Telekom Malaysia plans Wi-Fi expansion
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Plans to expand the coverage of ‘Streamyx’ wireless internet service has been revealed by Malaysian fixed line incumbent Telekom Malaysia (TM). The aim of the company is to offer the service nationwide.
Wi-Fi internet access is provided by TM via more than 2,000 Wi-Fi hotspots. It has added around 800 sites during 2009, of which almost 35% (724) are located in the Klang Valley including the capital city Kuala Lumpur.
No timeframe in which it expects to complete the rollout has been given by the telco.
IPad a big hit in Asian Grey Market
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The booming “gray market” trade in the world’s most talked-about high-tech gadget, iPad could not be stopped although its maker Apple didn’t launch it in Asia. Millions of pads have been sold by Apple within 28 days and about a thousand of them made it to Asia.
IPads are on sale for a substantial mark-up on the U.S. retail price from Singapore to Seoul, Bangkok to Beijing. In the stores in Hong Kong, one can get 15 of the basic 16-gigabyte models for HK$5,700 Hong Kong (about $733) each while the same model retails in the U.S. for $499.
In Low Yat Plaza, one of Kuala Lumpur’s centers for cheap electronics and gadgets, every other mobile phone stall had iPads for sale like 16GB, 32GB or 64GB version and the prices ranged from $750 to $1,100. According to most of the sellers they got their iPads from a few dealers with small retail shops in the U.S., and Apple’s failure to supply the device outside the country was fueling the unofficial trade
