iPhone 4 in Malaysia: DiGi vs Maxis plans
UPDATE: Added comparison for iPhone 4 32GB and 16GB for both 12/24 months contract. Please note that all DiGi’s iDiGi plans are tied to 24 months contract. The 12 months table below is for comparison only.
UPDATE 2: The iPhone 4S is launching in Malaysia on 16th December. Check out the iPhone 4S Plans from DiGi and Maxis.
UPDATE 3: iPhone 4S DiGi vs Maxis vs Celcom plans compared.
The iPhone 4 is officially available in Malaysia with both DiGi and Maxis starting from today. Both telcos are having different ways of bundling this anticipated device which could be rather challenging to compare. With the plans revealed, the biggest question now is which one is cheaper and comes with greater value?
To find out, we compared Maxis’s iValue plans with DiGi’s iDiGi plans as both had rather similar style of bundling talk time, sms, mms and data. iData is not included in the comparison as there isn’t a DiGi equivalent, plus the device is more expensive compared to its iValue offering. Just like our previous iDiGi vs iValue comparison, we list out all the bundled features for side by side comparison.
Getting iPhone 4 from Maxis? Be prepared and here are some tips
So the iPhone 4 has gotten your attention and you’d like to get one as soon as possible. Your best bet is to sign-up with Maxis. We we’re at their launch last night and was impressed at the scale in which they’ve deployed manpower to ensure that the flood of iPhone 4 buyers are properly managed and each customer return home happy with iPhone 4 in hand.
The iPhone 4 from Maxis is only currently available at the Gardens, Mid Valley and Maxis has brought in extra manpower from it’s offices all over Malaysia to the Gardens to handle a large number of customers that will be coming in to purchase the iPhone 4.
From our own experience yesterday, Maxis had deployed ample headcount to attend to the huge number of people that was at the launch. We could approach any Maxis staff and asked a question and every single one greeted us with a smile and attended to us in earnest.
It is very clear that Maxis wants to make your purchase of the iPhone 4 from them a pleasant an experience as possible. But there is only so much that they can do.
If you’re going to the Gardens for the iPhone 4 this weekend, we’re telling you to be prepared. Even during the midnight launch last night there were already long lines snaking two floors. We can predict that that line will be much longer this weekend. So be prepared to wait and wait and wait.
There’s no denying that wait will be long, some people we talked to waited for two hours but the bright side to this is that it looks like there’s enough stock for you to get an iPhone 4 on the spot. So we’d advice you to wear something comfortable, bring a fold-able chair if you have one and bring some snacks. Also bring something to kill the time.
As most of you will be driving, we suggest you park at the Gardens at Zone U and head up all the way to level 6, that’s where the collection is held. If you can bring cash because there will be glitches in the POS system. Last night during our own purchase of the iPhone 4, for some reason all the POS system couldn’t process transactions made with CIMB credit cards. I would be such a waste if you’ve lined up for a couple of hours to get an iPhone 4 but was halted due to a system glitch. Of course the Maxis customer service staff will do everything they can to assist you but we’re saying be prepared.
Looking at the number of customers coming in, these glitches are expected. Some customers couldn’t get their receipt printed and had to be issued with a manual receipt. Just keep your cool, be prepared and try to maintain a positive attitude.
Check out the some of the videos we’ve taken during the launch last night after the jump to get a picture of the number of people that you can expect to see collective their iPhone 4 over the weekend.
On a happier note: You can get 25% discount on all iPhone 4 accessories at the collection centre. All the best and good luck!
iPhone 4: Some detailed snap shots and videos
We had some alone time with the iPhone 4 at the DiGi launch and took the opportunity to take some detailed snap shots of the device and compare it with its predecessor, the iPhone 3GS.
While we welcome the enhancements in hardware, realistically, we don’t see the real need for 3GS owners to upgrade to the iPhone 4.
We like the Retina Display and the 5MP camera is a tremendous improvement over the 3MP offering on the 3GS but in terms of day to day use, the 3GS is just as smooth and can do most of the things the iPhone 4 can just as well.
Sure there’s no FaceTime on the 3GS but how often is the typical user going to use that feature?
Well, that’s our initial impression of the iPhone 4. It’s nice and everything but if you’re already using the iPhone 3GS and you’re not an Apple fanboy, you might not see what the fuss is all about. However, if you’re using an iPhone 3G and is looking to upgrade that, yes, please get the iPhone 4.
This is of course not our conclusive findings, we purchased an iPhone 4 at the Maxis launch (sorry DiGi) and will be looking at the device in detail in these few days. Look out for our review soon.
In the meantime, head on over to after the jump for a collection of pictures and some videos comparing the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3GS side by side.
What do you think 3GS owners, would you get the iPhone 4? Comment us.
Maxis iPhone 4 launched, prepaid available
The iPhone 4 is finally launched by Maxis and people are getting their units as we speak. The queue to the collection area above is insane. A huge difference compared to DiGi’s event.
During the event it was mentioned that the iPhone is available on prepaid and it comes with free 12 months of 500MB data. However we haven’t seen the price for prepaid yet. Even hotlink’s website is inaccessible at time of posting. The other postpaid price remains unchanged.
We will update more when we can.