Bangkok iPhone Whispers

It’s the must-have-thingy in Bangkok: A shiny new iPhone – illegally imported from the US.

In that very Bangkok though, where global trends are copied before they even started, the iPhone is old news already.

According to reliable sources that most-revolutionary-simplifier-of-life has already shown up at Soi Nana and Soi Cowboy. Trustworthy sources have seen it in the hands of bored cuties typing SMSs to their “teeraks”. Them holding that holy iPhone – probably a present of some Japanese – with that apathetic ignorance as if it were a prehistoric StarTAC.

The other day Ben, a good friend from Spain, inconspicuously unpocketed his brand new iPhone.

Without giving a little cough he called his girlfriend – with that nonchalant attitude as if he would be stirring his coffee. He didn’t even deign to look at me, knowing I was staring with those possessed eyes: “I want it I need it can’t live without it.”

Turns out Ben bought the iPhone at Maboonkrong MBK – at Winner Telecom, shop 444 on the 4th floor. Where the phone was first sold for 40,000 baht right after the open source SIM hack had shown up. By now the 8gb version is down to around 22,000 baht.

Winner Telecom’s gals and boys dressed in black truly know their craft. In some dark hidden room at MBK they’re even working on their own iPhone software hack. But what the heck with that hack:

A.H., who was among the team who built up mobile provider Orange in Thailand, recently told me: “Apple would be the first to succeed with a locked phone. They all tried it. They all failed in the end.”

Writes an iPhone punter in a Bangkok forum: “They are already offering a Thai language menu as an alternative to the English language menu together with a Thai language keyboard – pretty impressive.”

Go figure. Thai kids can produce language packets for their iPhones – and iPods! Apple won’t. Why?

Winner also regularly updates their English language software – offering a whole host of third party applications. As we all know though those get lost with the iPhone’s firmware upgrade 1.1.1, turning an unlocked iPhone into that iBrick.

Stick with older firmwares – up to 1.1.1 and enjoy other Winner innovations such as working the keyboard in landscape mode.

MBK obviously uses the iPhoneDevTeam’s anySIM-hack, not altering the hardware, but flashing the baseband with software.

But to heck with those hacks: Seems to be a question of time until hacks against Apple’s anti-hack turns up.

Or torture yourself with the long wait for the legal arrivals.

According to a story in the Bangkok Post in January ‘08 already 60,000 iPhones have been illegally imported into Thailand. Local market leader AIS is currently in talks with Apple to get the rights for iPhone sales in Thailand – but Apple’s usual business model of getting a share of the airtime-revenue would not work in Thailand with the minute going for 1 baht.

My bet: The legal iPhone will be harshly priced in Thailand.

Addendum: There’s a massive stock of iPhones at MBK – with new firmwares. They’re all over on the 4th floor.

Sales are flat. Goodies are thrown in, such as free screen protector and a cover case – but who wants to hide that beauty?

And because: Who wants to buy before breaks are available?

But let the dust settle. Listen to Todd, the iPhreak.

Nobody in Thailand knows the iPhone and its hacks better than Todd.

The iPhreak just told absolutelyBangkok.com that he’s confident a crack would be found rather sooner than later.

Mid-January though 1.1.3 was announced – before the next siblings were announced …:

“Here it comes,” wrote the iPhreak Todd:

“Hello fellow iPhreak-a-Zoids. Steve Jobs has released another iPhone firmware update into the wild. But don’t get too excited about since we all know the iPhone Unlocker mantra: DO NOT UPDATE OR RISK BRICKING YOUR PHONE.”

“Let’s let the dust settle and when news of an upgrade path is worked out.”

Maybe Apple takes another leap ahead?

It has furthermore come to our attention that you have to be very careful to buy an iPhone these days at MBK. Messed-up phones are sold as virgin, but in resealed boxes.

Perhaps it is worth to wait for the “legit” arrivals some time in 2008.

