The XOOM features a 1GHz dual-core processor, 32 GB of memory and 1GB of RAM, front-facing and rear-facing cameras, true multi-tasking functionality, and the latest Google Mobile services on a 10.1-inch widescreen HD display.

At an exclusive launch at the Ciao Ristorante in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, T. Kugan, Vice-President of Product, Device and Innovation at Maxis said, “Maxis customers will be the first to enjoy the coveted Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi in Malaysia. User experience will definitely be enhanced by the fact that Maxis today has the widest and fastest 3G broadband footprint in Malaysia, enabling them to enjoy the features of the smart device on seamless high-speed mobile data networks.”

Robert van Tilburg, senior regional sales director for Motorola Mobility in South Asia had this to add: “Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi re-defines what the tablet experience should be. Designed from the ground up with the user in mind, it provides more ways to have fun, connect with friends and stay productive while on the go. Whether surfing the Web, watching the latest hit movie as it was intended or video-chatting with friends, Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi will delight customers with its ease of use, speed and vivid graphics, as well as its Motorola Smart Accessories.”

Since the one to be made available in the Malaysian market will be the Wi-Fi only version, Maxis is offering a bundle of the XOOM together with the Motorola Defy for a combo price of RM2499. The Motorola Defy being an Android smartphone has a portable hotspot feature which will allow it to share its connection with the XOOM. However, according to Maxis, this limited period offer will be valid only from May 6 until May 22, and customers will need to sign up for a 3GB x 24 month contract on the Motorola DEFY.

Excerpt from Maxis’ official press release on the XOOM’s features:

Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi features – a new mobile experience

Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi delivers exceptionally fast performance with its 1 GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. The tablet showcases the innovations of the Honeycomb user experience – including widgets, true multi-tasking, tabbed browsing, notifications and customization – on a 10.1-inch widescreen HD display with 1280X800 resolution enabling video content that’s richer and clearer than ever before. Support for HDMI enables viewing of videos and movies on larger screens, such as HD televisions. A 5 MP rear-facing camera captures HD video, and a 2 MP front-facing camera enables clear video chats using Google Talk™.

The latest Google Mobile services include Google Maps 5.0™ and access to Android Market™. Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi also supports a beta version of Adobe® Flash® Player 10.2 downloadable from Android Market, enabling the delivery of rich Flash-based web content including videos, games and rich Internet applications. The tablet also features a built-in gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer and adaptive lighting. It supports up to 10 hours of video playback, and charges in half the time of competitive tablets on the market.  Motorola XOOM has an SD card slot but this will not be supported at launch – a software upgrade will follow after launch to enable this feature.

Motorola Smart Accessories

• A Speaker HD Dock for sending HD content directly to a TV or clearly listening to music through two built-in speakers without attaching external speakers
• A protective gel case designed to be a snug fit and to give you peace of mind when you are on the go
• A premium folio case which protects your Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi when you are on the go. It also allows you to position it at two different angles

Meanwhile, Motorola launches world’s first Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet XOOM in Malaysia originally appeared on GreyReview.com on April 29, 2011.

China’s largest telecom equipment maker, Huawei today filed lawsuits in Germany, France, and Hungary against its competitor, ZTE Corporation for patent and copy right infringements. According to a press release, Huawei claims that ZTE is infringing a series of its patents relating to data card and LTE technologies and also, illegally using a Huawei-related trademark.

According to Huawei’s Chief Legal Officer, Dr. Song Liuping, “Huawei was compelled to initiate this action in order to protect our innovations and registered intellectual property in Europe. Our objective is to stop the illegal use of Huawei’s intellectual property and resolve this dispute through negotiation so that our technology is used in a lawful manner.”

Huawei serves 45 of the world’s largest 50 telecom operators. Recently, its rival ZTE announced its shift to the thriving smartphones market; aiming to become one of the world’s top three tablet producers and one of the world’s top-five maker of Android smartphones this year.

