Interesting — the SIMposium 2009 summit has just announced the sales figures for SIM card shipments and sales for 2008. The figures put SIM cards at 2.9 billion units shipped with focus on the emerging markets in Asia. GSM technology is far more common in the Asia-Pacific region.

What’s also interesting is that 3G SIM cards make up 14% of total shipments and the memory size of SIM cards have increased to store more data (i.e. contacts and value added services from telcos) by 11%.

Oh no, not again.

Apple is in for another ride with the whole “3G is very fast” claims on advertising. It’s times like this I wonder if it really is Apple’s fault for claiming such or it’s really the public that needs to be informed that 3G speeds are highly dependent on the network, in this case AT&T - and not much with the phone. Sure you can get “congested” but that’s not the iPhone’s fault. If you really wish to put the blame on Apple, you can go as far as saying that iPhone sales should have brought about some anticipation for the congesting of the network and that measures should have been taken as a precaution.

*shrug*

The HSPA network is growing. Consumers are more familiar with HSDPA connectivity which refers more to a download service. HSPA completes the cycle with faster upload services, called aptly as HSUPA. Here is a listing of mobile phones that are compatible with the HSPA network - meaning they do both downloads and uploads.

Included in the list are the Apple iPhone 3G, the HTC TyTn II. Not included are newer phone models such as the Nokia XpressMusic 5800.

The list is still not complete as new phones are being rolled out for this 2009.

Hey folks! We’re doing things a bit differently for a change. Instead of the routine Monday contest, we’re running this in the middle of the week. We’re giving away a really cool new product from a bunch of great people. DRO Concepts is proud to introduce the carbon fiber iPhone case, a casing so strong and so light, it can match all those other cases made for the iPhone, and up the ante!

The case is just beautiful - elegant and protective. You can tell from the image that a lot of work was put into this lovely case, and the adding of hand grips makes this even more of a covet!

DRO Concepts presents our exclusive Carbon Fiber iPhone 3G Case. If you are looking to stand out in a crowd then this is the case for you. This ultra light case provides designer styling and superb protection, all while allowing you complete access to your iPhone 3G’s features. Real carbon fiber has an appeal unlike any other and with its super strong outer shell and a snug form fitting liner, there is no going wrong with this work of art.

Details:
-Made with 4 layers of genuine carbon fiber to provide tough outer armor
-Lined with snug high quality neoprene to provide a supple cushion.
-Toughened scratch resistant high gloss finish
-Super thin to keep the iPhone 3G feel and beauty
-Intelligent design offers complete access to all of the iPhone 3G controls

DO YOU WANT TO WIN A DRO CARBON FIBER CASE FOR YOUR IPHONE? Here’s how to join:

1. Contest will run from today, December 3 2008 till 11:59 PM of December 10 2008 EST.

2. To join the raffle, all you need to do is leave a comment with a valid email address answering the question “What’s the most effective way to protect your technology gear?”

3. You can join the contest and leave as many answers as you want, as long as each answer is unique. We will draw the raffle using Luck of the Draw for Mac OS X.

4. The contest is open to everyone around the world and we will have the item shipped to your preferred mailing address.

5. What are you waiting for? Join now!

“The new iPhone 3G has a nicer shape, GPS, and of course 3G speeds in the big cities,” says a blissed-out David Pogue. “But it’s the iPhone 2.0 software and the App Store that really change the game.”

David Pogue has finally released the second edition of the iPhone Missing Manuals. The second edition looks into the big changes in iPhone 2.0 software including the applications store and GPS. There are over 100 items explained from an in depth look into the way MobileMe syncs with the iPhone 2.0 software to Exchange server syncing.

The book costs USD $24.99 for print and $32.49 for print and electronic. Buy now!

