When last July Apple's CEO Steve Jobs unexpectedly mentioned Malta by name while announcing the new iPhone 3G to be launched in over 70 countries by the end of the year, the Maltese technology community was ecstatic.
First of all, Apple putting Malta centre stage is a very rare event for a small market such as ours, and secondly, because the iconic mobile phone would be officially available in Malta, at last.
When iPhone 3G was being rolled out one batch of countries at a time, long queues would form outside retail stores to be the first to get the new model. While very few expected this would also happen in Malta, indeed it really happened.
While the CEO of Vodafone Malta Iñaki Berroeta had just started to speak at the launch of iPhone in Malta at 9.30 a.m., he received an SMS saying that the Vodafone retails shops had already been assaulted by enthusiasts who could not wait to get their handset. Effectively the first handset was sold a few minutes before it was officially launched in Malta.
"The take up from customers has surpassed our expectations and has maintained a steady and consistent flow. In fact demand was higher than expected," revealed to i-Tech Joseph Cuschieri, head of consumer business at Vodafone Malta, the local mobile operator which is providing the iPhone handset and service. Apple has signed an agreement with the Vodafone Group to support the model in countries where it has subsidiaries.
The new iPhone 3G supports 3G (UMTS), WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. It has a 3.5 inch diagonal touch screen and a 2 megapixel camera. It comes in the 8 GB or 16 GB storage capacity. It also acts as an iPod when connected to iTunes.
"The iPhone is appealing to a variety of customers with different user profiles," added Mr Cuschieri. "What makes the iPhone 3G so attractive is the fact that it is not just limited to business or high end users. From fashion oriented people who regard the iPhone 3G as the quintessence of design to people who purely love it for its ease of use, gamers who love it for its accelerometer based high end graphics games to music buffs who can download most of their music albums (with album art, lyrics and all). Others just love the integration of GPS and 3G technology.
"You not only would be able to confirm your locality but thanks to the information Google Map users input, one can check out what's happening around and highlight their interests which could vary from archeological remains to any bar or restaurant found in the vicinity. The actual success of this product is the fact that it transforms and moulds, so to speak, to the user's needs."
This is the second major launch for Vodafone in a space of a few weeks, after launching its Blackberry corporate solution for the first time in the local market. Comparisons between the iPhone and Blackberry cannot be avoided.
"Many tend to compare the iPhone 3G with Blackberry models. In my opinion, these devices are aiming to achieve the amalgamation of access to all media available into one device but each would tend to approach it from a different interactive experience. At the end of the day, both Blackberry and iPhone provide a somewhat different user experience according to the different user's tastes. Our aim was to provide both devices on the market and let the customers choose," explained Mr Cuschieri.
The iPhone 3G is capable of handling push e-mail, calendar, contacts management, access to documents and, possibly, an organisation's intranet just like the Blackberry and other smartphones or personal digital assistants (PDA). However, with many applications such as GPS integration and integrated iPod, the iPhone provides a unique user interface.
The iPhone also uses a particular operating system and thus is one of the first truly mobile/computer. As with any other computer what makes the device really tick is the availability of applications for anything one can imagine, from applications which can record the track, speed, distance, and time of a jog (and then download it onto a computer database) to games which use the inbuilt accelerometer to simulate real-life gaming experience such as bowling, football or baseball, to just name a few of the applications.
Currently the iPhone 3G is being distributed by Vodafone Malta and it is not available on other networks. Users can port-in to Vodafone and keep the same number. However, the first version of iPhone has been available unofficially in Malta through unlocked handsets.
Since iPhone is designed to be used to go online and not just make a receive calls, Vodafone has created special packages that takes this into account.
"Data volume used via an iPhone 3G would be less then the data usage from a PC at home. In fact, average iPhone users across the world report using much lower than the 600 Mb/month bundle we are offering. We believe that the 600 Mb caters well for practically all users. Having said this, we are evaluating the usage pattern of our customers and we will offer other solutions according to their needs," explained Vodafone's head of consumer business.
"If you compare the price of an iPhone 3G to the price of a laptop, the iPhone is really cheap. Nevertheless, we are committed to having the iPhone 3G accessible to all our customers with varying user profiles be it post-paid or pre-paid. For example, the iPhone 3G is available for free for the 8GB model and at €85 for the 16GB model on particular tariffs."
iPhone 3G is available from Vodafone Malta outlets, iCentre of Gasan Street, Pietà, and authorised re-sellers. More information and full technical specifications at website www. vodafone.com.mt.
