Posts Tagged ‘blackberry’

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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…

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

Apple Grows US Smartphone Market Share

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

In the latest quarterly report by ComScore, Apple and Android are seen growing their market share, with Android doubling its market share from a pitiful 2.5% to a not-so-pitiful 5.2%, which is a doubling of market share, while Apple’s share rose by around 1%.  So, who is the king?  It’s still the RIM Blackberry, with a whopping 42% share, and Apple trails far behind with 25% in second place.  RIM may not be making a lot of noise in the marketplace unlike Android, but it is certainly enjoying a status in the US, just like Nokia is doing the same internationally.  And with RIM now moving into the consumer space, even in Malaysia (with three major celcos backing it), I think the other big boys have got something to worry about.

Source.

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Posted in h/w, mobile phone, research report | 1 Comment »

Celcom Storms (2) Ahead [UPDATED]

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Well, it looks like Celcom has managed to deliver another sucker punch to Maxis yet again, this time, with its earlier launching of the RIM Blackberry Storm 9520, otherwise known as the Storm 2.  Hopefully the Storm 2 will have none of the problems and issues which plagued the original Storm.  If not for the Apple iPad, this would have been one of the devices on my shopping list this year, but alas, I only have a very limited amount of money to spend, what with the children’s overseas education coming up, etc.

So, if you’re one of the lucky 50 150 to show up at the launching tomorrow at Chinoz in KLCC, you’re entitled to 50% off the retail price of the 9520, whatever Celcom deems this to be (I have no idea what the RRP for the 9520 is).  It also probably requires you to sign a significant portion of your adult life away to Celcom on one of their plans in return for this special favour of being able to buy the 9520 at 50% off.

The advertisement is in today’s Star newspaper, page N9.  We now await Maxis’ counter punch, if they’re still standing!  Come on Maxis!

[UPDATE] A reader has pointed me in the right direction to be enlightened.  Click here for the low down on this offer.  As expected, one needs to sign up with a contract with Celcom to enjoy this offer.  The offer price is RM 888 while the full retail price is supposed to be RM 1,988.  Now, I may be rather stupid at math, but even I can tell that the RM 888 is more than 50% off the retail price, is it not?  So, what could be a better deal than this just before the Chinese New Year?  Nothing, I tell you!  Now, don’t go trampling over any grandmothers and grandfathers as you rush there for your unit tomorrow, ‘k?

And if Celcom or their PR representatives are reading this, can you make this blogger happy by extending a unit to him as well, without him having to brave the maddening crowds during Friday’s rush hour in the heart of the city?  ;-)

Thanks, wilson lim!

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Posted in h/w, mobile phone | 8 Comments »

Blackberry Storm 2 aka 9520 On Celcom Soon

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Don’t we just love it when all three major celcos in the country try to vie for a share of our wallets?  Celcom, which claims to have 52% of the Blackberry market in Malaysia, as well as claiming to be the largest Blackberry seller in Southeast Asia, has advertised the availability of the 9520, otherwise known as the Storm 2, the successor to the not-so-successful Storm 1.  In a newspaper advertisement today, Celcom confirmed its (future) availability, as part of its annual sales campaign.  According to the Star, the 9520 will be available in early February, at a price yet to be announced; the packages are probably the standard ones where one can choose from the Executive plan 50, with a minimum RM50 monthly commitment, plus the Celcom Broadband Advance plan valued at RM 98, making a minimum monthly commitment of RM 148, to enjoy some small subsidy on the retail price of the phone.  I think the contract period is two years, as is usually the case with Celcom plans where the price of the mobile phone is subsidised.

Celcom claims to be targetting a sales volume of 70,000 units of various Blackberry models this calendar year, which translates to around 5,833 units monthly – difficult to say whether this is realistic or not without any sales reference numbers for other popular handsets.  But I am guessing this is all based on past performance, so it most likely has some basis in fact.  It’s nice to know that RIM is also pushing aggressively into the consumer space in Malaysia, just like it is in other parts of the world – it means consumers now have a rich picking of mobile operating systems to choose from.

There is still no word on when and whether Maxis and DiGi will be offering the Storm 2.

What do you think about the Storm 2?  Are you getting one?  I’m guessing the price will be in the region of RM 2,299 to RM 2,499.

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Posted in h/w, mobile phone | No Comments »

Celcom Launches Blackberry Bold 9700

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

Well, this is not too bad, actually.  Less than a month after RIM launched the Blackberry 9700, aka Bold 2 in Singapore, Malaysians are now able to enjoy it as well.  We’re not *that* far down the food chain at all, perhaps ranking slightly above Burkina Faso in importance, I think.  Celcom, most likely in conjunction with its annual sale, is offering 150 units of the 9700 at a special price of RM 988 tomorrow only, from 430pm to 730pm (or earlier, if half of KL turns up to buy), if one signs up for (24 months?) one of their plans/packages at a minimum of RM 148 monthly (thanks, mamakap!).

Thanks to alvin, my good friend, for alerting me in the shoutbox as well!  So, what are you waiting for?  Head on down here for all the juicy details.  Personally, I’m more inclined to get a Storm 2 myself, since I happen to adore touchscreen phones (no prizes for guessing what my favourite phone is!).

Apparently the retail unlocked, contract free price of the Bold 2 aka 9700 is in the region of RM 2,200 should you choose to go this route.  And because there are only 150 units available tomorrow afternoon, I suggest you start to head over to Pavilion now and plan to spend the night camping outside to ensure you are one of the lucky 150.  Remember the last limited-units offer we had?  ;-)

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Posted in h/w, mobile phone | 4 Comments »

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