Tuesday 10 June 2008

Second Coming in Singapore

iPhone Credit: Apple ComputerIt might even be rapture, depending upon the calling plan prices. Local availability of the Jesus phone, so called because of the worshiping of Apple fans, has been announced by SingTel and Apple as part of the worldwide announcement of the iPhone v2.

One enterprising chap has already posted on Craigslist that he is taking pre-orders for network unlocked (jail broken) iPhones priced at S$420 (£156) for the 8 GB model and S$550 (£208) for 16 GB one. That might be a bold move considering the new iPhone software hasn't been released yet, let alone jail broken but it's a fair bet it will be by the time punters come knocking.

SingTel is also taking pre-orders and as usual you have to give them lots of marketing information. If you balk at an actual order (probably not legally binding on either party given there's no price stated) you can elect to be informed of developments. That requires to answer the following questions:

  • Name
  • NRIC/Foreign ID
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Address
  • Postal Code
  • Email Address
  • Mobile Number
  • Which is your mobile service provider?
  • Are you currently contracted to your mobile service provider?
  • When did you last sign a mobile phone contract with your service provider?

There are more questions; those are just the mandatory ones. It's a fact of life here that the state and commercial institutions demand and get very detailed personal information. Locals don't bother to fight it and (legal) foreigners like me probably just grumble. I might have to give in and pre-order because there's likely to be a big queue.

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