Iphone 3gs Is It Viable Please In Rural Thailand Yet?

[RubbaJohnny]

1 Excuse I am not technophobe but edge and stuff from vendoors confusing

2 Went to Iphone Appe shop website no price .Is it legally availble yet

3 will it work everywhere there is a DTAC signal by fa rbest reception here.

4 I see al the political debate on 3g is it better to wait

5 Price not main issue

I am retired and just like to have the best phone I can easliy use plus email access

Downloads etc not needed tho to be able to check here or Sydney Morning Herald be good

To have music radio camera options fine but non esential but net on the move

My friends kids in OZ and Uk are all onfacebook allday and say live TV sport etc next

TIT tho without a debate on speed merits of local providers is it agoer in the sticks yet.I never go to bangkok always fly out via C Mai but will it roam in SE Asia Oz Uk etc?

Any opinions most welcome I se them for sale $99 apple USA site and half on ebay yet whe asked here 33,000?

Running costs

When online is it charged per minute like a call?

Can you buy like Europe a monthly capped plan with REALLY UNLIMITED USE?

Finally are there coverage maps online in English and at whay resolution.Within my garden we stray between lao DTAC true and outside AIS

[stolidfeline]

My understanding from the Thai iPhone users who live in my condo is that 3g is not available yet anywhere but a few trial areas in Bangkok. And those are usually not reliable. Maybe someone else with direct experience will post more. There is an issue about 3g licensing here and it's very confusing to all.

[HDRIDER]

Hi

Start read all the tread here about the iphone, there is a lot and think you will get your answers

[webfact]

Moved to Mobile Internet and Devices

[nikster]

Go for it.

You can get an unlimited plan from DTAC for I think 900 baht / month, but they have very generous limited plans as well, like 100 hours - which is more than you'll need - for 500 baht.

True sells the cheapest unlimited data package, 600 baht plus some free minutes and free SMS - defo the best deal, but True reception is bad when you are out in the boonies - if it works at all.

You can get the phone unlocked from True shop for BHT 24,500 or 28,500 (add 7% tax to that) - use with any provider, legal and 1 year warranty from Apple.

Online is charged by the minute like a cell - if you get an unlimited plan, don't worry. If you get a limited plan, turn off notifications (push service). Notifications on means the phone is connected at all times, eating up your minutes in real time. But turn them off and you are fine. I get by with a 20 hour / month plan, works quite well and I do my fair bit of email checking and web surfing.

If you have WiFi in the house or nearby, that's a good way to save minutes - the iPhone will automatically connect via WiFI where available. Much faster, and cheaper. So if you already have DSL at your house for example, you will never use up any of your data minutes when at home. You'll always connect over WiFi. Some apps like skype need WiFi to work at all.

3G isn't here yet but don't sweat it. Nothing anyone can do, and the iPhone works OK on 2G networks too. You get 3G in Europe, along with usually outrageously expensive data plans.

The iPhone 3G (not 3GS) is USD 99 in the USA only with a plan - this is like saying my car costs only $5000 even though that's just the down payment. You pay off the rest over 2 years (with an expensive subscription) - so in the end, I guarantee you you will pay as much or more for an iPhone in the USA as you pay here. Here you have a high upfront cost, and very low running costs.

Let me know if you have more questions.

[joe84330]

i bought a used iphone 2g from the states and unlocked it here myself. no 3g in thailand for the foreseeable future but the iphone 2g has everything necessary to stay up to date and communicate. mine is unlocked so i use my current DTAC sim card which had all of my previous numbers, i also use the DTAC data plan which costs about 200 baht per month. i would have chosen unlimited however i have wifi at work so i really don't have any use for unlimited data plans.

[RubbaJohnny]

Thanks everyone so No 3G out here at all yet.

I'll wait and see a while more.

Good to hear it will run on normal chip or Wifi

[nikster]

i bought a used iphone 2g from the states and unlocked it here myself.

how much did you pay? in Thailand I hear it's about 10k. And that IMO makes it by far the best bang for the buck in this country.

The 2G iPhone does almost everything the 3G does. And it has a steel back which I quite like and seemingly a better battery life too. So has a few features less than the 3GS and is slower and has a worse camera but it's still miles better than any Nokia or Samsung you could get for 10k.

[joe84330]

paid 50 bucks, or about 1500 baht. excellent condition and hand delivered here rather than mailed. exceedingly happy with the purchase.