An email just this afternoon pointed me to the press release that Globe Telecom has agreed with Apple to exclusively offer the iPhone in the Philippines. Announcement was made at 1PM this afternoon.
On the Globe Corporate site:
Globe, SingTel, Bharti Airtel and Optus to bring iPhone to the region
Manila, 12 May 2008 – Globe, SingTel, Bharti Airtel and Optus today announced that they have signed an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone to the Philippines, Singapore, India, and Australia later this year.
More information will be released at a later date.
Finally!
A call to people inside Globe turned out nothing. They’re all mum about it. Not even a clue. All they told me is that it will be offered later this year. That’s it. No details on the plans, prices and release dates. Will have to dig deeper. *heh*
Wait, does that mean Apple will open up iTunes in the Philippines as well? Remember that Apple ties up your iTunes account with your iPhone subscription. But iPhones are already available in the Philippines. Just visit Virramall in Greenhills. Now, I’m more excited with the prospect of getting an iTunes account than an iPhone being legitimately available with a local telco.
Will the iPhone muster enough influence to make people switch providers? (That’s what happened with AT&T in the US.)
{Hat tip: Andre John & Mobius}
The problem withe Globe and Smart is the cost associated with thier Data Networks. A lot of people have missed this out. Globe charges your .15/KB. So for a 1MB file thats Php 153. With Smart its time metered at Php 10/30min. Globe currently have a time metered data plan to compete with Smart. Php 5/15min, but its only a Promo at it will expire. Like all Globe marketing practices to make their services sound cheap and affordable.
Apple signed exclusive deals with Telcos that have “Unlimited” Data Plans bundled in. Without an unlimited data the current “iPhone & iTunes” plan by Apple will not work here. Apple havent disclosed its plan yet about iPhone in Asia. We dont even have an iTunes store yet. It would be very silly if you would only be able to buy music from iTunes in the Philippines is when your using WIFI at a local Starbucks.
H everybody, visit my blog if you want latest updates of Globe’s products and services.
eman
hi everybody! if you want more updates regarding Globe products and services just visit my blog @
http://mobilehubs.blogspot.com
how much do you think this will sell?
This is good news for us in the Philippines. Now, how it will be executed is another story. I’m sure we’ll see the light of this revelation in the coming weeks especially that the WWDC is right around the corner (June 2008). It is likely that Apple will be introducing the new 3G iPhone 2.0.
Globe got the deal because they’re partners with SingTel who got the deal for them. So it’s really a default arrangement. It was not because they were the leading cellular company but because they are partners with SingTel. If Apple did make it’s research, they could have found Smart more feasible as a partner.
In fairness to Globe, this is a feather in their cap. This can really bring a lot of revenue for the company. How they will make it available and reachable to the public will be something to look forward to. If it’s available on prepaid, then I will get. If it’s a postpaid line (and knowing all the requirements), I’m sure you have to go through the eye of the needle to get one.
Now, will the iPhone 2.0 availability in your tiangge be a possibility? I’ve gone around the metro and I’ve seen some iPhones there. So the possibility is not to far behind.
As for me, I just hope Apple can open iTunes to the Philippines. I heard that they didn’t want it because of piracy and stuff. Mr. Jobs. Piracy and fraud is found globally. The US alone has a big chunk of that. Though the Philippines is considered a 3rd world country, we’re one of the most tech-savvy countries in the world. There are people here who are willing to give their money to buy legal music. I don’t see why won’t you let us. We do have credit cards here.
finally the wait is over!
no surprise iphone is in GLOBE now, subscribers of globe is ELITE kaya bagay sa kanila ang iphone, alangan naman SMART e puro jologs at prepaid ang subs ng smart, hahahaha, galing ng GLOBE!!!! yahooo
good news! pero wala pa rin yang panaman sa 5110 ko :D
i’m very much intrigued by the very short announcement in the globe (and singtel) web site. talagang pag apple masikreto, pati partners masikreto!
the scuttlebutt here in SG is that the deal won’t be exclusive and that competing telcos in the region are also currently working out deals with apple. for one, sim-locked phones are illegal here in SG.
sana yung 3g iphone
Something to really look out for these coming months.
Now I wonder if my next phone will be an iPhone? :P
As experienced with both 3G lines and similar phone models. I say that Globe 3G is much faster compared to my SMART 3G thats for sure! I Test it side by side in almost any location I can be. SMART shows strong in the Forth Area in Taguig. Rather the less I say Globe 3G is much faster than SMART 3G parang WAP. I even swap sims. But unfortunately Globe billing suchs! SMART improved its billing lately as I haved noticed but have system downtime in the early 4-7 am everyday. nagtitipid!!!!! Di mo sya magagamit at this times promise… Always online lang kasi ako!
More of these exclusive deals? Apple should just sell it straight.. everyone will buy it. They’re making the market smaller by doing this. Well, I’m sure Globe will give them a chunk of their earnings just like AT&T does.
iPhone will be available for platinum users for free. I’m guessing.
and by that time iPhone with 3G might be out hahaha..
Second, this will not affect the grey iPhone users hahahaha. Kasi most people naman here uses other telcos so grey version iPhones will still be popular. and cheaper too.
Dapat 2k per month lang diba?
Globe nabs the iPhone deal. Man! I’ve been a SMART user for more than 10 years and I’m very happy with the service. What does this mean for SMART users who want an iPhone? Does this mean we need to switch?
But will the iPhone for Globe be available for prepaid or just post-paid? Besides, the iPhones come to the same price range as the high Nokia N series (like N95) so it won’t necessarily be a ‘masa’ phone.
As for me, I just want Apple to enable the Philippines to iTunes. I mean, I may not have an iPhone but I do have a iPod Nano Video and I am willing to pay for the tunes in iTunes. Not to mention, register my podcast.
Oh well. Time will tell.
not surprising especially that all mentioned Asia-Pac carriers are sister companies.
Anyhoo, I sure am going to trade my N95 8gig for this one.
most likely it’s because of SingTel. but i’ve heard from Globe insiders as early as last year (when the iPhone hype was still fresh) that they were sure about releasing the iPhone through their network. in my opinion, there may be a possibility that they will release the non-3G iPhone first followed by the newer 3G model.
at bakit kaya Globe ang nakakuha sa deal? dahil sa singtel? sayang! mas maganda sana kung smart. lalo na sa 3G services. globe sucks big time pagdating sa 3G. i bet na yung 3G iphone ang ilalako sa pilipinas.
good news! so can we put into the globe iphone a prepaid globe simcard? o mga postpaid lang kaya? pag jailbroken siguro pwede.