SINGAPORE Telecommunications (SingTel) yesterday announced in a statement that it has tied up with Apple to bring the iPhone here "later this year". This comes almost a year after its US launch.
The exact launch date and pricing of the device, which combines mobile phone, Internet, multimedia and touch-screen capabilities, are still unknown.
But some think the launch here will be no big deal.
Even before its official release, Singaporeans have found ways to obtain the iPhone, either through parallel imports or by getting friends in the US to ship it over.
Mr Paddy Tan, 33, CEO of software developing company Bak2u, brought in 25 iPhones when it was first launched for software development and uses one himself. And there is the question of whether the phone will be locked to one service provider, according to Apple regulations, come September - the rumoured launch date.
Student Luo Yanjie, 23, prefer the iPod Touch to the iPhone as "it has no commitment in terms of service provider"
Market buzz has it that Apple will announce a new 3G version of the iPhone in June.
Mr Darryl Kang, 28, chief operating officer of Blog2U, hopes that Singtel will release this 3G version. "I held back on buying the iPhone for it," he said.
