After the introduction of the new 4th generation iPad with Retina display, the current 3rd gen “new iPad” has been discontinued for good. It is no longer listed on the online Apple Store and the older iPad 2 still remains the entry level model priced at RM1,199 for 16GB WiFi.

If you are still interested to get your hands on the 3rd gen iPad with retina display, Machines is still selling them with a reduced pricing from as low as RM1,379 for the 16GB WiFi version. Basically they have cut RM120 across all models including the WiFi + Cellular model.

Can’t tell the difference between the 3rd gen and 4th gen iPad with Retina Display? Check out our iPad comparison post.

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After the announcement of the new “Resolutionary” iPad, Malaysia’s Apple store has already started slashing prices of the existing iPad 2. Now the cheapest entry model, the 16GB WiFi version is going for only RM1,199 after the RM300 reduction across all models including WiFi and 3G.

Such price reduction also occurred last year and Apple Store Malaysia had offered refunds of price difference for those that purchased within 14 days before the announcement. If you’re one of the unfortunate ones that just bought one recent, do stay tune for the refund announcement as it is likely they might be doing the same this year.

Here’s the price difference for comparison:

WiFi
16GB iPad 2 RM1,499 RM1,199
32GB iPad 2 RM1,799 RM1,499
64GB iPad 2 RM2,099 RM1,799

3G
16GB iPad 2 RM1,899 RM1,599
32GB iPad 2 RM2,199 RM1,899
64GB iPad 2 RM2,499 RM2,199

To place an order, head over to the Apple Store. If you’ve been eyeing for a cheaper iPad, this is the time to do so but you better hurry before the old stocks run out.

After the announcement of iPad 2, Apple Store in Malaysia has slashed its iPad pricing to as low as RM1199 for the basic 16GB WiFi only model. The iPad 3G 16GB is even more affordable at only RM1599. That’s substantial savings of RM350 for the WiFi models and RM400 for the WiFi + 3G version.

As mentioned in the iPad 2 launch post, the new iPad 2 is more powerful, thinner and comes with 2 cameras but it isn’t much difference as we would have expected. So if the new iPad 2 features is something you can live without, the original iPad with its new reduced pricing and immediate stock availability looks like a good buy right now.

For more details, head over to at Apple Store Malaysia.

Thanks to winyap for the heads up!

So the iPad is now officially available in Malaysia with Maxis being among the first to shout availability of iPad centric data plans. However did you know that there are other alternatives as well? Practically, you just need a data plan which comes in microsim or a MiFi device that lets you connect via WiFi. Let’s take a brief look at the choices available.

Maxis Plans

Maxis offers postpaid plans from RM70/month, where you’ll get 3.5GB of data which comes out to RM20/GB. For the heavy duty user, there’s the RM200/month plan that offers 15GB which comes out to RM13.33/GB. If you’re a light user, you can opt for Prepaid where you can top up RM58/month subsequently for 1.5GB for 30 days validity. You can read more on Maxis iPad plans here and here. In terms of speed, Maxis offers full download speed up to 7.2Mbps. For iPad WiFi, there’s an option to buy a Huawai MiFi device at RM380.

DiGi Plans

For DiGi, there are several ways to get your iPad connected. For prepaid, there’s Easy Prepaid that gives Max RM3/day access while the normal prepaid plans offer Max RM5/day. The cheapest prepaid offering is definitely their Prepaid Internet which comes ready in MicroSIM format where a RM10 top up gives you 5 days of access. That’s only RM2 a day. However do note that DiGi Prepaid download speeds are limited at 384kbps.

For postpaid, you have the DG Discovery plan at RM68/month that comes with 3GB of data quota. There’s even a Day time only Discovery day plan with 3GB at RM38/month that’s meant for 7AM-7PM usage. For WiFi users, there’s a DiGi MiFi bundling but for a much higher usage plan of 16GB at RM128/month.

U Mobile

U Mobile offers one of the best rates for 3G broadband especially if you’re a light user. If your place is covered with U Mobile’s 3G coverage, there’s the UB40 which comes with 2GB data at RM40/month with download speeds of 1.0Mbps. For heavy use, there’s the UB68 plan which offers 5GB of data at RM68/month with speeds up to 3.6Mbps. Do note that UB40 does charge excess usage as per normal PAYU rate while UB68 offers unlimited access at throttled speeds after hitting 5GB. There’s also a MiFi promo which offers the Huawei Mifi at RM210.

Best part is that conversion of SIM is Free on U Mobile.

Celcom

On Celcom, there are 3 plans which offers different quotas and speed. The lowest entry offers 1GB of data at RM48/month but with speeds capped at 384kbps. This is followed by Broadband Basic with 3GB of data at RM68/month with 512kbps speeds and Broadband Advanced with 5GB of data at RM98/month with speeds up to 3.6Mbps. There’s no MiFi offering that we are aware of and they charge RM10 for MicroSIM conversion.