The iPhone is unstoppable with 17 million in pre-orders from around the world (of course, we also have the perspective that whatever the iPhone sells in a month, Nokia sells in a week, but still…). Canadian telco Rogers has announced their rates at Canadian $60 to $115 per month. Sweden has pegged their rates at $50.00 and Norway at $80.00. In Asia, the rumored price of the iPhone is a $200.00 initial fee with about $50.00 in monthly.

[c/o Ubergizmo]

I’m excited. Really excited. Not much for the new 3G iPhone features, of the fact that you can now sync it over .Mac (renamed to MobileMe). What I’m excited about is competition. Today, Apple announced the new prices for the iPhone 3G: $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB upgrade. With Windows Mobile devices costing in the close $600.00 and above, what happens when the world’s most talked about phone get a huge price cut by half? What happens when the world’s most talked about phone acquires Microsoft ActiveSync and Exchange and push email? What happens when it acquires GPS and maps as well? All for the price of an entry-level phone from Nokia or Samsung.

What happens to Windows Mobile? What happens to the BlackBerry? The opportunity cost is just too great to miss out. July 11 2008 is the set date for shipping for the new iPhone 3G, making this the cheapest smart phone in the market. And we’re not even counting the Palm Centro anymore.

Image courtesy of the Apple Store.

UPDATE: The Apple store is back up with the iPhone 3G being sold

Okay. It really isn’t a big secret anymore, and this was something everybody expected. Apple is capitalizing on 3G data delivery for their new services including GPS and MobileMe, the latter being the rebranded name for .Mac, adding functions such as syncing over the air to your iPhone. It’s sort of like how Plaxo works, actually.

Overall, Apple’s move into the realm of 3G is a tad too late, but they’re making up by trying to innovate with the services - as well as price. The most affordable iPhone is the 8GB model, which will be sold at no more than $199.00. This price is apparently going to be enforced across the big 70 countries that will be selling the iPhone. So yeah, don’t be duped!

More thoughts to come in the next few posts. I’m trying to process myself out of the reality distortion field.

NEW IPHONE 3G FEATURES:
Faster 3G (HSDPA) Speeds
Built in GPS and Maps
Apple Push Service
Built in App Store
Microsoft Exchange and Push Email Support (!!)
8GB and 16GB models
Available in Black

It’s been talked about how Rogers is going to be carrying the iPhone in Canada. If I were Rogers - or any telco for that matter competing against everyone else this year, I’d debut the iPhone not as a product in itself - but as an incentive to a new type of service that is friendly to consumers who consume heavy amounts of data.

Launching the iPhone as an “exclusive” item on your rack of mobile phone bundles doesn’t make you remarkable as a telco. Sure, you do get the subscribers signing up for the service, but there’s no revenue after that - a good number of these sign ups prolly would have hacked their iPhones.

Staking the claim to the “second coming of Jesus” or the 3G iPhone which is supposedly due in the next 90 days, telcos should concentrate more on launching excellent consumer plans for data using the iPhone as a springboard. Knock on wood, the iPhone may not always be the next big thing. But yet — in this moment that it is, the “Jesus Phone” will definitely be a springboard as well for mainstream consumers to start using their phones for data, more than calls or SMS.

So yes, have a good, solid, data plan that can’t be matched. That way, there will never be the temptation to switch to another telco provider because it all boils down to excellent service - and being the first.

The article says it is true - the iPhone will be popping up in Australia as early as June of this year. And what makes this piece of information even more groundbreaking is that Australia, and yes, I would like to speculate that even Asia will be receiving their version 2.0 iPhone with 3G. The deal gets even sweeter because the phones will be sold on retail without any telco lock in period.

Good move - beating around the bush, Apple realized its losses in telco commission when hundreds of thousands of iPhones went missing as AT&T subscribers. They’re all in China. I just find it totally hilarious when the media always asks Apple Singapore reps during presscons when the iPhone will come. Apple employees are always known to be on an epic tight leash so they really can’t comment on it. The room of journalists is filled with unlocked iPhones.