6 March, 2012

In Singapore, IT fairs are like the indicators that mark the changing of the seasons: IT show in March (Spring), PC Show in June (Summer), Comex in September (Autumn) and Sitex in November (Winter). Days before each show, pamphlets from various shops and brands can be seen collated at sites displaying all their sales and promotions. To those who don’t shop around, those promo bubbles which shouts out discounts and product bundles might seem like a heavenly deal. But to season IT shoppers, most will tell you with a shrug, that these are similar to deals available at stores.

So it was a surprise to see Straits Time publishing this article No more juice Apple deals at major IT fairs on the front page of the Home section.

In the article, Apple Australia has informed re-sellers here to sell Apple products only in their approved stores, instead of promoting them at such IT fairs, citing concerns over diluting image of the brand. As Apple products are price-controlled, re-sellers can only bundle in goodies in the form of memory upgrades, software installation or throwing in a printer or other Apple products. At the same time, not to discriminate customers visiting either the IT store or their own stores, they will have the same promotion at both locations.

End of the day, what Apple did is no big deal. You still get the same juicy deals whether you put yourself through the pain and hassle of squeezing with thousands of people and get your feet run over by mini trolleys carrying big ass monitors and printers, or walk leisurely to the multiple Apple Shops or Premium Re-sellers all over the island. Or better still, open your browser and go to Apple’s Online Store and get it delivered to your doorstep.

If any of the Re-Sellers have any promotions, feel free to contact us and we will be glad to post them out here.

22 July, 2011

If you had just updated your Mac to the latest OS X Lion, and can’t access any Singapore government sites via SingPass, here is what you can do to enable that.

1. Run Software Update to ensure you have the latest Java software running
2. Or you can go to Apple Support page to download Java for OS X Lion version 1.0
3. Quit your browser after downloading before you start installing
4. After installing go to this Java test page to check if Java is installed correctly
5. You might see a small box that says “Click to enable Java plugin” or something along that
6. Enable Java, quit and restart your browser
7. Go to any Singapore government page and you should now be able to login via SingPass

Let us know if it worked for you!

4 May, 2011

Apple refreshed the iMac with all new Intel second generation Quad-Core Sandy Bridge processors and included the new Thunderbolt I/O port. The new iMacs also spot the updated FaceTime camera and also new AMD Radeon HD graphics processors, giving more bang for the buck!

The main four models available are:

• 21.5-inch 2.5GHz i5, 4GB memory, 500GB hd and AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB – costs S$1,648
• 21.5-inch 2.7GHz i5 (upgradable to 2.7GHz i5), 4GB memory, 1TB hd and AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB – costs S$2,048
• 27-inch 2.7GHz i5, 4GB memory, 1TB hd and AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB – costs S$2,348
• 27-inch 3.1GHz i5 (upgradable to 3.4GHz i7), 4GB memory, 1TB hd and AMD Radeon HD6970M with 1GB (upgradable to 2GB)- costs S$2,748

iMacs can be upgraded to 16GB memory, 2TB hd or 256GB SSD or BOTH (selected models). You can also choose between the Apple Magic Mouse or the Magic Trackpad with no additional cost.

As mentioned earlier, the new iMac will have Thunderbolt I/O port (two ports for the 27-inch model) that provides faster data transfer, and for the 27-inch model, you can have two additional monitors to use at a go.

For more details, do go to the Apple Online Store to see the various options available for you. The new iMacs are ready for shipping within 1-2 weeks time.

As mentioned at the beginning, these new updates are bang for the buck as you get faster and improved for the same price as before! How many have been waiting for this?

29 April, 2011

People are lining up all over Singapore to get their hands on the iPad 2. Here are some photos taken from this morning. More to come.

(Photos credited to original posters)

28 April, 2011

Updated the post with new information about retail availability here

Apple just announced the availability of the iPad 2 for Singapore and 12 other countries in the next few days, starting with Japan tomorrow (28 April), followed by Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea on Friday and China next Friday.

They will be sold at select Apple Authorised Resellers and online via the Apple Singapore Online Store from 1am, 29 April 2011.

Pricing are as follows:

WiFi models
- 16GB S$668
- 32GB S$798
- 64GB S$928

WiFi + 3G models
- 16GB S$848
- 32GB S$978
- 64GB S$1,108

Glad to see that Apple has adjusted their pricing to reflect current exchange rate with the US$. You can see the previous pricing here

Where to buy?

We know major resellers and smaller Apple Shops in Singapore are geared up and ready for the expected mad queues that will form either tomorrow evening or early Friday. If you had not pre-order before, you might have to wait long hours and hope that there are still available sets for those in the line.

Back in July last year, almost all stores had sold out all their iPad stocks within the day. Pre-orders were then fulfilled over the next few days. We expect no different this time.

Alternatively, you can always stay up on Thursday night and surf to the Apple Singapore Online Store from 1am Friday morning and try to order direct from Apple. But be expected to have at least a week’s waiting time before shipping.

What to do before Friday?

Well, as resellers have started stocking up on iPad 2 accessories – go and grab the essentials – screen protectors and cases before they run out.

If you intend to get the Smart Cover, there are some cases which are created with those in mind. They are usually thin with cut-outs at the sides for the Smart cover to attached.

Next, if you intend to get the WiFi+3G models, go visit your friend Telcos shop and get the MicroSIM required for the iPad. Do research on the various iPad-specific plans or if you already have a mobile plan with data, then look into applying for Multi-SIM Value Added Service so as you can share the mobile data bandwidth.

In case you can’t remember what’s new with iPad 2 – watch the video below.

Lastly, ponder over the this one last important question – White or Black?

Reseller information updates

Authorised resellers will open their store at 10am instead of 9am as stated earlier. The stores that will have iPad 2 tomorrow:

• EpiCentre – All 6 stores at Wheelock Orchard, ION Orchard, Suntec, 313 Somerset, Bugis Junction and Marina Bay Sands
• Infinite – both stores at Millenia Walk and VivoCity and 10 Apple Shops at Best Denki (except Clementi Mall) * Nubox – All stores at Jurong Point, Raffles City, Tampines Mall, Nex and Marina BayLink Mall
• iStudio – to be confirmed
• Multimedia Integrated – to be confirmed

Please email us team@iheartapple.org if you have new information about the launch.

21 April, 2011

Our hunch is off. In last night’s Second-Quarter Earnings call, Apple COO Tim Cook stated that another 13 countries will get iPad 2 next week – so next week it is!

Demand on iPad 2 has been staggering. We’re still amazed that we are still heavily backlogged, not only at the end of the quarter but also up to date. However, I can tell you that I’m extremely pleased with the progress of the manufacturing ramp and we were so confident that we rolled out 25 additional countries at the end of last month, and we are shipping to an additional 13 countries next week, and we’re planning to add even more countries through the quarter. So I’m very confident that we can produce a very large number of iPads for the quarter. Whether that will be enough to meet demand, I don’t know. Demand has been staggering and I’m not going to predict when supply and demand will come into balance. I can only be confident on supply side.

And the iPad 2 pricing might have been leaked …

16GB – $628 + $200(3G)
32GB – $728 + $200(3G)
64GB – $828 + $200(3G)