Alamak

Pixar’s acclaimed WALL-E finally opens in Singapore cinemas this week.

It has been a recurring pattern for Pixar movies to premiere in other countries first, while Singapore audiences sit and wait for a few more months, looking jealously online as the rave reviews come in, while local publications stay mute.

Some possible explanations:

• Pixar movies are not a very blockbuster type of movie for local audiences, so delaying it doesn’t matter. Of course, the distributor isn’t stupid enough to delay it for too long until the DVDs come out.

• School holidays. The suits at the distribution company still categorizes these movies as “cartoons” and naively thinks that only kids will watch them. Times have changed, people.

Maybe its time to ask the local distributor, Buena Vista International exactly why they’re doing this to us!

If you’re not suffering from them, you’ve at least heard people heard lots of stories of bosses sniffing around employees’ email and are more interested about blocking your connection to MSN than ensuring that you are paid a decent salary.

I am paying you, so don’t waste my money doing your personal surfing on company time. — The Boss

They must be worried sick about phones getting more and more advanced. Employees can actually surf the web, check Facebook, read blogs and IM on these damn things! Oh the horror!

Unless you’re MINDEF, you can’t ban phones because people use it legitimately for SMS and business calls. Now when these bosses look at you poking at your super advanced phone in the office not via his ChinaFireWall3000-protected connection to the internet, they get really really uncomfortable!

If you work late, its because you are slow and inefficient. — The Boss

Yes. The iPhone will be unlocked, so if SingTel’s iPhone/iFlexi plans are not suitable, you can get a friend or family member to sign up with SingTel and use the iFlexi SIM card on another phone.

Alternatively, you can buy it from someone who is selling the Singapore version of the phone. Then mix-and-match your own phone plan on your preferred telco.

SingTel’s FAQ tries to dance around the unlocked issue with some interesting marketing language.

Using the word “preset”, while not answering the question:

Will the SIM be locked to SingTel?

The handset will be preset to the SingTel Network. Phones not connected to the SingTel network will not be supported by SingTel.

Singlish: we put SIM card in the iPhone, then it display, uhh sorry, PRESET to SingTel network loh. but if you dun use SingTel network, dun look for us if got problem!

Use the word “may” to induce FUD, and point to some abstract concept called “experience”:

Will my iPhone work with a StarHub or M1 SIM?

It may work but you may not enjoy the same iPhone experience as SingTel only supports iPhone 3G devices that are connected to SingTel’s network.

Singlish: other SIM card not as shiok as ours. But if you dun use SingTel network, dun look for us if got problem!

No worries here. IDA requires all mobile phones to be unlocked so iPhone 3G will be unlocked. (But IDA forgot to do that for USB 3G/HSDPA modems, so some telcos pounced at the opportunity to lock the ones they sell.)

Note: This article is written for the iPhone 3G launch in 2008. For our thoughts on the 2009 iPhone 3GS, see the article SingTel iFlexi iPhone Plans for 2009.

This article takes a look at SingTel’s iFlexi plans that are exclusive for iPhone 3G customers. It was leaked online on Tuesday morning, and SingTel put up their official information at the end of Tuesday.

Read the iFlexi price plan chart first otherwise this article will not make sense!

Ok, you’re done reading? Let’s concentrate on the more affordable plans (iFlexi Value & iFlexi Plus), since the rich can afford any expensive plans anyway. :)

The iFlexi plans are similar to standard voice plans in some ways:

• Free incoming
• Same per minute voice call charges
• 500 SMS per month

But they are a little different too:

• 200 and 500 mins bundled outgoing calls (standard plans are 100, 300 and 700)
  • Notice how SingTel slots the free talk time of their iFlexi plans in between their existing plans? This makes it harder for consumers to make a one-on-one comparison.
• Caller ID is included
• iPhones are cheaper
• Data is included for the iPhone’s internet features

Its quite obvious these plans are priced high to cover the cost of the iPhone 3G, while offering little upside in terms of service features.