Both ZTE and Huawei are close competitors in the fourth generation mobile broadband implementation in Malaysia. Today, Malaysian telecommunications provider DiGi appoints ZTE Corporation, China’s second largest telecom equipment provider, for the deployment of LTE-ready network (Long Term Evolution, LTE). With the deployment, DiGi network can immediately achieve download speed of up to 42Mbps using HSPA+ and reach 4 times faster, once 4G spectrum becomes available.

Both WiMax broadband provider P1 and mobile telecommunication provider U Mobile Sdn Bhd already announced the appointment of ZTE for their LTE deployment. Two leading Malaysian mobile telecommunication Maxis and Celcom partner with Huawei.

Patent infringement lawsuit is relatively common in the technology sector. Recent example: Apple-Samsung lawsuits and Kodak vs Samsung, LG for mobile camera patent violations.

Full Press Release by Huawei on the lawsuits

Telecom maker giant Huawei sues rival ZTE for patent infringments originally appeared on GreyReview.com on April 28, 2011.

To quote Depeche Mode, I just can’t get enough. Why? See here, here, here and here and also, here.

Sure, it may be lacking in some departments (which features may be available on its distant cousin, the Samsung Galaxy S). The fact that it runs on an unadulterated version of Android 2.3 aka Gingerbread and that it contains enough technological advancements (such as NFC) to provide its user with a sensual experience makes it more attractive than other available smartphones.

While we were disappointed with some of the camera and video recording features, we were not let down with and highly impressed by the Google Nexus S’ to-die-for 4” Super AMOLED Contour-Shaped screen, its sleek design, its high quality calls thanks to the great noise cancellation and audio hardware and most of all, the speedy interface of Android 2.3.

TIME magazine hailed the Nexus S as the best Android smart phone right now, and they are probably spot on!

Maxis has made the Google Nexus S available to the Malaysian consumer market, so those interested can sign up for a Maxis data plan and purchase the phone with contract. The following options are available:

• If you take up a 12 month contract, you can purchase the Google Nexus S at RM1799
• If you take up an 18 month contract, you can purchase the Google Nexus S at RM1699
• If you take up a 24 month contract, you can purchase the Google Nexus S at RM1499

As for the data plans, the customer may choose between 500MB at RM58, 1.5GB at RM78 or 3GB at RM88. The retail price of the Google Nexus S is RM2499 (however, Maxis has not released any details about purchasing the phone without contract).

The Google Nexus S review series on GreyReview is part of the Maxis10 Reviewers Programme. Participants of this Programme get to test out the Nexus S for 2 weeks and blog about their experiences. GreyReview is honored to be part of this highly engaging initiative by Maxis. Two weeks ago, we were Android virgins. After our sensuous experience with ‘droid, we are feeling so fly like a G6!

Google Nexus S – The Gulfstream 6 of Android smartphones originally appeared on GreyReview.com on March 31, 2011.

Previously in The Diary of an Android Virgin – Google Nexus S a well endowed communication device.

The Google Nexus S benefits from a powerful 1Ghz processor and the intuitive Android 2.3 operating system to make it an excellent gaming and multimedia device. For all your gaming/app needs, there is only one place to look: the Android Market.

A Market for all your needs

Apple has the App Store on the iPhone, Google has the Android Market on the Android. And just like Apple, Google has made the market accessible both on the phone as well as the desktop. One advantage the desktop version of the Android Market has over the iTunes Store is that any app/game you choose will be synced up with your phone wirelessly, i.e. just choose which device you’d like to download your new app to (it retains a list of all Android devices your account has been set up on), it will just automatically begin downloading onto it. Less clicks to get your new app up and running compared to Apple’s.

It should be noted that a Google Account is required to access the Android Market. If you already have one synced to your Android phone, just log in and you’re set.