First of all, Apple putting Malta centre stage is a very rare event for a small market such as ours, and secondly, because the iconic mobile phone would be officially available in Malta, at last.
When iPhone 3G was being rolled out one batch of countries at a time, long queues would form outside retail stores to be the first to get the new model. While very few expected this would also happen in Malta, indeed it really happened.
While the CEO of Vodafone Malta Iñaki Berroeta had just started to speak at the launch of iPhone in Malta at 9.30 a.m., he received an SMS saying that the Vodafone retails shops had already been assaulted by enthusiasts who could not wait to get their handset. Effectively the first handset was sold a few minutes before it was officially launched in Malta.
"The take up from customers has surpassed our expectations and has maintained a steady and consistent flow. In fact demand was higher than expected," revealed to i-Tech Joseph Cuschieri, head of consumer business at Vodafone Malta, the local mobile operator which is providing the iPhone handset and service. Apple has signed an agreement with the Vodafone Group to support the model in countries where it has subsidiaries.
The new iPhone 3G supports 3G (UMTS), WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. It has a 3.5 inch diagonal touch screen and a 2 megapixel camera. It comes in the 8 GB or 16 GB storage capacity. It also acts as an iPod when connected to iTunes.
"The iPhone is appealing to a variety of customers with different user profiles," added Mr Cuschieri. "What makes the iPhone 3G so attractive is the fact that it is not just limited to business or high end users. From fashion oriented people who regard the iPhone 3G as the quintessence of design to people who purely love it for its ease of use, gamers who love it for its accelerometer based high end graphics games to music buffs who can download most of their music albums (with album art, lyrics and all). Others just love the integration of GPS and 3G technology.
"You not only would be able to confirm your locality but thanks to the information Google Map users input, one can check out what's happening around and highlight their interests which could vary from archeological remains to any bar or restaurant found in the vicinity. The actual success of this product is the fact that it transforms and moulds, so to speak, to the user's needs."
This is the second major launch for Vodafone in a space of a few weeks, after launching its Blackberry corporate solution for the first time in the local market. Comparisons between the iPhone and Blackberry cannot be avoided.
"Many tend to compare the iPhone 3G with Blackberry models. In my opinion, these devices are aiming to achieve the amalgamation of access to all media available into one device but each would tend to approach it from a different interactive experience. At the end of the day, both Blackberry and iPhone provide a somewhat different user experience according to the different user's tastes. Our aim was to provide both devices on the market and let the customers choose," explained Mr Cuschieri.
The iPhone 3G is capable of handling push e-mail, calendar, contacts management, access to documents and, possibly, an organisation's intranet just like the Blackberry and other smartphones or personal digital assistants (PDA). However, with many applications such as GPS integration and integrated iPod, the iPhone provides a unique user interface.
The iPhone also uses a particular operating system and thus is one of the first truly mobile/computer. As with any other computer what makes the device really tick is the availability of applications for anything one can imagine, from applications which can record the track, speed, distance, and time of a jog (and then download it onto a computer database) to games which use the inbuilt accelerometer to simulate real-life gaming experience such as bowling, football or baseball, to just name a few of the applications.
Currently the iPhone 3G is being distributed by Vodafone Malta and it is not available on other networks. Users can port-in to Vodafone and keep the same number. However, the first version of iPhone has been available unofficially in Malta through unlocked handsets.
Since iPhone is designed to be used to go online and not just make a receive calls, Vodafone has created special packages that takes this into account.
"Data volume used via an iPhone 3G would be less then the data usage from a PC at home. In fact, average iPhone users across the world report using much lower than the 600 Mb/month bundle we are offering. We believe that the 600 Mb caters well for practically all users. Having said this, we are evaluating the usage pattern of our customers and we will offer other solutions according to their needs," explained Vodafone's head of consumer business.
"If you compare the price of an iPhone 3G to the price of a laptop, the iPhone is really cheap. Nevertheless, we are committed to having the iPhone 3G accessible to all our customers with varying user profiles be it post-paid or pre-paid. For example, the iPhone 3G is available for free for the 8GB model and at €85 for the 16GB model on particular tariffs."
iPhone 3G is available from Vodafone Malta outlets, iCentre of Gasan Street, Pietà, and authorised re-sellers. More information and full technical specifications at website www. vodafone.com.mt.