Told us the iPhreak recently:

“The stores have all new stock with the new 1.1.X firmware which has the new bootloader. This new bootloader is what the hackers can not unlock.

The word on the iPhone unlock forums is that they are close to unlocking Out of the Box (OTB or OOB) 1.1.X iPhones. All they need is a new Apple firmware update that includes an update to bootloader. This update will give them the clue they need to unlock OTB 1.1.X. The bad news is that many think (nobody knows for sure) Apple will not update the current bootloader. So it looks like we are so close, yet maybe will never get that last clue needed.”

Plan B being: The hardware hack to the SIM card of the customer. It has certain advantages over the software unlock, mainly that it works on OTB 1.1.X phones. The main disadvantage is cost. And now even newer firmwares are out and 2.0 is in the pipeline …

By now everybody anyway has an iPhone here. You can’t go to a party without people showing off and talking about their illegits.




Sphere: Related Content

Related posts on absolutelyBangkok.com:

  1. Top Thai iPhone Apps
  2. Corporate 3G Disobedience & True Hypocrisy
  3. Your Typical Bangkok Food Intake?
  4. Bangkok Sirens: Sonia Couling

October 10, 2007 | Filed Under Fashion & Style, Money & Shopping 

Comments

23 Responses to “Bangkok iPhone Whispers”

  1. Fabio on October 25th, 2007 1.14 am

    Does anybody know when the legal iPhone will arrive in Bangkok?

  2. BangkokDan on October 25th, 2007 1.29 am

    According to Engadget and CNET Asia – both reliable sources – some time in the first half of 2008. At least in Asia. Bangkok always limps behind the rest.

    Will be interesting to see if Apple “locks” it to one Thai mobile provider – and if yes, whom that would be.

    Or if, by then, no more locked iPhones are sold anymore.

    My guess: Bangkok will be mainly supplied by unlocked gray imports. Go figure about warranty issues!

    BangkokDan

  3. Fabio on October 25th, 2007 1.04 pm

    I’m thinking about buying the iPhone at MBK, but am still in doubt about it. You think it’s a good deal?

    Thanks.

  4. BangkokDan on October 25th, 2007 2.15 pm

    Well, it’s about double price of the US, but you don’t buy the two year AT&T contract here.

    If you’re tired of your old, incapable phone now I’d go for it. The iPhone is the cream of the cream. If you can wait a few months it won’t only save you a few bucks, you may even have the “proper” hacks and a revision B device available.

    But I know, the iPhone is larger than life. Get it now, you won’t regret it. Haven’t heard of any disappointed user in Thailand yet.

    BangkokDan

  5. Fabio on October 25th, 2007 6.51 pm

    Thanks a lot, one more thing: How much do you think I should pay for it?

  6. BangkokDan on October 25th, 2007 7.00 pm

    Latest price, without haggling, was 20,000 baht. Good luck!

    BangkokDan

  7. Fabio on October 27th, 2007 9.08 am

    Hi, bought the iPhone yesterday, only the iPod is not working, have to go back to the store to see, but anyway that’s an amazing tool.

  8. BangkokDan on October 27th, 2007 9.14 am

    Congrats Fabio – what price? Any goodies with it? Still lots of stocks? What firmware on your iPhone?

    BangkokDan

  9. Fabio on October 27th, 2007 9.35 am

    The best price was 19,900 baht, but nothing came with it. I’m sure I could not get any better price, I have two years experience in Bangkok and I can speak Thai a little. They have a lot of stocks everywhere on the 4th floor. Bought it at 88 Phone store, the guy is nice, later I found out that he had been to my country once (Brazil) and that he could speak a little Portuguese too. The firmware is 04.01.13_g version 1.0.2.

    Best regards

  10. Fabio on October 27th, 2007 1.30 pm

    I was searching the web and found out that the iPhone with firmware 04.01.13 is the one that should have the version 1.1.1, but mine has 1.0.2, so according to your knowledge, do you think they can do it?