The Android Market has a great selection of apps for your every need, from audio players to news widgets to converters to religious references. It also has a growing number of games to choose from. And yes, Angry Birds is available on the Android Market and best of all, it’s free! And Angry Birds on the Google Nexus S’ 4” Super AMOLED screen is simply breathtaking.

Music to my ears

The Google Nexus S plays music through the bundled stock Android music player. The user interface is clean and simple. It even supports landscape mode (for whatever reason). You can use a software called doubleTwist to sync all your songs and playlists to the Google Nexus S, which makes it really simple to import all your existing music libraries to your phone.

One thing that surprised me was that the Google Nexus S does not include FM radio, unlike its cousin the Samsung Galaxy S. I guess Google must have thought that since Apple got away with not including it in their Iphone, they can get away with it too.

Video killed the radio star

Videos are played via the Gallery app, which stores both pictures and videos taken by the Google Nexus S or downloaded from the web. It is simple to use; just tap a video and it’ll start playing on the screen. The playback controls are pretty idiot proof and also includes a bar for skipping forwards or backwards. Despite this simplicity, it was able to play most videos without a problem.

The Google Nexus S also comes bundled with a YouTube app to view your favorite online videos.

“I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. Demille!”

As previously mentioned, the Google Nexus S features a front facing 0.3 megapixel VGA (640×480) camera and a rear 5 megapixel (2560×1920) camera with LED flash. You’d think Google installed these features to enable native video calling feature (i.e. video telephony over the mobile service provider network) on the Google Nexus S. Wrong. Again, unlike its cousin the Samsung Galaxy S, Google has decided to forego native video calling on the Nexus S. However, this misstep by Google has been addressed albeit by a third party app called Tango, which is available for both Android and Iphone platforms thus allowing cross platform video calling.

There’s no dedicated shutter key to activate the camera app so you’ll have to scroll through the app tray to start up the camera.

So how does it perform? It does respectably in good outdoor light and surprisingly well indoors too. Apparently, the stock camera has been tweaked to correctly illuminate the object while running the autofocus routine – the result is that in the dark shots are now focused properly.

The user interface (like with all user interfaces in Android 2.3) is elementary. Most settings are easily accessible with just a couple taps on the viewfinder, which is a nice departure from having to scroll through a Settings menu. One of the newly added features is the ability to select focus settings manually. You can select from Auto, Infinity, and Macro. You can also switch from the back camera to the lower resolution front camera.

The Google Nexus S however does not include the touch focus feature. Touch focus is useful as it makes it relatively easy to choose the focus level you want.

Here are some sample shots taken on the Google Nexus S’ 5MP camera:

Standby, lights, action!

If you’re looking to capture high definition 720p video with the Google Nexus S, you’re in for a disappointment. It is only able to shoot at a maximum resolution of 720 x 480, which is DVD-like quality. As a consolation though, it is able to shoot at a frame rate of 29 fps which looks decently smooth. However, once you start shooting under low lighting, this is reduced to 16 fps which basically blurs any fast or abrupt movements.

The Diary of an Android Virgin: Google Nexus S absolute power entertains absolutely originally appeared on GreyReview.com on March 30, 2011.

As pointed out in the previous parts of our review, we have discovered that the Google Nexus S is well endowed both in its looks as well as under the hood. The presence of Android 2.3 aka Gingerbread powering its user interface is also something that makes the Google Nexus S an over all attractive choice in the ever expanding smartphone market. But how does it perform as a communications device?

Cellular

The dialer menu can be accessed from the home screen. Clicking the phone icon will lead you straight to the dialer. You can either pick a number to call from your Contacts list or dial the number straight from the keypad.

My main gripe here is that there is no auto-complete function for numbers dialed from the keypad, i.e. the phone wouldn’t suggest numbers from your Contact list based on the initial numbers you keyed into the keypad. It’s as if the keypad and the Contacts list are separate and unrelated. I hope Google addresses this in future Android upgrades.

The sound quality on the Google Nexus S is very good. The clarity and volume of calls made using this phone were superb. Even speakerphone calls came through loud and clear over the external speaker.

