iPhone arrives in Thailand Now

The long-awaited Apple iPhone has finally arrived Thailand on Friday.

The TrueMove iPhone 3G launch, handled by True Move, was held at the Royal Paragon Hall at Siam Paragon from Friday to Sunday.

There are few devices that have caused such a stir, and the iPhone has shaken up the mobile phone industry with manufacturers trying, one way or another, to duplicate what makes the iPhone what it is. Inevitably they, and those who bought unlocked iPhones, miss the essential ingredient - the integration of hardware, software and services. True does seem to grasp this point.

Supachai Chearavanont, chief executive officer and managing director of True Move, outlined the iPhone's arrival in Thailand. During much of his presentation he pushed the idea of convergence and of the device as part of a "lifestyle". He mentioned the multi-use features that may not be familiar to many users - phone, music player, games, pictures and Internet.

He also mentioned that True has its own apps for the iPhone. There are 12 currently available via the App Store, and while some are specifically for the iPhone, some also work on the Generation 2 iPod touch. This reveals that there has been a considerable amount of work going on behind the scenes.

During his introduction, he took time to thank Apple, which is only fair, but as an indication of the fact that this is True's baby in Thailand, there was no one from Apple at the briefing or the subsequent Q&A session. Apple personnel were there, but as advisers on the installation, and were not openly involved in the project management. Supachai also showed what appeared to be a couple of nicely made advertisements for the iPhone 3G with a Thai voice-over, ending with the Apple logo.

By: GRAHAM K. ROGERS @ Bangkokpost