First iPhone Sightings in the Manila!

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief June 30, 2007 · 2 min read

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I earlier wrote about the scarcity of IT news in the Philippines. Now, here’s a really good example: First iPhone in the Philippines?.

Apple iPhone

This iPhone was spotted in the hands of Jayvee Fernandez. He was supposed to be writing a review for it (I guess).

But, and here’s the clincher, the review was pulled down and the link is gone as well as the picture. Super secret? NDA? I got a screenshot of the RSS feed though.

So, see, that’s supposed to be tech news already! Too many questions abound — where did he got it, how much, who gave it to him, how did it reached his hand, why just now, does it work with local telcos, where’s the SIM, can you activate it in iTunes?

I’m sure he got the iPhone way earlier than the June 29 public release. He blogged about it here. I guess he had to wait after the June 29 6PM release because of NDA.

[tags]iPhone Philippines, Apple iPhone[/tags]

Update: Turns out my theory was wrong. Jayvee denies having an iPhone. The picture above was an iPhone by another Filipino in the US. You can just read the whole story about Pinoys in the US buying the iPhone.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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61 Comments

kim · 16 years ago

can we use i phone 4 here in manila?
as i do check its specs…it has micro sim in it…

carolyn · 18 years ago

that iphone thats on that picture is the first generation because the iphone 3g doesn’t come with a dock, the power cord is different, and it looks thicker than the 3g, sure he has a iphone but its the 1.1.4 generation like the people here in the states got “LAST JUNE 29,2007”. this thing is posted on june 30,2008.

bigsaabs · 18 years ago

pangit

pooh · 18 years ago

GI JOE, saan u bumili nan IPHONE..US IPHONE is exclusive only in US diba…..its not easy to Unlock daw…

pooh · 18 years ago

totoo ba meron SIM an Iphone? an alam ko, walang SIM and just activite lang….

Cassiopeia RN,RM · 18 years ago

elo, i just went for a dinner party and I notice almost everybody at the FORT is using I-phones, i even have a friend (who is 5 years of age) knows how to use the gadget. I was wondering where do they sell this advance technological creation and for how much. I sure appreciate it if you will give a few notes like can I still use my smart sim ( naka line) or whatever with it? As of the moment im locked in a 2 year plan but after the term im planning to get the I-phone…

GI JOE oman · 18 years ago

all iphone from different countries ok lang sa pinas ang importante jailbreak na sya walang problema ang unlock iphone sa itune pareho pa rin im using iphone during my vacation their in pinas for 2 months ok naman walang problema lahat pwede kaya mga thong easy lang kayo

martin · 18 years ago

i read in some blogs that unlocked iphones wont be able to transfer songs and videos from itunes.. is that true? and what other setbacks will i experience when i use an unlocked iphone here in pinas?

cykie · 18 years ago

pano po pala magpaopen sa iphone!?dba pag galing ng ibang bansa di gagana d2?!

nathalie · 18 years ago

will somebody let me know how much (net) is the iphone in the philippines now? thank you

Gerald Joseph · 18 years ago

oops…. I forgot to add my email address: ei****@yahoo.com

Gerald Joseph · 18 years ago

I have five (5) units of iphones that I will be selling on January 19, 2008. I’m selling it for P28,000 per unit. Please email me if you are interested with your contact information in Manila. Transactions will be held inside a bank.Thanks

jaime · 18 years ago

Excuse me lang po..As of today, magkano na lang po yung iphone..and kung meron po..paki bigay naman po sa akin yung contact details nung seller .. thanks..

visitorj · 19 years ago

meron na iphone dito… P29k po ang price na pinakababa na alam ko… meron isang store P25k lang pero coming pa yong stocks nila… at meron na pala iStore dito kaso mahal ng presyo nila compare to any other ordinary stores…(iphone=P36k sa iStore vs iphone=P25-29K lang sa ibang stores) di ba nakakaluka? ajerjerjer!

visitor · 19 years ago

inspector gadget · 19 years ago

kelan ba release ung iphone sa pinas??? unga final date or month???

brixx · 19 years ago

well…guys check this out i’ll have my iphone by friday…well i bought it from my friend whose business is to sell hi tech gadgets.. he has 6 iphones and 3 from those was already sold then i bought the other one so theres two more left…and it’s only for 27,000..he also using i phone na naka “open line na” what he told me is that it’s the second version na ng iphone which is supposed to be release by 2008 pa.pero he already got those..he even showed me his iphone and talagang nagwowork na nga d2… i really cant wait to have that iphone…it keeps me awake all night just thinking about it…im a gadget collector kasi..interested txt me 0905*******

maverick · 19 years ago

Hi I am Filipino from cagayan de oro. I got an Iphone when it was release last june 29 at Apple New York Fifth Avenue. iphone is incredible like no other phone can compare.

1. The Phone. the feature is so basic. Well some phone has a lot of feature that are unnecesarry. iPhone only uses feature that are commonly use.

2. iPod. the best

3. Internet. Believed me, its like a desktop in your pocket. the way you browse in your desktop same in iphone.

4. Video. incredibly great.

5. Camera. it is only 2 megapixel but absolutely clear.

get one, u wont regret…

E Akino · 19 years ago

Is that iphone use in the Philippine. the release of iphone for asia is until next year ’08. US signal is different from Phil. bluetooth my iphone when you have 1…:-)

BrianB · 19 years ago

Seriously this is news to me. I just assumed.eah, I have my own phone when I subscribed. But who’d give a two-year contract to anyone these days, unless you own your own successful business or work in a bank or government?

kid · 19 years ago

it’s standard with globe and written on their application forms, you’re held to only one year if you provide your own equipment though.
http://www.hub-eshop.com/client/termsconditions.asp

it’s also standard for sun cellular when you get a phone from them, unless you get the relatively older models. if you provide your own equipment you’re tied 3 months.

but, i’m not sure about smart.

BrianB · 19 years ago

Kid, I just assumed. Everyone I know with a plan (excepting those they got from work) is on a one-year-plan. Me included. Smart didn’t even offer me the two-year one.

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 19 years ago

Kid, there’s a 12-month, 24-month and 36-month contracts, depending on the phone model and plan.

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 19 years ago

Kid, there’s a 12-month, 24-month and 36-month contracts, depending on the phone model and plan.

kid · 19 years ago

I thought two-year contracts are standard in the Philippines, specially if you get your phone from the telco.

BrianB · 19 years ago

My aunt got an iPhone in New York from an AT&T store. The EDGE service is incredibly fast. Prolly AT&T upped their EDGE a bit for the iPhone, I don’t know. My aunt says it’s more complicated than a computer. Visually, I think iPhone will just stump older folks. She will give it to my cousin. I was going to ask her to take a photo of it for the blog I manage, but with all the iPhone unboxing photos in the Web, I thought not to bother her.

As for the iPhone sighting on the Philippines. Only four people got to review it. As for 2008. I think either Smart or Globe will have a bidding war or they’ll agree to a compromise. Anyway, iPhone will be too expensive. People will be willing to spend 25 thou for the unit but an additional contract of let’s say 3k for a year would sway them from the idea. Two-year contracts are unheard of in the Philippines, but one way or another it’s going to be too expensive.

jayvee f. · 19 years ago

on a related note, megatron does exist and he is frozen in my basement. :)

jayvee f. · 19 years ago

i asked permission for a forum poster if i could put the photo on the blog. after the “continue reading” jump, it shows photo credits to philmug as well as the forum poster who claimed the iphone abroad.

i kept the post on draft but by accident clicked the post button. which is why now it is on draft once more.

sorry for the misunderstanding.