with long contract periods are slowly being pushed on to us by celcos in this country.  I’ve always been against this, unless it’s a darned good deal for the consumer (I’ve yet to come across one, by the way).

In this case, I don’t think the RM 700 discount warrants a 24 month contract – I foresee Blackberry Internet Services (BIS) fees, like all other telecommunication services fees, to fall over time, and if it does, your contract fees do not get revised as a result.  RM 700 rebate is not a lot; especially if you sign up and encounter poor service (not that I’m saying that DiGi’s BIS services are not up to par).  Coupled with the fact that we don’t keep our phones for very long, based on my anecdotal evidence, this may not be such a good deal if you think long and hard about it.

Click here for details.  The roadshow is ongoing in MidValley Megamall from today until this weekend.  There are shorter contracts as well, but obviously for a smaller rebate on the cost of the handset, whose recommended retail price is RM 1,999.

And can someone tell DiGi’s web team to update the main consumer Blackberry section to say that the 9700 aka Bold 2 is already available, since it’s on sale at the roadshow?  It still says “coming”…duh…

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in h/w, mobile phone, promotion, telecomunications, wireless broadband | 9 Comments »

TM Revises Streamyx Early Termination Fees

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

You may not be aware that nowadays most Internet broadband deals from wired and wireless service providers come with a minimum subscription period.  I find this very disturbing because if your products and services are good, there is no need to force this upon consumers, and I’m wondering where Malaysia’s consumer protection authorities are on this issue.  Or does this organisation only exist in heaven?  Perhaps consumer protection is not in the Malaysian business vocabulary?

Anyway, TM revised its Streamyx early termination fee (popularly known as “ETF” in the US) for customers who break their contract within the minimum contract period.  Previously, it was calculated on the basis of how many months the contract had to run, multiplied by the contracted amount per month.  For example, if you signed a 12 month contract, cancelled it at the end of the 3rd month, and you committed to spend RM 100 monthly, the ETF was RM 900 (ie. 9 months X RM 100/month).  Now, everything has been made simpler – just refer to the table below.

RM350 one time charge for Streamyx standard package
RM600 one time charge for Streamyx Cool UNI Pack
RM600 one time charge for BBPC Staff Package
RM350 one time charge for Smart Savers and Super Upgrade Deals

So, for people who cancel early and who have got a long time to go before contract completion, they save.  Otherwise, they lose.  You can’t win them all.

And where’s that consumer rights protection authority again?

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tags: , ,
Posted in broadband, news, wired broadband | 6 Comments »

TM “Blockbuster” Deals Unclothed

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Ah, remember the blockbuster deals I wrote about on Monday?  TM has decided to come clean about it (it’s on Streamyx’s website as well), a full two days after it was teasingly unveiled.  Not that it’s a big deal and not that many will give more than an exasperated hoot about it.  But here it is, from the horse’s mouth.

The only difference that I can is that for the same price, you now get a WiFi modem, a DECT phone and free calls to TM fixed lines nationwide (everyone’s going mobile these days, so TM’s fixed line infrastructure must be experiencing a load of only 0.000001% during peak hours, I think!).  And they lock you in for 12 months, with a RM 350 penalty fee for early termination, which more than covers the cost of the WiFi modem and DECT phone (whether these have to be returned or not, I am unsure).  Click here to read the FAQ/T&Cs in its entirety.

I think that if you make a lot of TM fixed line to TM fixed line calls, especially outstation ones, this may be a good deal.  Otherwise, it’s a “meh” as usual, as far as “deals” go in Malaysia.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tags: , ,
Posted in broadband, promotion, telecomunications, wired broadband | 6 Comments »

« Older Entries