We also successfully paired the phone with a Sony Ericsson bluetooth headset and the call quality was excellent as well.

Data

The Google Nexus S has support for HSDPA 7.2Mbps and HSUPA at 5.6Mbps, but not the much-faster HSPA+ network. This is a source of disappointment, especially for users who are keen to test it out on HSPA+ enabled networks like Maxis.

Wi-Fi

The Google Nexus S has 802.11 n/b/g support, and its Wi-Fi range is what we’re used to seeing in other smartphones. But what sets it apart from the others is the Portable Wi-Fi hotspot feature. This feature lets your device behave like a Wi-Fi hotspot to which other compatible devices can connect to use the internet. Comes in pretty handy if you have an unlimited plan on your Nexus S and want to use the same to browse on your laptop, iPad or other such devices.

Web Browsing

The browser included in the Google Nexus S is the standard webkit-based browser that ships with stock Android OS. But what we like about this browser is its sheer speed. Heck, to say that it is fast is a gross understatement. It is so fast that you’re likely going to be limited by your connection speed. If you’re on a fast Wi-Fi connection, you should be able to unlock the full potential of the browser.

The browser is fully HTML-compatible. Webpages look just like would on your desktop browser. Large pages will load in fullscreen view but double-tap on any part of the screen and it will zoom in on the part of the webpage you choose. Pinch-zooming, just like that on the Iphone, is also available.

The best part of course is full support for Adobe Flash, unlike the iPhone.

VOIP Support

The Google Nexus S includes a built-in feature for Voice over IP/Session Initiation Protocol (VOIP/SIP) calling. All that needs to be done is to add your Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) account to activate internet phone and you’d be able to make VOIP calls directly from your Contacts list or phone dialer. Adios, Skype!

Near Field Communication (NFC)

NFC is a technology that allows a device to share and access data over short ranges – but at a speed that makes it very useful. Basically, it works like this: bring the Google Nexus S near a smart tag, the smartphone induces some current, and the tag sends back some data. If the phone is on and you swipe it over a smart tag, the device will read it – you don’t need to launch an application or download something like barcode scanner.

It is reported that Mastercard and Citigroup is working with Google for NFC Payments. Exciting times ahead!

The Diary of an Android Virgin: Google Nexus S a well endowed communications device originally appeared on GreyReview.com on March 30, 2011.

Android 2.3 aka Gingerbread: Purely Google

Most Android phones in the market feature a customized version of the operating system, with additional software layers to suit the respective phone manufacturers and carriers offering the phones.

Not the Google Nexus S.

This is Android as it should be, as it is meant to be used. There is no custom skin or custom user interface here; it’s the true blue Android. The default Android interface makes it easier to navigate and makes for a more enjoyable user experience, less all the clutter. This is what the search engine giant likes to term as a “pure Google” experience.

The Nexus S, co-developed by Google and Samsung, is the world’s first device powered by the latest (and fastest) version of the Android, aka Gingerbread . It was recently launched in Malaysia by Maxis, a leading mobile communications provider in Malaysia.

S for speed

Previously we mentioned that the Google Nexus S is powered by a powerful 1Ghz Hummingbird processor and it provides the juices to make Android 2.3 flow beautifully. Everything, from opening apps to scrolling down lists to managing your settings is smooth flowing and very responsive, hardly any discernible lag in sight. For someone migrating to Android 2.3 from Windows Mobile 6.5 like me, the Google Nexus S is simply a breath of fresh (and super smooth) air.

Black and green are the colors of the ‘Droid’

Black seems to be the color of choice when the programmers of Gingerbread were working their magic in its development stage. There’s plenty of it everywhere; the notifications bar, even the the background of the notifications bar is completely black.

This emphasis of black makes the menu window (which is transparent) look more pronounced.

As for the connectivity icons (e.g. WiFi, data etc), they alternate between green and grey depending on availability of connection.

