iPhone 3G coming to Thailand on Jan. 16

by Newley on January 5, 2009 · 5 comments

This story came out nearly two weeks ago, but I thought it would be of interest to readers here in Thailand.

Reuters: “True Move to unveil iPhone 3G on January 16″

BANGKOK, Dec 24 (Reuters) – True Move PCL, Thailand’s third largest mobile phone firm, said on Wednesday it planned to sell Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) 3G iPhone in Thailand from Jan. 16, a key driver which should boost revenue next year.

The deal will make True Move, a subsidiary of True Corp TRUE.BK, the first operator to sell the new phone in the fast-growing Thai market.

Shares in True Corp TRUE.BK, which owns 75.26 percent of True Move, surged 17 percent to close at a near two-month high of 1.65 baht. The overall Thai market .SETI was down 0.3 percent.

True Move will sell the 8GB model for an upfront payment of 6,999 baht ($202) and monthly fees of 1,199 baht. Customers are required to use True Move services for at least 24 months, it said in a statement.

(Thanks to BL for the tip.)

Tagged as: iphone, Macs, Thailand

  • http://www.austinbushphotography.com Austin

    Went to lay claim to one in advance, but this being Thailand, you can only buy the phone with one specific credit card from one specific bank… And how long does it take to get said credit card from said bank? Two weeks. I think I’ll just wait until the official release date, when they might actually make it possible to buy.

  • http://pauldimond.com Paul

    Are these the cheapest iphones in the world?

  • rick

    I have an iPhone 3g already and would like to use it it during my vacation in Thailand in February. I think I can just replace the existing sim card with a local one and use it as a straight phone, but I would really like to be able to use all of the standard features if possible, ie, GPS, internet, etc. Does anyone know if I could just buy a months service of 3G access? thanks

  • http://newley.com Newley

    Wow, now *that’s* a detail that complicates things!

  • http://newley.com Newley

    @Paul: I’m not sure about cheapest in the world, but the price for the iPhone itself seems quite low. However, when you factor in the monthly charge over the length of the contract, the costs add up…

    @rick: If your iPhone is *unlocked*, you can buy a new sim card here, buy some minutes, and use it for voice calls. But in order to get Web browsing capabilities via GPRS (we don’t have 3G here yet), you’d need a post-paid account with a local carrier, which requires proof of residence. (This was the case as of a year ago; perhaps someone will correct me if I’m wrong.)

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