To fully utilize the internet-enabled features of the iPhone while on-the-road, it is crucial that the data plan provides a generous amount of free data.

Streaming a couple of YouTube videos using the app built in the iPhone would gobble up a few hundred MB in less than an hour. If you’re out and about using the GPS feature, streaming maps and satellite images as you travel, there goes your data bundle for the month.

• 300 MB (iFlexi Value, after 5 Sep) - too little
• 1-3 GB - ok for light use, but in dangerous territory when exceeded
• 5-10 GB - just nice for moderate to heavy use, without fear of exceeding monthly limit

The bundled data would be less important if the data overuse charges are reasonable, but as you can see in the table below, they aren’t. If the bundled data is low, and overuse charges are high, it is obvious that the telco is depending on this little “tweak” for more revenue.

The way to prevent yourself from receiving phone bills amounting to hundreds and thousands of dollars due to SingTel’s habit of not capping their data charges (unlike StarHub and M1), is to avoid the costly overuse charges by using a plan with free bundled data that covers your monthly internet usage needs.

Don’t leave yourself with a nagging feeling that you might be charged extra while using the features on your latest shiny gadget. Imagine going back to ADSL/cable broadband that is limited to x GB per month. The feeling sucks!

Therefore, the conclusions are:

1. Bundled data in iFlexi is too low for moderate to heavy usage
2. Exceeding the bundled data & incurring overuse charges is too costly
3. Hence, we need reasonable bundled data in the plans from the outset

Unfortunately these plans remind us of the Rogers fiasco. Singapore is getting less free data than Canada (from the cheapest to most expensive plans):

• SingTel: 300 MB, 500 MB, 1500 MB
• Rogers (from Engadget): 400 MB, 750 MB, 1000 MB, 2000 MB

Most telcos worldwide provide unlimited data including AT&T in Apple’s home ground.

(Note: Since each country’s economics, competitive landscape and spending power is different, we are only looking at how generous the free bundled data is. If you’re in the ISP business you’ll know that bandwidth is already provisioned and paid for, and pricing is mostly based on how much the telco wants to earn vs. competitors’ pricing vs. how much consumers are willing to pay.)

Hong Kong’s Hutchinson provides 500 MB on most plans. Let’s just compare their most expensive plan with the top two plans from SingTel:

table { border: 1px solid #ddd; border-collapse: collapse; } th, td { border: 1px #ddd solid; margin: 0; padding: 0.6em; } .hi { color: green; }

1. Rather than signing up for the iFlexi plans with bundled data, let’s look at signing up for a traditional/standard SingTel voice plan
2. Standard voice plans don’t have data, so we’ll add SingTel’s Broadband on Mobile (BoM) plan as a value-added service (VAS), tacked on to the voice plan

Choosing an affordable and suitable BoM plan to add to the standard voice plan:

• The “Lite” and “Value” BoM plans are practically useless, since they offer only 2MB and 10MB free
• The new BBOM Plus iPhone-only plan offers only 500 MB which is insufficient for most users
  • 500 MB isn’t very generous compared to the cheapest iFlexi Value plan with 1 GB of data (if signed up before 5 Sep)
• So we’ll skip them altogether and use the 50 GB “1000” BoM plan at $22.42 for iOne and iTwo

This table compares the iPhone plans with SingTel’s standard post-paid plans, iOne & iTwo.

@ Calculated based on the monthly price of $5.35 multiplied by 21 months. SingTel gives 3 months free Caller ID for iOne & iTwo all plans.

^ Data rates based on “1000” BoM plan with 1 year contract at 30% discount + 2nd year at the normal rate of $22.42 per month. The 1 year contract gives customers an additional “$100 off any 3G/3.5G phone” but this is not factored in the table above since we do not know if this discount is applicable to iPhone 3G SingTel has removed this offer on 20 August.

