Friday, April 16, 2010

Apple iPad is Here in Brunei Darussalam

16th April 2010, Friday –This evening I went to the AV Electronics The Mall Gadong to have my hands on the latest gadget from Apple i.e the iPad. The Apple iPads that available at AV Electronics are the “pre-Asia launch version”. 


The pre-Asia launch iPad version costs BND998 for 16GB model; BND1198 for 32GB; and BND1398 for 64GB. You need to pay a downpayment in order to place an order for this version.


Just in case you have second thought about buying this pre-Asian launch iPad after you have pay the deposit, Haji Yusoff Soffian Haji Mohd Freddie, Marketing Manager of AV Electronics told the press that “Once a unit is available, we will contact our customers and they can decide if they want to go for the pre-Asia launch unit or wait for the official launch units”.

You are adviced by AV Electronis that Asia luanch units will be available by June and carry a lower price than the pre-Asian launch. If you can wait, do so. If you do not want to wait and can afford at the pre-Asian launch price, why wait?

As a guide, the unit for sale in the United States costs USD499 for 16GB model; US599 for 32GB; and USD699 for 64GB. If the currency exchange rate USD1=BND1.40, 16GB costs about BND700; 32GB costs about BND850; and 64GB costs BND980. I expect the Asia launch unit (for Brunei market) will cost about BND50 more expensive than the price that are availabe in USA market. But still it is far more cheaper than the pre-Asia launch unit that are available now.


For further details for the Apple iPad for Brunei market, you can visit AV Electronics through their Facebook fan page HERE.


Surfing my blog using the Apple iPad at AV Electronics The Mall Gadong.
One of my favourite apps for Apple iPad…Weather HD.

Internation launch is postponed....
Please take note that Apple has decided to postpone their international launch from the end of this April to the end of May. The following is their press release dated 14 April 2010 (entitled "Apple Media Advisory"):

"Although we have delivered more than 500,000 iPads during its first week, demand is far higher than we predicted and will likely continue to exceed our supply over the next several weeks as more people see and touch an iPad™. We have also taken a large number of pre-orders for iPad 3G models for delivery by the end of April.
Faced with this surprisingly strong US demand, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the international launch of iPad by one month, until the end of May. We will announce international pricing and begin taking online pre-orders on Monday, May 10. We know that many international customers waiting to buy an iPad will be disappointed by this news, but we hope they will be pleased to learn the reason—the iPad is a runaway success in the US thus far.”
Some Questions - Me & Apple iPad:
Will I buy it?
Yes, I will. This is my wishlist…But not now. I wait for the Asia launch unit that is expected to arrive in June 2010. I prefer the Wifi + 3G model because I do not need or do not want to have the hassle to find wi-fi connection in order to update news and e-mail…May be a Nokia phone with Joikuspot apps, an apps that turn a wi-fi equipped 3G phone into a wifi hotspot, will be a good friend with  wi-fi only iPad. HTC HD2 also will be a good friend with wi-fi only iPad. HTC HD2 has its own apps that turns HTC HD2 into a personal hotspot.


What will I do with the Apple iPad?
 I think I will use Apple iPad, mostly, for media consumption such reading some books (BUT not the hundred pages of novel) , magazines, & newspapers, for e-mail, social-networking such as Twitter & Facebook, and referench such as maps and dictionary. What else? Weather forecast update, recipe, guide books, reading comics, taking and reading note, updating contacts and calender, and ...I wish the software supplied that in the school books package have their Apple iPad version.


Note: Apple iPad is NOT going to replace my desktop…I don’t like laptop or netbook (except for presentation). Doing school “paper works” (such planning and reporting), photo editing, video editing, blogging, and watching video are best done with the desktop…with the big LCD monitor, of course. Big LCD monitor (22 inches or above) do lead to efficiency in doing such tasks.

How about game?
I am not good at playing game. But I am looking forward to play golf and a few other titles.

How about movie or video?
It is not the the best place to watch movie or tv series. If I want to movie, I prefer to watch it at my 22-in LCD monitor. But I will watch movie trailer or short video, including video podcast (such news, food, travel, and educational podcast) on the iPad.

How about hearing music and audio podcast?
It is better to hear them through the mobile phone or iPod/iPhone. Apple iPod or mobile phone (plus a good headphone/earphone) is a better device to hear audio podcast/music than the iPad.

How do carry this iPad anywhere?
May be I can bring it to restaurants and school. I think I need to leave it at home for other occasion. Hmm…may be I need Apple iPhone 4.0 (“instead” or “in addition”) which is expected to be launched in June 2010.

What are my favourite accessories?
I like to have Apple iPad case OR Otterbox Defender Series case for Apple iPad, Apple Bluetooth keyboard, Apple stand or third party stand, and Apple VGA video connector for presentation purpose. Do have I need a screen protector for the iPad?

What are the apps that I  like to download?
 A lot..From the newspaper on-line apps such as Reuters, Associated Press, USA Today and Washington Post to magazine apps such Time and Popular Science (I like the photos from these newspapers)…From games such Golf to educational apps such story books….From al-Quran to Hadith….and some (lots of?) fun apps.

Related Links:
  

Labels: ,

PeachPit (Pearson Education)

ANY COMMENTS, PLEASE SEND YOUR E-MAIL TO:

abdul_rashid.tahir@yahoo.com