Many of the stock icons have been recolored to match the green/black theme found throughout the user interface. Highlighted icons are now backed by an orange glow.

Home is where the heart is

Android 2.3 comes with not one, but five home screens, accessible by scrolling sideways. Each screen can hold 16 apps, and each screen has an icon menu which leads to the dialer, the full apps folder, and the browser. The main home screen is bare save for Google search bar and an Android guide icon but you may choose to populate it with your desired app(s). I like the simple bare look so I left it as it is.

Power and apps management

Android 2.3 is more power-efficient than its predecessors. A new battery menu is included in this build to show the user how much power is being used and gives an estimation of how much time there’s left before the need for recharging arises.

There’s also a new shortcut on the Home Screen and the Launcher to the “Manage Applications” menu for the user to check to see which applications are currently running and how much power is being utilised by each app and also allows the user to close one or more of them if necessary.

The new Downloads application gives you quick access files that have been downloaded from your browser, email program, or other apps.

The Keyboard

I like the keyboard in Android 2.3. It’s not as great as the one on the Iphone, but it is a significant improvement over the one included, say in HTC phones running Windows Mobile 6.5. The keys are spaced out nicely and the layout of keyboard is very clean.

The auto-correct on the keyboard works great, and the text selection method makes typing or composing a message easier. The tabs are a little larger and easier to maneuver and for a person with chubby fingers like mine, they are a blessing.

Notifications

The top bar on Android 2.3 not only displays the connectivity and battery strength but also notifications, be it about SMSes, Wi-Fi availability, Twitter messages, voicemails, downloads, installs etc. Once a notification comes in, you can pull these down the notification bar to examine the said notification, go straight to it or clear it. The phone will also chime to notify the user of incoming text message. My complaint in this department is that the phone does not have a notification blinking LED to let you know that you have messages; you’d only be aware that there are messages once you switch the phone on.

Sleep, my love

The coolest feature of Android 2.3, to me, is when you press the off button to put the phone into sleep mode. It features an awesome animation that looks like an old TV turning off, made believable thanks to the contrast of the Google Nexus S’ Super AMOLED display.

To be continued..

The Diary of an Android Virgin: Pure, Unadulterated Google caress of the Nexus S originally appeared on GreyReview.com on March 28, 2011.

Sexy Beauty – Design and form factor

The latest Samsung Google Nexus S is definitely a looker. It’s got a slate form factor but it also sports a Contour Display that gives it a bit of a curve compared to say an Iphone 4 or the Samsung Galaxy S. Overall the look is very clean, but the choice of material – all plastic construction – does give it a less premium feel and less striking look compared to the iPhone 4, with its glassy surface and brushed metal sides. The all plastic construction also makes it a fingerprint and smudge magnet as well as prone to scratches. The plus side about the choice of material though is that the Google Nexus S is lighter than its competition, weighing in at 129 grams.

One of the most striking things about the Google Nexus S is the gorgeous 4” Super AMOLED (or Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) display which features a WVGA resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. This display gives the phone beautifully rich deep colors, brighter output and perfect black levels. Despite the fact that the pixel density is lower than the iPhone 4’s Retina Display, the Google Nexus S’ color output beats the former’s hands down. The Super AMOLED display also makes for good viewing angles and is great for outdoor conditions.

The phone’s buttons are pretty distinguishable to the user’s fingers and are easily press-able with a tactile response. The volume is controlled by a single rocker button on the left; press up to increase the volume and down to decrease. The on/off button is on the right side of the phone. I’m familiar with phones with on/off buttons at the top so the side one takes a bit of getting used to.

Along the bottom of the phone is the Micro USB and headphone jack.

The Google Nexus S features a front facing 0.3 megapixel VGA (640×480) camera located next to the earpiece and a 5 megapixel (2560×1920) camera with LED flash at the back next to the speakerphone notch.

Last but not least, the removable battery cover is also where the Near Field Communication (NFC) chip is embedded. (We’ll discuss more about NFC later in our review.)

