SmarTone gets the iPhone 4S; Apple Online Store sells out in minutes
SmarTone (no longer SmarTone-Vodafone) has just started taking pre-orders for the iPhone 4S. Their servers are getting absolutely hammered at the moment, but I was able to order one for pick up which will hopefully be next week. As for price plans, they’ve introduced a nice “advise-and-consent” SMS if you go over your data allowance. Say you’re on the 150MB (previously 100MB) and 500MB plans and you go over, SmarTone will SMS you to ask for your permission to top up. As for the top-up price, it’s a much more reasonable $40 per 200MB.
See here for more detailed info on price plans: SmarTone | iPhone 4S – Monthly Plans and Credit Card Offer.
In other news, the official Apple Online Store in Hong Kong also started taking pre-orders this morning around 9am. Ridiculously they allowed each person to order a maximum of 10 iPhones. No wonder they sold out so fast!
Pocket-Sized HTC ARIA Debuts In Hong Kong
Hong Kong, August 17, 2010 – HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today introduced HTC Aria™ in Hong Kong and proudly announces SmarTone-Vodafone is the exclusive Hong Kong mobile operator partner of the HTC Aria™ and SiS International Limited is the Hong Kong exclusive distributor of the new phone. This pocket-sized dynamo packs a punch with a five megapixel camera, a bright 3.2 inch HVGA display, and offers users Android smartphone functionality in an amazingly easy-to-carry design.
The HTC Aria has been officially launched in Hong Kong! I have not personally kept up with Android phones but I notice a nice feature called “polite ringer” – as soon as you lift up the phone to see who’s calling, the ringer volume drops. If you turn the phone over, it stops ringing completely. Novel solution!
“You want it all, you want it small” is the product’s, err, tagline. It weighs in at 115 grams and has a 3.2″ screen (320 x 480), and is equipped with a 600MHz processor. Storage wise the Android 2.1 (Éclair) Aria has ROM/RAM of 512MB and 384MB respectively.
SmarTone-Vodafone is currently Hong Kong’s exclusive provider of the Aria. The handset retails for $3,598 HKD in the market, but as an existing client the price is slashed to $3,480. Furthermore, if you sign a contract of $348 or more for 18 months you will receive the phone for $0. Offer details available here.
Further Reading
HTC Aria – Detailed Specifications
SmarTone-Vodafone – HTC Aria exclusive
OFTA – Mobile Bill Shock
The OFTA (Office of the Telecommunications Authority) have published a document on measures taken by mobile operators in Hong Kong to prevent mobile bill shock. What is mobile bill shock exactly? Say you’ve gone overseas with your HTC or iPhone and not knowing better, you use data roaming as if you were in Hong Kong. When you get home and notice that your bill total has 4 (or even 5) digits… well, that’s mobile bill shock!
S-V launching iPhone 4 on July 30, with price plans
Is the line up going to be bigger than SV’s 3GS launch? I say yes.
Existing SmarTone-Vodafone customers will be able to enjoy special upgrade offers to get iPhone 4. Customers with handset plans can extend their contracts by an additional 24 months, while customers with SIM Only plans can replace their existing contracts immediately.
現有的 SmarTone-Vodafone 客戶可享特別的升級計劃購買 iPhone 4。凡持有 手機合約的客戶可額外延長 24 個月合約,而 SIM Only 計劃的客戶,可即時 以新合約取代其現有合約。
Here are the monthly plans: (click to enlarge)
Price plans for the iPhone 4 (SmarTone Vodafone HK)
Press release: English, Chinese (PDFs)
SmarTone-Vodafone launches new iPhone 3GS plan
SmarTone-Vodafone has launched its iPhone 3GS price plans. Note that this is only for the 8GB model and only comes in black.
iPhone 3GS (8gb) from SmarTone
The 3GS is free if you commit to a contract starting at $248/month.
For more details and the fine print, see here: SmarTone-Vodafone | iPhone – Price Plans.