In a few days the iPhone 3G will be introduced in some countries by Apple.
Thailand is not on the list of these countries for now, but who knows more, or is it available somewhere under the counter?

It will be available here over the counter.  Just not Apple's counter.  MBK is full of them (both genuine and fake).

There are, in fact, no fake iPhones available yet.  And the new 3G is unlikely to find its way to Thailand anytime soon as it will be much too expensive to purchase in the US without activation (the old 2Gs did not have to be activated).  Even if you were to get a 3G phone, there is yet no 3G available in Thailand except for a test in Chiang Mai.

Since Apple is no longer selling the 2G phone, the pipeline is rapidly drying up and their prices here are going up.  At MBK they have gone from 18,000 baht a few months ago for the 8 Gig phone to over 22,000 now and I suspect they won't be available much longer.

No word from Apple when Thailand becomes a legitimate market.

Richsilver wrote:

There are, in fact, no fake iPhones available yet.  

Don't know where you get your "facts" from, but "in fact" I have a purchased-in-Thailand fake iPhone in my little hands at this very moment.  They are all over the place!

Here's a Thai website where you can buy them online for 6,800.00 baht.

http://www.khongtook.com/product.detail_0_th_1567818

They even throw in a fake Lacoste polo shirt for free!

PS:  the fake iPhone I have has the "bite" taken out of the left side of the apple (as in the photos on the above website), whereas it should be out of the right side.  It also has removable/replaceable batteries, whereas the genuine does not.  Chinese writing and misspelled English inside are also a dead giveaway.

WOuld these phones work with your own Sim card from the UK ,do you know

I've seen LOTS of IPhones/IPODS with all the boys in Silom, the gym, shopping malls, ... all this despite that they are supposedly not available here. If the IPhone is anything like my IPOD that just can't ever seem to connect with my computer (immediately ejects after connecting) interminably then I'll surely be giving the IPhone a certain thumbs DOWN.

markie1 wrote:

WOuld these phones work with your own Sim card from the UK ,do you know

If you pay for the facilities i.e. 3G in the UK... Yes about £1.20 per minute.

...which were for sale all over the place in Mae Sai/Tachilek.  They were great phones, except for huge nonworking features.

The first 3G iPhones to go on sale world wide will ba available at 1 minute passed nidnight this coming Friday at the Vodaphone in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. They are camped outside the store in Auckland already and are flying in from as far as the USA.

The phones that are available currently are the old generation iPhone NOT the 3G which comes as 8GB or 16GB. The phones are quite reasonable ($NZ199) but the Vodaphone plan is $6,000 over 2 years. They have several plans and phone price variation but it was discussed on the TV last night that Vodaphone will be the most expensive worldwide. Other countries where the iphone will be available have their plans up online already although phone not yet available. Yes ... yet another NZ provider gouges the public!

Cheers
krobbie

Pardon my ignorance, but what is so special about iPhones? Why would anyone want to camp out to buy one?

fattman wrote:

Pardon my ignorance, but what is so special about iPhones? Why would anyone want to camp out to buy one?

Because they're cool.

In what way?

fattman wrote:

In what way?

Why don't you stop into an Apple store for a demonstration, or read up online?  Here's some information:

http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/apple-iphone-16gb-at/4505-6452_7-32851722.html?tag=prod.txt.4

Richsilver wrote:

  And the new 3G is unlikely to find its way to Thailand anytime soon as it will be much too expensive to purchase in the US without activation (the old 2Gs did not have to be activated).  Even if you were to get a 3G phone, there is yet no 3G available in Thailand except for a test in Chiang Mai.

Also 3G is highly over-rated.  I have a 3G plan in Hong Kong, and it is no faster for data than GPRS was before that and WAP over GSM before that.  The special features (GPS mapping etc.) offered by the new 3G iPhone will not work in Thailand anyway, so if you want wifi access and email, and the cool interface, best to get the iPod Touch and use a normal phone.

For a company that usually has a great deal of marketing savvy, Apple have completely missed the mark over and over again with their product strategy in Asia.  They continually put this region last, despite the fact that it has the highest mobile phone penetration, and highest purchase rate per year (ie. the number of mobiles individuals purchase in one year).

In the different posts I read about prices up to THB 22,000, but why is Apple advertising with USD 299?
Is the difference in price the registration/unlocking/software thing?