Sexy Beast – Under the hood

The Google Nexus S boasts Samsung’s 1GHz Hummingbird CPU, 512MB of RAM. It may be more than six months old, but it still offers the most powerful combination of general and graphics processing. In fact, it has the fastest video processor currently on the market. This allows the Google Nexus S to exhibit a great sense of speed and response. Applications load up very quickly and we have not experienced any stuttering movements or lag while testing the phone. The faster processor also allows the Google Nexus S to handle running multiple applications and background processes very well.

The Google Nexus S is powered by a removable 1500 mAh Lithium Ion battery and battery life is pretty good. Google’s official specs are up to 400 minutes of talk time on 3G, 841 minutes on 2G, and standby time of 428/714 hours on 3G/2G and we find that 6+ hours is pretty standard on the phone for heavy voice/3G data usage.

The phone only offers 16GB of storage; no microSD slot in sight. But for the average user, this is more than sufficient to store your favorite apps, music, take pictures and video.

to be continued..

The Diary of an Android Virgin: Google Nexus S a beauty on the outside, a beast on the inside originally appeared on GreyReview.com on March 25, 2011.

The Google Nexus S was officially launched by Maxis in Malaysia on Friday, 18th March 2011 and the people at Maxis were nice enough to loan a unit to GreyReview for the purpose of this exclusive review.

So this will be my first time with an Android. I hope it will be gentle with me just as I will (try to) be gentle with it.

First Base: Undress… errr… Unboxing

For those not familiar with this amazing gadget, the Google Nexus S is a phone built and designed by the folks at Samsung. It is the second Android phone that Google has assisted with a manufacturer to produce, with the first device being the HTC Nexus One.

It is the first device to offer users a taste of Google Android 2.3 aka Gingerbread, it is also the first device to support NFC (Near Field Communication) in its hardware and software. Indeed, this smartphone is literally packed to the brim with features. These are some of the features that caught my attention:

• Near Field Communication (NFC)
• Weight: 129g
• 1GHz Cortex A8 (Hummingbird) processor
• 16GB iNAND flash memory
• 5 megapixels camera (2560×1920)
• 720 x 480 video resolution
• H.264, H.263 MPEG4 video recording
• 4.0″ WVGA (480×800)
• Super AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode)
• Haptic feedback vibration
• Three-axis gyroscope
• Accelerometer
• Proximity and light sensor

The Nexus S comes in a small white box, just like the earlier Nexus One phone. The phone itself is prominently featured on the front/top of the box, with “Nexus S” written on the side. There’s no mistaking the identity of this baby.

Removing the box cover reveals the beauty that is the Nexus S, which is on a placeholder at the top layer of the box.

The phone feels very similar to Samsung’s Galaxy S, but in a way it feels more refined. Unlike the Galaxy S which has a somewhat gaudy chrome plastic accent around the edge; the Nexus S has an all-black body which looks more seamless and oozes sophistication.

Another cool feature of the Nexus S is that this is the first smartphone to feature a Contour Display, meaning the display glass is slightly curved to be more comfortable for users. Aside from the curve, the screen appears to be the same 4-inch, 800 x 480 super AMOLED panel used on the Galaxy S.

The entire back cover comes right off without a fuss; all you have to do is stick your fingernail in the little gap on the top of the phone and then pry off the whole cover. It just snaps off and back on again – no sliding or secret latches. Removing the back cover also reveals the slots for the battery and the sim card (regular sized sim card will do, so there’s no need for you to go and get your existing one changed to a micro SIM).

The standard package includes a wall charger, a microUSB cable, stereo headphones, a 1,500 mAh battery and Health & Safety and Warranty Guide. It’s disappointing that neither screen protector nor a pouch were included with the package but there are third party offerings already available in the market.

Next up, Second Base with this baby!

The Diary of an Android Virgin: Touched for the very first time originally appeared on GreyReview.com on March 21, 2011.

