Saturday, April 2, 2011

iPhone Mania

You cannot escape from this if you are in Singapore.You see them everywhere - in MRT , buses , shops , malls etc ... even a three year old kid will be playing with a iPhone .We had a family joke that if 4 people are sitting in train out of which only three are browsing their phone then you can conclude that the 4th one does not have a iPhone .

Singapore is addicted to this touch phenomenon .Although there are many phones available in market which offers this touch sensing feature but nothing can beat iPhone . After months of neglecting and being content with my nokia phone eventually I too got succumbed into this trend .

My main reason for not buying an iPhone till now was that first I am not a gadget freak , second I dint wanted to spend all my time glued to the phone but finally Naveen convinced me to buy one . I first decided that I will be more than happy with iPhone 3 because of the cost of iPhone 4 . But then it would make more sense to buy the most recent release since Naveen already has iPhone 3 .

There are three major cellular providers in Singapore - star hub , singtel and recently M1 . Trust me all three are equally bad -no network coverage in underground areas , slow Internet connections etc etc . You can buy iPhone with any of these three providers and if you want a better deal you have to go for contract . Below is the latest plans of all three providers


M1 Plan

StarHub Plan

Singtel Plan

We bought iPhone 4 with starhub on a two year contract . Total cost is as below

Handset cost - $500
Dataplan cost per month -$38
Caller ID identification cost -$5(this is free for the first 3 months)
Discount for existing customer - $100(we already have cable connection with starhub)
Total cost -$437
Immediate sim activation - free
Face wipe and phone cover - complimentary
Time taken - one hour :)

Now if I decide to break the contract in the first month than I have to shell out $800 which will eventually reduce by $50 in subsequent months .

Below is what you get inside the box - a charger , adapter and headphones .


But my job dint end there I had to buy a nice cover , screen protector and a small pouch for my bag . I felt the need to give my phone extra protection because it looked so delicate . There are lots of variety of covers available here right from classy to funky and you can get custom made design right in front of you .
I actually prefer the sleek look of iPhone 3 since iPhone 4 looks more like a rectangular box . As a first time user of iPhone the main difference that I find between the two of them are -
  • Lookwise iPhone 3 is better but iPhone 4 gives a better grip as it's more thin
  • iPhone 4 has a front camera and a flash
  • iPhone 4 screen has more resolution
  • You cannot change the lock screen background in iPhone 3 and put one app into another unless you have updated OS

We decided to take some pic comparing both and let the readers pick their choice .


Below are the apps that I have added and most of them are useless as I use my phone mainly for browsing and I am not much into games also.If you guys know of any cool iPhone app you are more than welcome to suggest me.





3 comments:

What a life! said...

Firstly, Chaitra, welcome to the world of iPhone :)

What you have stated in the first para is exactly what I found in Hong Kong as well.

I too picked up an iPhone 4 earlier this year and I would say, you have made the right choice. I actually like the iPhone 4's shape, and while the glass components have made it rather heavier, it is simply far superior an experience.

As for apps, there are millions out there. As your usage evolves, so will the apps that you use. If your phone is loaded with iOS 5, then you are starting off on an even better note.

Anish (What a life!)

Chaithra and Naveen said...

Hi Anish, thanks for dropping by.
iPhone is already a common accessory here and I am sure the craze is slowly shifting now to India also !!.

Anonymous said...

I have got a question here - I think the iphone 4 that starhub provides is already unlocked - we can use in India as such by inserting a micro SIM.

Just curious to know, if someone wants to leave Singapore and also escape from paying the iphone 4 contract-breaking charges - is it possible? what will be consequence?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...