New SingTel subcribers: For other promotions, like the one SingTel is currently having at UOB Centre for LG phones until 22 August, the registration fee ($10.70) and SIM card ($32.10) charge is waived. This is not so for iPhone, so be prepared to add $42.80 to the upfront cost if you are signing up a new line or moving from another telco.

1. Data Overuse Charges

   • The penalty for exceeding the data limit is around 5 times more for the iFlexi/iPhone plans compared to BoM!
   • Telcos here are playing fast-and-loose with data charges, hoping consumers don’t notice the disparity. Imagine paying $5 for a can of Coke that costs $1 at NTUC because its redder.

2. 3G/HSDPA Data Speed Limit

   • To ensure that the full potential of its Infineon 3G/HSDPA chipset is utilized, the speed shouldn’t be limited
   • But on BoM plans:
     • 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps limited speeds for the $22.42 and $34.85 plans
     • 3.6 Mbps full speed (comparable to iFlexi) at $62.37

All plans only have 3 months of Caller ID free. Free for iFlexi plans, excluded for other SingTel post-paid plans with free incoming calls.

Removing Caller ID from a basic plan gives customers the impression that they are paying less per month, when in fact almost everyone is paying the extra $5.35 per month ($64.20 per year) to enable the basic phonebook and missed calls feature available on every $0 or $1000 phone to function as expected.

Singapore is one of the few countries in the world where telcos conveniently omit caller ID for most of their plans, which is atrocious considering that its a basic feature provided by modern digital telephony systems (GSM/3G/UMTS).

In Singapore, StarHub is the only telco with a decent pay-as-you-use mobile data plan that can be attached to a voice plan. (We’re not talking about those plans that come with the USB 3G modems.)

StarHub’s MaxMobile Value plan requires post-paid customers to pay an additional $5.35 per month for 10 MB of free data, which is stingy, but:

• The maximum charges are capped at $36.38 once you exceed 10 MB $30 worth of data (thanks Gary for the correction)
  • Usage is charged at 0.32¢ per KB (cheaper than iFlexi)
• 3G/HSDPA speeds are not artificially limited, compared to the 1 or 2 Mbps limits for SingTel BoM

It all depends on two key factors:

1. The free talk time you need per month
2. Your expected internet usage

Recommendations:

• Little or no internet usage

  • You can consider the iFlexi plans, but keep watch on the data usage meter in the iPhone (which is inaccurate, according to firesong in the comments)
  • The internet-enabled features on iPhone are irresistibly great, so you’ll find yourself using it more and more. Don’t say we didn’t warn you! :)

• Lots of internet usage

  • The iFlexi plans are a no-go, so consider paying more for the iPhone 3G upfront, sign up for SingTel’s standard plans and add BoM for 50 GB of data per month
  • You’ll lose a little burst speed with the cheaper BoM plans, but 1 Mbps is very decent for a mobile device anyway
  • Or as mentioned above, try to get the phone separately and use StarHub’s MaxMobile Value plan. Many smartphone and iPhone “1G” users are doing it this way.

Its just a freakin’ telephone!

If you think that this is a raw deal, vote with your money and don’t buy the iPhone until the plans are more favourable (less likely), or when the other telcos sell it, and provide some competition to SingTel.

It is with true competition that we as consumers can get a better deal. In the meantime, let’s vote with our wallets.

Updates:

• 19 Aug 08, 8pm: Updated with details from SingTel’s official price plans
• 19 Aug 08, 11pm: Updated with further clarifications
• 20 Aug 08, 3am: Reorganized the article for better readability
• 20 Aug 08, 5pm: Added correction (thanks catcat) and comparisons with Hong Kong
• 21 Aug 08, 12pm: SingTel added fine print to the plans page clarifying that “FREE Value-Added Services” do not apply for 24 months. Tables are recalculated based on the fact that SingTel is not including Caller ID free in the plans (thanks Sophie & etre). Added a note on registration & SIM card charges. Deleted information on $100 discount for BoM.
• 21 Aug 08, 9pm: Added green highlighting to compare iFlexi Value and iOne + BoM
• 11 Jul 09: Added a link to our 2009 article for iPhone 3GS

Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society

I seldom watch local TV because of the impression I get from the productions on Channel 8. Cliched, over-the-top acting, regurgitated storylines, the same background music with the grating synthesized steel guitar melody, and horrible production values.