But it’s what’s inside it that’s got us giddy like schoolboys.

The Google Nexus S.

The successor of Nexus One, Nexus S is Google’s second exclusive phone that is developed by Samsung. In addition, it is the first mobile device that is running on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). It has a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen with 480 x 800 resolution and a contour display with curved glass screen. Other features of the Nexus S include a 1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor, a 16GB internal storage, a 5-megapixel camera and supports Near Field Communication (NFC).

Today, the leading communications service provider Maxis officially launched the Nexus S smartphone in Malaysia. And the best news is that we have been bestowed the privilege by Maxis to test out the phone touted as the “best all-around Android handset” in the market and give our take on it.

And we can’t wait to get up, close and personal with the spanking new Nexus this weekend!

Papa’s got a brand new bag… originally appeared on GreyReview.com on March 18, 2011.

The good news is that now Malaysians are finally able to buy an IPad that is covered by full official support and warranty, as opposed to those covered by shop warranty and support if you were to buy them from, say, Lowyat Plaza.

Below is a list of prices of the various iPads which will be made available through Mac stores and Apple shops in the Klang Valley and Penang:

iPad WiFi

• 16GB: RM1,549
• 32GB: RM1,849
• 64GB: RM2,149

iPad 3G

On the data plan front, there’s Maxis who is offering three plans:

• Entry 3.5GB – RM70 per month (available for postpaid and prepaid)
• Super 6.0GB – RM90 per month (available for postpaid only)
• Premium 15.0GB – RM200 per month (available for postpaid only)

Not to be left out, DiGi also posted its iPad-friendly data plans on Facebook.

Fledgling mobile service operator, YES, may also be offering data plans for the IPad, based on their latest Twitter. Nothing much is certain though; all that is certain now based on their tweet is that you can purchase an iPad at the Yes flagship store in Lot 10 and that there is no activation fee if you opt for the IPad + Huddle bundle.

With a replacement for the iPad to be announced sometime in early next year (as reported by Bloomberg), one wonders if now is the right time to launch the product in Malaysia or if now is the right time to make the purchase. The fact that this generation of the iPad will be rendered obsolete in less than six months might deter some buyers (and Fast Company wrote First-generation Apple products are for suckers.) But the question to ask is this: when the new iPad does make its debut, when will it finally (officially) reach Malaysia?

Apple iPad Makes Delayed Landing in Malaysia originally appeared on GreyReview.com on November 30, 2010.

Competition is intense in Malaysian cellular market. Pricing no longer an effective competitive advantage; price war can only go so far. Mobile Number Portability (MNP) has eliminated the hassles of changing carriers. Differentiation takes different forms. Tactics are being deployed by three key players – Maxis, DiGi and Celcom – to enhance its ecosystems and content play is a popular one – DiGi with its DiGi Music, Maxis with Music Unlimited and Celcom with Channel [X].

Maxis venturing into applications with 1Store, quite similar to the strategy adopted by smartphone makers – Apple with App Store, Nokia’s Ovi, BlackBerry’s App World and Google’s Android Market. Smartphone players use the apps to enhance the perceived value of their phones and enhances lock-ins; Maxis is planning to use applications to enhance the perceived value of the Maxis ecosystem and ultimately, increase subscribers and decrease subscribers’ churn rate.

Expect Maxis to continue to use its scale to corner the market with first-mover advantage and DiGi with late-comer strategy i.e. let the market play out and then find missing gaps to position itself. Think Broadband Done Right campaign. DiGi is a late-entrant in the Malaysian mobile broadband market but the company is gaining market share with its pricing and service quality. For DiGi, it’s launch-and-learn strategy with a twist – let-others-launch-first-and-learn-from-them approach. As for Celcom, it will continue to position itself as No. 1 in all Celcom territories.

Maxis Unveils Its Platform Play originally appeared on GreyReview.com on January 25, 2010.