Iphone 3GS

Its time to upgrade.. sold off my iphone 3G and got the new 3GS.

From its packaging, it seems that Apple had cut some corners in packaging costs and delivered this premium phone in a much smaller box.



It came with the firmware version 3.0. I upgraded it to 3.1.2 and made my magic in jailbreaking the phone.

This time using, blackra1n by George Hotz, which appeared even before the devteam could come up with one. Blackra1n was the It is a bit trickier than any other jailbreak method that I have tried. I fiddled with it a bit and almost gave up.. until suddenly, the face appeared..



And then from the application, I have blackrain installed and the rest is history..



To ensure that you can install those cracked IPAs, don't forget to download Appsync 3.1 from Cydia. It the next step required since the mobileinstallation folder is not applicable on this firmware.

Celcom network crashes under pressure

I have recently purchased an X-PAX prepaid pack from Celcom, I needed to get a back up service because my home area has very poor Maxis coverage... and since Celcom had been proudly announcing that it has the widest coverage of mobile service in Malaysia, I thought that I had a service provider that I could depend on.

But just one week through the subscription, I was about to take the service to a test. It was the Hari Raya celebration week, I had to travel to Pahang in areas that are on the fringes of urban boundaries.

However, my expectations were not satisfied. The services were down when I needed it the most. I was trying to contact my family to wish them a good Hari Raya celebration, and it seems that I could not get through.

This announcement came up on the celcom website,



All goes to show... there are still not a single service provider that can guarantee the quality of service for their customers. I would have probably not have such high expectations if the Celcom weren't the premier Mobile Network Operator in Malaysia... they should have been the only company that is matured and understands their consumer habits... I believe capacity planning even in the smallest mobile company in Malaysia, should have incorporated the traffic spikes in rural areas during festive seasons on their annual calendar.

U Mobile - an update

This is an excerpt from the star. You can read the full story here.

It is reported that the two giant telecommunication companies in Asia, DOCOMO and KTF had failed in their endeavors to be part of the Malaysian telecommunication industry. Earlier, the two companies bought stakes in the fourth Malaysian Mobile Operator, U Mobile with a holding of 16.5% each.

Historically, it was with the stakes purchased, these two companies had imposed to U Mobile that they will be take over the management of the company and planted their best personnel to be in the C-Levels. They had commented in The Star that the main issue faced by them is “due to differences of opinion with other shareholders over management".

From a personal viewpoint and word of mouth in the industry, the real issue was actually the inability of the "foreign" management to adapt and understand the local business culture and customer segments. There were many viewpoints and suggestions from the local representatives that were totally ignored by the foreign management.

With the exit of these two foreign influences, U Mobile should now be able to look back into its own local resources and expertise to formulate more competitive strategies and win the local market.

All the best.

Tune Talk - Where is your service?

I am still interested in getting my SIM card from Tune Talk.

But it seems that it will take much more effort from the subscribers in order to subscribe for the service in comparison to the efforts provided by the service provider, Tune Talk.

Since I had subscribed to the service online, I had gone to the physical stores listed as their dealer/agents in Ampang area and also within KL Sentral... all have mentioned that the SIMs have not been distributed and they are not sure of what they are required to do.

I have sent them e-mails to ask for clarification and what action items i need to do in order to get the SIM and the number that i have selected. I have not received a reply until this very day.

Maybe, I have not gotten a real "human" attention as yet.. so, I went back to the website and was informed that there is a link on the home page for interactive chat with the "Talk Ambassador"... so I clicked on it.. and I got this window popped out for at least 45 minutes..



I guess the ambassador is away.. and the services... well...do they really exist?

Tune Talk launched 19th August

There were many buzzes about the company over the past few years and it then gained publicity when Jason Lo became the CEO.

Well, as of 19th August... it launched... Tune Talk.. the new MVNO in Malaysia is now offering services. I am psyched, a new operator.. hope its better service offerings and more competitive (although I know that the network is from Celcom - I am thinking, maybe they got the "quality" package so that the users can enjoy something better).

So, I had gone to their website.. registered, pretty impressive, they provide number selection online.



