Iphone 4 In Malaysia
Unlocked iPhones and Android Smartphones in Thailand
Are you traveling to Thailand but left your smartphone at home because it’s locked to your carrier or its frequency bands aren’t compatible with cellphone providers in Southeast Asia? Are you a gadget lover looking to try out something new that’s not too costly to purchase and maintain, a disposable toy as it were that you can use as a backup phone afterward or as a media player? Thailand gives you a full range of interestingly designed, low-cost gadgets to try out, and some of them will even last out several years if you know which brand to buy and how to pick the handset in addition to taking basic cautions such as not submerging the devices in water, throwing them against a wall in a fit of pique, or apply a sledge hammer to their screens.
Like many developed and developing nations in Asia (including but not limited to Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and India; the latter’s notable house brands are Spice, Karbonn and Micromax), Thailand is home to a number of cellphone brands developed in and marketed almost exclusively within the country, also known as “house brands.” These phones are generally manufactured in China, South Korea, and India, but the large companies keep a tighter rein on quality control that results in handsets which are elevated over cheap (and usually barely functional) knock-offs of iPhones. Leading brands in Thailand, in fact, provide after-sale service, customer support, and full warranties of their products. Their handsets are often sub-$100, targeting a consumer market that has grown an increasing demand for phones that pack value and low prices. Fueled by a fluctuating economic condition, consumers are attracted to a combination of mid- to high-end features and prices that are firmly on the lower end of the scale. As such, house brands in the country aggressively market to this lucrative sector whose disposable income tends to be subject to constant changes and ensure that they are planted at a price point that the likes of Apple cannot hope to compete with: devices priced at under $100 to $200 have become some of the most popular, whereas an iPhone 4 bought first-hand unlocked will cost over $750. Typical “house brand” feature phones are able to take pictures, play music, run a selection of apps and offer limited social networking features. The advent of Google’s Android operating system has, however, enabled these companies to make true smartphones that have cut into the market share of Samsung, HTC, Sony and Motorola. Quite apart from running the same software and featuring competitive internals, many house brand handsets also come with features the “high-end” manufacturers do not consider, such as multiple SIM card slots, FM radio and TV tuners.
The most notable brands in Thailand are i-mobile and Wellcom. They aggressively pursue both the low-end and mid-end sections of consumers, offering simple dumbphones, feature phones, and Android handsets with middling system specifications but capabilities that easily match that of the latest and greatest models from HTC, which tend to be far more expensive. While you may think that their products are not trustworthy or be of questionable quality, the truth is that their customer satisfaction in the country is quite high. Moreover, they are often made shoulder-to-shoulder with vaunted items such as the iPhone 4 and the latest BlackBerries, all of which are manufactured in Chinese factories. One example is the Wellcom A88, which is the same model as the Cincinnati Bell, and is a good value handset at $181: a price that may seem hideously steep at first glance until you realize that it’s not tied to any contract and doesn’t require you to pay upward of $50 per month to make it useful.
In conclusion, if you would like to try out new gadgets, Thailand would be a perfect place to do it especially with a flourishing secondhand market. Are you a diehard iPhone or Symbian fan but just a little bit curious what Android is like? A fully functional and fairly well-built Android handset, which runs no less than one of the latest builds of the operating system (either Froyo or Gingerbread at the time of writing, respectively versions 2.2 and 2.3), can be yours for as little as $150 if you buy from Thailand, and a little less if you apply for tax refunds on your way out.
About the Author
Joanne Chong works in Business Development as an expert at the Empress Hotels Group, a family of luxury Chiang Mai hotels providing the best value for three/four-star accommodation suited for Chiang Mai holidays and long-stays, convention facilities and fine dining in Chiang Mai’s city center.
iPhone 4 Unboxing – Malaysia Edition
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