Its like MediaCorp Studios is running a factory that churns out the same show in slightly different wrapping paper, with the sole purpose of filling up the prime timeslot with something local rather than an imported show, as recommended by the authorities.

Sure, there’s a local cachet of aunties that will religiously watch every single Channel 8 drama out there, even the reruns. What about the rest who go for high-quality mainstream US dramas like Lost and Heroes. Or niche shows like Battlestar Galactica, Dexter and Nip/Tuck—shows that deal with dark and controversial topics?

How about those who clamour after Korean dramas like Winter Sonata for the romantic moods and attractive leads. Or the younger set who go for innovative dramas and anime from Japan. We don’t attempt such shows here. Why?

What happened to good productions like:

• The classic “The Awakening” (雾锁南洋)
• Or the more recent “The Price of Peace” (和平的代价)
• Themed shows that deal with a single topic or world, like “The Unbeatables” (双天至尊)
• Fantasy and novel adaptations like “Return of the Condor Heroes” (神鵰俠侶)
• Dramadies like “Chase”

I was glad that I decided to watch the recently concluded drama series “Perfect Cut” (一切完美) broadcast on Channel U rather than Channel 8. (I think the broadcaster wanted to send a message that this show was different.) It was not perfect, but definitely a cut above the typical MediaCorp fare.

• The cast was great, especially Thomas Ong (王沺裁) and Michelle Chia (谢韵仪)
• The storyline was handled in a very mature fashion
• The dialogue was well-written
• The MediaCorp-style over-the-top acting was toned down considerably, though there are some spots where it rears its ugly head
• The choice of background music is much better, although overbearing and manipulative at times

WaWa Productions, the studio commissioned by MediaCorp to produce this series, did a great job. Ochre Pictures is another studio that comes to mind. Even their documentary productions are beautifully shot.

MediaCorp’s in-house productions pale in comparison. I don’t know what the management is thinking, but they really need to set the quality bar a bit higher before more viewers get alienated (just like they recently admitted for Channel 5).

The common refrain is that our market is limited, population is too small, etc. Think global, and develop shows that have globally-accepted themes. Sell these shows overseas, just like what the Koreans do. Market our stars. Singapore does have good-looking and talented actors. Heck, market the directors and producers too! The US has J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon, why can’t we have ours?

On the production quality and technical side, there are some great things that these small studios are doing that MediaCorp persistently neglects (even for the good productions listed above):

• Shooting in progressive and HD for a more film-like quality: Stop using square-screen TV cameras that produce interlaced video that’s just on par with cheap consumer video cameras!
• Colour grading to change the colour and tonal quality of the video to portray different moods
• Widescreen aspect ratio, for a more movie-like experience that’s great for widescreen TV sets common today
• Better cinematography: People can tell subconsciously when a show is shot haphazardly vs. when attention is given to proper framing, camera motion and lighting

One area that could be improved is sound and music:

• Productions are still not in 5.1 surround
• There’s always noise and hiss because they typically use the sound that was recorded when the scene was shot. My guess is that they do not budget much for audio and music even though it makes up 50% of the experience
• ADR (where actors re-record their lines in the studio) is seldom used to improve the quality of dialogue
• Better music score: Budget more for music, and attach a local music talent to score a single show, to keep the tone consistent

Given what we’ve seen in past productions, Singapore can come up with good stories to tell and has the talent to tell them. The local TV monopoly needs to realize that they’re alienating viewers by setting the quality bar too low such that it tends to produce more drivel than hits.

The subject-matter and acting styles can be more varied. How about a sci-fi series? Scripts, dialogue, sound, music, cinematography and post production has to improve. A show is an experience, and every aspect counts.

Don’t disappoint the next generation of viewers.