  11. BangkokDan on October 27th, 2007 2.37 pm

    Fabio: As mentioned in my post you’re fine with 1.0.2. If you’d be on 1.1.1 you’d have to jailbreak it first. I’d stick with 1.0.2 until a proper hack shows up. Enjoy your swanky new gadget!

    BangkokDan

  12. anthony on November 4th, 2007 10.37 pm

    Do you need a data plan to access email on the iPhone? Currently I buy 300 baht AIS 1-2-Call cards from 7-11. If I were to buy an iPhone will I have access to email?

  13. BangkokDan on November 4th, 2007 10.56 pm

    I got the AIS GPRS package 60 hrs/month for 200 baht. Check with AIS, they have other packages. Otherwise a minute GPRS costs you each 1 baht.

    DTAC has a monthly unlimited GPRS package for 999 baht. Shop around. But you need monthly subscriptions for these plans.

    Or the iPhone lets you use WiFi hotspots.

    BangkokDan

  14. ziamissimo on November 11th, 2007 8.06 pm

    I have my friend bringing me an iPhone this coming week. Do you guys know where I can unlock the phone, or is there any software I can download for free?

    Thanks

    PS: I’m thrilled for this.

  15. BangkokDan on November 11th, 2007 8.31 pm

    ziamissimo:

    Google for “how to unlock iPhone”. You get tons of suggestions and instructions.

    Otherwise at MBK they can unlock it for you.

    BangkokDan

  16. anthony on November 13th, 2007 1.39 pm

    ziamissimo be careful whom you take it to at MBK. Most stores do not do the unlocking on site and really have no clue as to what exactly is done to the phone. More importantly you won’t know what is done to the phone. Unless you can talk to the actually programmer you will not be able to upgrade or install any apps.

  17. BangkokDan on November 20th, 2007 2.04 pm

    As mentioned in my article, iPhreak may be the answer.

    BangkokDan

  18. Chrisjones on November 29th, 2007 5.31 pm

    I am going to Bangkok next week and was thinking of buying an iPhone there …

    Coming from Belgium, where the iPhone is not yet out, 20,000 baht would be a good price for me. But am still hesitating while reading what BangkokDan as well as anthony wrote.

    As I am a tourist in Bangkok, I won’t be able to come back. Hence I rather buy the phone without being unlocked and do it myself while reading the web. Is that possible? Can you ask for a not-unlocked phone?

  19. BangkokDan on November 29th, 2007 5.45 pm

    Chrisjones:

    I’d contact Todd, the iPhreak, mentioned above. Good luck!

    BangkokDan

  20. AIS & 3G iPhone Soon? on April 10th, 2008 9.52 am

    [...] If you missed our story about the arrival of the first iPhones in Thailand, read our Bangkok iPhone Whispers. [...]

  21. Nathan on May 11th, 2008 6.21 pm

    Hi,

    I am saving up for an iPhone. I live in Koh Samui and im still living here until the end of December. I am wondering about the lowest price I can get for a 8gb iPhone and a 16gb iPhone. The only difference I see is of the storage space and hopefully the 8gb iPhone would be maybe half price? I am wondering about the costs now, not in 2007. If possible can you find out the lowest price for me? I have tried looking at the MBK website but they don’t keep any information.

    Hope to get a reply.

    Sincerly,

    Nathan

  22. LaffingSun on December 7th, 2008 6.58 pm

    I too am going to Bangkok and planning on buying an iPhone out there …

    Having read all the posts, I am hopeful that the price would have fallen since they were 20,000 baht.

    Any idea about the recent prices that I would be expected to pay for an iPhone 3G?

  23. Vern on December 22nd, 2008 9.25 am

    iPhone 3G unlock video. Does it work in Thailand? http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/21/iphone-3g-unlock-demoed-on-video/

Leave a Reply