I got a good number from there and after the registration completed, I checked for the dealer locations around my area.I was surprised that they do not have much in malls or at the common tech hub areas such as Low Yat Plaza and Digital Mall. Finally, I discovered three dealers are listed near my home. I was told to print the confirmation page and show to the dealers to obtain my SIM pack.

The online registration is valid only for 48 hours, so I rushed to the dealers after work to collect my SIM.. and guess what? The dealers do not understand my print out.. and only after mentioning Tune Talk.. they seemed to vaguely recall being registered as a dealer but notified me that there has not been any distribution of SIMs to them.

I was frustrated... mailed to Tune Talk and hope that the number reservation will not expire...

Come on guys.. its only 2 days from your launch.... customers should be able to get those SIMs..

On 3.0 and its jailbroken

I managed to jailbreak the iphone 3.0 firmware.

Now I am satisfied... :-)

Upgraded to Firmware 3.0

I took up the Saturday afternoon to spend time with the new O.S, downloaded it and flashed it into the phone.



There has been some interesting improvements. But the the key changes that I was looking forward to are :

A2DP profile for bluetooth - so that I can use my Motorola S9 to stream music and answer calls. Previous firmware version of the iphone do not allow for music to be streamed through bluetooth.





Now... with 3.0, I can throw away the bluetooth adapter that I purchased earlier and get connected through the phone directly.

Apart from the two.. I can let go of so many applications that I had to crack before...now its part of the stock application such as the MMS feature



Well.. ok, done so much already.. now.. its jailbreaking time..

:-)

ultrasnow - Jailbreak for iphone 3.0

I have my copy of the iphone software version 3.0 downloaded two days ago.

Now, I am eagerly waiting for the jailbreak release.

A hacker, musclenerd, made a streamed broadcast to unveil the jailbreaking success of the ultrasnow a day before the official launch of the O.S 3.0 just to taunt Apple.

A few more hours to go... and I am going to be busy this weekend :-)

The iPhone 3.0 Software for Maxis

Since the announcement of the iphone O.S version 3.0 was made public in March, blogs and forums were buzzing with the beta copies and also on the possible hack or jailbreaking possibility of the new O.S.

I have been eager for the update as well. There were then rumours of several possible official launch of the new O.S but they were postponed due the possible reason of Steve Job's health problems that were also made public on the Apple website. However, despite all that, a speculation made its way to the news front that Jobs will be back and will be launching the new O.S and the new lost cost iphone version on 17th of June.

An SMS was received today, from Maxis that announced the software upgrade on 18th June and this upgrade will be deployed to all iphone subscribers under the recent launched Maxis iphone plan



I guess the SMS confirms the launch of the O.S and whether it will be done by Jobs physically or virtually... we'll find out on the 17th of June.

Anyways, its a positive assurance that provided relieve to iphone owners under the Maxis plan that the upgrade is coming... along with long awaited features to take the iphone further.

Another Slice of Apple for Malaysia, The Iphone

Since it was announced by Steve Jobs and made available in the US end of June 2006, the craze had started. This touch screen multimedia internet mobile phone device had been sought after, many had gone through great lengths to obtain it through the black markets where the phone was not available.

In Malaysia, forums mushroomed to discuss the product at great lengths and communities were created to cater to the small community that had managed to get hold of the iphone through online purchases or shipped over from the countries that Apple had partnership with the operators.

At the end of 2008, as the iphone reached Asia, many spent a fortune to buy them. Some had earlier gone through great measures to obtain even the operator-locked units from US and Europe and meddled on unlocking it illegally. After all these years...

Its finally here.

I discovered this on the Maxis website



The site opens for registration to those eagerly wanting this device. An it is mentioned on the website that the official launch will held later this month.

Apple had made iphone cheap in the US through a committed package subscription plan. In other parts of the world, the subscriptions are on the high premium side. To get a feel what the package would be like, Maxis had also provided the plans and packages available for the consumers.



So, how will it fare in the market? There are unverified talks that Maxis is bringing in a quarter of a million units for the local market.

Has the enthusiasm died down due to the long wait? or is the interest still bearing sparks? waiting to be rekindled.

Will the ridiculous rate plan as highlighted on the website be acceptable for the Malaysian population, especially with the gloomy outlook of the local and global economy?

I am interested to find out.... but I am definitely not going to be one to register for it at the moment.