Its seem very positive to that price will drop for iPhones in Singapore after M1 and Starhub announced that they are  joining the competition of offering iPhones.

Cheaper iPhones on the way

Tue, Nov 10, 2009
my paper

WITH the last homegrown telco StarHub now on the iPhone bandwagon – it will launch the gadget by year-end – consumers will get to enjoy even more competitive prices.

Industry experts whom my paper spoke to yesterday agreed that all three home-grown telcos would be spurred on to roll out promotions to draw customers, which would probably translate into cheaper deals.

Market-research firm Gfk’s regional senior account manager, Mr Kevin Huang, said: “With the (wider) availability of the iPhone…it is inevitable that there will be a downward pressure on the final retail price of the handset.”

Each telco will not be able to “rest on its laurels and will need to concoct packages to hold consumers’ attention”, he added.

This could mean more creative options in terms of price plans and bundled packages, experts said. For example, exclusive and purpose-driven customised applications could be preloaded on the phone.

This, however, may not bode well for non-iPhone supporters shopping for other brands.

Mr Aloysius Choong, research manager at technologyanalyst firm IDC Asia-Pacific, explained: “StarHub and M1 now have a lower need to subsidise rival products to compete against the iPhone.

“Not so good news, perhaps, if you’re looking for a Nokia, HTC or Samsung smartphone.”

But joining the market this late in the game will probably not do StarHub or M1 any favours, said industry experts.

Said Mr Marc Einstein, an industry manager at market-analysis firm Frost & Sullivan: “Sing-Tel has a significant headstart in the market, so most of the early adopters would have already been locked into a contract with them.

“I don’t think StarHub and M1 will get too much of a windfall.”

Still, giving subscribers the option of owning the iPhone will save telcos from potentially losing existing ones.

Mr Foong King Yew, research director of market-research firm Gartner, said: “The strategic aim is not one of attracting a large base of new customers from their competitor.

Those who truly desire an iPhone would have got one already.”

Apple is reportedly already working on the next version of the smartphone, which will be usable anywhere in the world, to be released in the third quarter of next year.

GOOD things come in big packages. And it’s even better if it weighs less than it looks.

That’s the Samsung Omnia II.

Although it measures 118mm by 60mm and is 11.9mm thick, this device weighs just 129g. This is slightly lighter than the iPhone.

Except to keep it light, the phone has a plastic glossy finish. The plastic look and feel cheapens the Omnia II somewhat.

The phone runs on Windows Mobile 6.1, but most of the time, you can’t really tell. That’s because the Samsung user interface hides most of the traditional Windows look.

As with most smartphones, you can customise the homescreen and add widgets for your most commonly used applications.

A widget menu sits on the side of the screen, and you can add or replace widget apps by clicking and dragging it.

Alternatively, when you press the hexagon button at the bottom centre of the handset, you’ll get to a programme launcher listed by icons.

The four main categories are productivity, multimedia, Internet and office.

A variety of applications are housed here, and you can also customise the screens.

Cube

At the bottom of the programme launcher screen, hit on ‘Cube’ and a 3D cube appears on screen with each side being a shortcut to an application.

But I don’t really see the need for it, especially since the cube doesn’t always respond accurately to the touch. (Although, this could be peculiar to the review unit.)

Which brings me to the touchscreen factor of the Omnia II.

I felt that the screen responded more to the fingertips than to the touch.

Perhaps that why the handset comes with a stylus, but you’ll have to carry that separately as there’s no place to store the stylus on the handset.

Despite a respectable 800mhz processor, I found the Omnia II a tad slow to start up when you turned the screen on. Running applications was fine for the most part.

All in, the Samsung Omnia II is a respectable smartphone. It comes ‘fully-loaded’, giving users all the functions expected of a smartphone in this class, plus many customisation options for accessing these functions, which is important in a market that demands instant gratification.

The Samsung Omnia II comes with a price tag of S$898.

source :The New Paper – Fri, Sep 25, 2009

It may be lighter than an iPhone, but the Samsung Omnia II is a heavyweight when it comes to functionality & customisation.

But the Samsung Omnia II is a heavyweight when it comes to functionality & customisation
GOOD things come in big packages. And it’s even better if it weighs less than it looks.
By Tan Mae Lynn
24 September 2009

GOOD things come in big packages. And it’s even better if it weighs less than it looks.

That’s the Samsung Omnia II.

Although it measures 118mm by 60mm and is 11.9mm thick, this device weighs just 129g. This is slightly lighter than the iPhone.

Except to keep it light, the phone has a plastic glossy finish. The plastic look and feel cheapens the Omnia II somewhat.

The phone runs on Windows Mobile 6.1, but most of the time, you can’t really tell. That’s because the Samsung user interface hides most of the traditional Windows look.

As with most smartphones, you can customise the homescreen and add widgets for your most commonly used applications.

A widget menu sits on the side of the screen, and you can add or replace widget apps by clicking and dragging it.

Alternatively, when you press the hexagon button at the bottom centre of the handset, you’ll get to a programme launcher listed by icons.

The four main categories are productivity, multimedia, Internet and office.

A variety of applications are housed here, and you can also customise the screens.

Cube

At the bottom of the programme launcher screen, hit on ‘Cube’ and a 3D cube appears on screen with each side being a shortcut to an application.

But I don’t really see the need for it, especially since the cube doesn’t always respond accurately to the touch. (Although, this could be peculiar to the review unit.)

Which brings me to the touchscreen factor of the Omnia II.

I felt that the screen responded more to the fingertips than to the touch.

Perhaps that why the handset comes with a stylus, but you’ll have to carry that separately as there’s no place to store the stylus on the handset.

Despite a respectable 800mhz processor, I found the Omnia II a tad slow to start up when you turned the screen on. Running applications was fine for the most part.

All in, the Samsung Omnia II is a respectable smartphone. It comes ‘fully-loaded’, giving users all the functions expected of a smartphone in this class, plus many customisation options for accessing these functions, which is important in a market that demands instant gratification.

The Samsung Omnia II comes with a price tag of $898.

Samsung rolling out a new smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard. Following with current smartphone naming traditions (eg. HTC’s Touch Pro), the Samsung Omnia Pro takes the basic Omnia design and adds a keyboard to it. The Samsung Omnia Pro uses an interface that is dramatically different from the fun and widget-happy TouchWIZ 2.0 interface on the Samsung Jet. The Pro’s interface is all business. Underneath, the Samsung Omnia Pro is running Windows Mobile 6.1, and the company says buyers will be able to upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5 when it becomes available, probably this September.

source : samsung

OMNIA II is finally on sales at all telco. namely SingTel, Starhub and M1.

SingTel offer S$398 with 2 year contract.

M1 offer S$598, I am not sure if there is a contract.

Starhub offer S$298 together with 2 year contract.

I guess from looking at the surface, Starhub offer is more attractive.

Samsung unveiled Jet with a 800MHz processor speed, 5 MegaPixels, 3.1-inch AMOLED screen and a TouchWiz 2.0 UI.

http://smnr.samsungmobile.com/jet/

http://jet.samsungmobile.com/