What we are about to reveal next is top secret. MalaysianWireless believes that iPad 3 will be announced sometime February/March and it will be available in Malaysia by the end of March. This information however is subject to change depending on Apple.

Just like the iPad 2, Apple distributors in Malaysia would offer the iPad 3 once it becomes available. The difference this time is that the mobile operators would offer it as well. We know that Celcom & Maxis are interested but we are not sure about DiGi.

Based on speculation, the iPad 3 will use a quad-core chip(maybe Apple A6 processor), comes with a 9.7-inch Retina Display and possibly support LTE networks. There are also indications that Apple will keep the existing iPad 2 on sale alongside its new model.

The iPad is Apple’s second-biggest source of revenue after the iPhone. So far Apple has sold more than 40 million iPads, generating at least $25.3 billion in sales.

The large crowd which began gathering outside of Apple stores overnight in sub-freezing weather got angry after they were told around 7am that the phones would not go on sale as planned and that they should go home. Police outside Apple store in Beijing Police were there to contain the crowd of about 500 people at the Sanlitun store.

Apple said in a statement that it decided not to open its store at Sanlitun “due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees”.  It also said that it was halting the sale of iPhones at all retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai “for the time being”. The decision came despite the fact that the stores in Beijing and Shanghai opened without incident and reported rapid sales.

However, Apple said Chinese customers can still purchase the phones either through the Apple online store or at China Unicom and other authorized sellers.

Apple said all iPhone 4Ss were now sold out in stores. China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., the nation’s second-largest carrier, is the only one of the country’s three service providers offering the iPhone with a service contract.

[Source]- BBC

The Argentinian Government made a surprising decision to ban the import and sales of foreign-made smartphones, especially the Apple iPhone and BlackBerry smartphones, among others.

Somehow, the ban does not affect Nokia, Samsung, LG and Motorola as they have already built plants in Argentina. The Government says that the ban is temporarily and will be removed once the economy improves and becomes stable.

Apple and RIM can avoid the ban by building a factory in the country. Rumours points out that RIM is already looking for a partner but Apple has been quiet.

Although the Argentinian Government have taken these anti-crisis policy due to economic reasons, it seems a bit too radical to completely ban the sales of some of the most popular devices in the world.

[Source]- Phonearena

The A5 processor is built by Samsung in a newly constructed $3.6 billion factory that has the size of nine football fields(1.6 million square feet). The reports says that Samsung began supplying the A5 processors to Apple this year from the new Austin plant which has about 1,100 employees.

The 120 square millimeter A5 chip is twice as fast as its predecessor, the A4, which is also made by Samsung. The A5 uses technology licensed from Britain’s ARM Holdings, is designed by Apple in California.

Apple relies on its main contract manufacturer, Foxconn, to assemble the iPhone, mainly in its factories in China and Taiwan.

While Apple is one of Samsung’s largest customers, both giants are at war in a legal battle that involves patent infringement in multiple products across multiple countries around the world.

[Source]- Reuters

Official recommended retail price(RRP) as below:

• iPhone 4S 16GB- RM2199
• iPhone 4S 32GB- RM2499
• iPhone 4S 64GB- RM2799

Delivery takes 1-2 weeks and limited to two units per customers.

[Order iPhone 4S here]- Apple Store

Customers in Malaysia can soon purchase the iPhone 4S online without contract at the Apple Store. Below is the expected retail pricing(RRP) in Malaysia that we revealed last month for the iPhone 4S:

• iPhone 4S 16GB- RM2190
• iPhone 4S 32GB- RM2590
• iPhone 4S 64GB- RM2890/RM2990

We have been told that Apple Store Malaysia will take 2-3 weeks to deliver the iPhone 4S starting December 16.

The new ruling affects mostly all Apple’s mobile product with GPRS connectivity – the iPhone, iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, iPad 3G and iPad 3GS. However the case is not closed yet but Motorola can choose to block sales of iPhones and iPads in Germany.

To enforce the injunction, Motorola Mobility has to pay about 100 million euros as bond. On the other hand, Apple said that it plans to appeal.

“We have been negotiating with Apple and offering them reasonable licensing terms and conditions since 2007, and will continue our efforts to resolve our global patent dispute as soon as practicable.” said the company in an official statement.

Google announced that it will acquire handset maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion back in August. Google’s Android competes with Apple iOS in the tablet and smartphone platform.

We are excited about the iPhone 4S launch, like you and just like the hundreds & thousands Malaysians out there. These hundreds & thousands iPhone 4S fans are causing Maxis servers to slow down as the registration of interest keeps pouring in.

So Maxis might close down the iPhone 4S registration of interest page sometime this week, a source close to Maxis told us.

As these excitement continues, we want everyone to note about one blog that claims Celcom would be the first to launch iPhone 4S. This of course, not true and fake. MalaysianWireless believes all Telcos including Maxis, Celcom and DiGi have been given the “green light” to launch and make available iPhone 4S on December 16. We hope that the blog owner can be more responsible in the future.

Let’s make it more exciting.

We might get our hands on the Maxis iPhone 4S plans and pricing this week. It may not be the final one and the Maxis folks are really secretive of this due to heavy competition. Note to Maxis: Peace! We love you(and the iPhone 4S)…:)

There will be no update on DiGi iPhone 4S on this blog. We wish DiGi all the best in launching iPhone 4S.

As for Celcom iPhone 4S, we will prepare another article for that, maybe this week. Stay Tuned!

P.s: MalaysianWireless does not charge for content and depend heavily on advertisements to maintain the free content. We appreciate the support.

Maxis started accepting registration of interest for the Apple iPhone 4S yesterday. Below is an official statement from Maxis that it will start offering the iPhone 4S in Malaysia on December 16.

“MaxisBerhad will launch the iPhone 4S, the most innovative smartphone in the world,on 16 December 2011. Customers can register their interest at www.maxis.com.my”

In the mean time, Both Celcom and DiGi have indicated on its website that it will offer the iPhone 4S.

We can’t promise you yet, but stay tuned as we bring you the iPhone 4S pricing and plans from the Telcos before launch. All these only available on MalaysianWireless.com.

UPDATES:

• Maxis iPhone 4S Plans
• Celcom iPhone 4S Plans
• DiGi iPhone 4S Plans

Some 84 percent of iPhone users said they would pick iPhone again when they replace their smartphone. In comparison, 60 percent Android users and only 48% BlackBerry users will remain loyal to their existing smartphone operating system.

More than 70 percent of consumers said they would stick with their phones due to their seamless integration of features and access to content, the study by research firm GfK showed.

The GfK survey polled 4,500 users from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, China, the United States and Japan.

Ryan Garner, analyst at GfK, said the ongoing rush to build market position was crucial for the future success of the brands as on average 63 percent of consumers are sticking to the type of phone they have — lowering the chance for fast changes in the market place.

“Apple is clearly ahead of the game, but developments next year will challenge that,” he added.

[Source]-Reuters