Yes

Here’s a non-3G alternative — Yes. Since they are offering the Yes Huddle which is a MiFi device, it can be used to connect your iPads via WiFi. The Huddle package is quite a huge sum upfront at RM1199 but it offers RM1200 worth of credit but you also have the option to purchase the HUddle outright for RM399. On Yes, it costs RM30/GB for usage below 2.5GB and can be reduced to as low as RM21/GB for usage above 4GB. It is costlier if you’re heavy user but it is something worth considering if you’re looking at using 1 – 2GB per month. The upside with Yes is that you get the performance, we are currently using Yes on a day-to-day basis and the performance is really good. Of course, we’ll put out the caveat that the Yes network is still new with minimal load on it. So only time will tell if the people at Yes can maintain this amazing performance as more and more people get on their network.

(Update 1531hrs 30112010:) We’ve just gotten an update that Yes is currently having an iPad promotion where if you purchase an iPad from Machines in Lot 10 you can get the RM50 Yes ID activation fee waived when you purchase a Yes Huddle outright on the same day. The 10GB free usage is also applicable in this offer. This promotion is only for new Yes subscribers. The promotion starts today and ends December 5 31, 2010.

For full broadband pricing, do check out our Malaysian Broadband Price comparison. We will update the table with the new Maxis iPad plans shortly.

[ Flag Photo Credit ]

Is Yes working on offering an iPad bundle plan with its Yes Huddle 4G MiFi?

The tweet from the operator’s official Twitter account seems to suggest this but details are scarce. There’s no mention of anything on Yes’ web page as well. All that is certain now is that there is no activation fee if you opt for the bundle.

The tweet also seems to suggest that you can purchase an iPad at the Yes flagship store in Lot 10. We have no confirmation on this but will try to find out more. Keep it locked on.

(Update 1531hrs 30112010:) We’ve just gotten an update that Yes is currently having an iPad promotion where if you purchase an iPad from Machines in Lot 10 you can get the RM50 Yes ID activation fee waived when you purchase a Yes Huddle outright on the same day. The 10GB free usage is also applicable in this offer. This promotion is only for new Yes subscribers. The promotion starts today and ends December 31, 2010.

For a full list of iPad compatible data plans, click on the link.

This is definitely a case of better late then never if there was any.

The Apple iPad, which was officially released in April 2010 in the US and a few selected markets, has finally and officially hit Malaysian Apple stores. If you’re counting, that’s a full seven months of waiting, if you’re counting further, Singapore got their official iPads in July 2010, four months ahead of Malaysia.

Here’s the full list of iPad prices:
iPad WiFi
16GB: RM1,549
32GB: RM1,849
64GB: RM2,149

iPad 3G
16GB: RM1,999
32GB: RM2,299
64GB: RM2,599

To many, this is great news, to be able to purchase the iPad backed by full official tech support and warranty but the thinking man might reconsider the proposition of buying an iPad now considering the fact that a replacement will be announced in somewhere in April 2011.

Some might question, sure, Apple will announce the new iPad in April but when will Malaysia get it? If we know our Apple products, it is a safe bet that you’ll be seeing the new iPad hit Malaysian stores earlier than the original iPad did.

So if you ask us, we’ll be holding on to our cash a little bit longer. The notion of getting a device, no matter how good, knowing that it will be obsolete in less than six months doesn’t make us feel too comfortable.

In any case, here’s a full list of where you can get the iPad

• Epicentre, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur +603 2141 6278/ 6378
• Epicentre, IOI Mall, Kuala Lumpur +603 8075 0870/0871
• Machines, Lot 10, Shopping Centre +603 2142 5009
• Machines, Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur +03 2171 2633
• Machines, Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur +603 2282 3996
• Machines, Sunway Pyramid, Selangor +603 5633 2998
• Machines, The Gardens, +603 2287 6787/ 5787
• Machines, City Square (Johor), +607 227 2606
• Mac Studio, Bangsar Shopping Centre, +603 2282 1799
• Mac Studio, Berjaya Times Square, +603 2145 1799 / 2143 1799 / 2143 9799
• Mac Studio, Plaza Low Yat, Kuala Lumpur +603 2145 4799/9799
• Switch, Plaza Gurney, Penang +604 229 5591
• Switch, The Mines Shopping Fair, Selangor +603 8948 9591

Apple Shop, Harvey Norman:

• Bukit Tinggi, +603 3326 2631
• Mid Valley +603 2282 2860
• Ikano PowerCentre, +603 7718 5200/5223
• Sunway Pyramid, +603 5622 1300
• Queensbay Mall, +604 630 8210

Note: Limited to three units per customer

Special thanks to E.T. for the magnificent flag pic.

[ Flag Photo Credit, source]