M1 and StarHub will join SingTel in carrying the iPhone on December 9th, the first two companies have announced. M1 is offering four different plans, priced between $36 and $198 SGD ($25 to $142 US) per month. Paired with a two-year, $36 per month contract, a 16GB iPhone 3GS costs $518, while a 32GB model costs $658. Under the most expensive plan, any iPhone is free.
Dell today formally entered the smartphone race by launching the Mini 3. The full-touchscreen phone depends on a customized version of Android and will have different features based on the region. While most details aren't available, the China Mobile version will be limited to EDGE data but use the government-supported OPhone interface and app store. Other countries should get localized 3G and should also have Wi-Fi as well.
Apple is persisting in efforts to expand iPhone sales before the end of 2009, reports note. Singapore is set to gain a third iPhone carrier in the form of StarHub, which will join competition with M1 and SingTel by the end of the year. Vodafone has announced a deal for Qatar, making it the first iPhone carrier in the Middle Eastern country. A local launch could slip into 2010.
Comcast is not the only company guilty of sabotaging BitTorrent traffic, the Associated Press reports. While that company has taken the brunt of criticism for potentially violating the FCC's net neutrality policy, the AP says it has obtained the results of a worldwide study of 8,175 Internet users, which found that only three companies were all but certainly blocking connections: Comcast, Singapore's StarHub, and Cox Communications. In the case of the last, 82 out of 151 subscribers had their transfers blocked.
The iPhone will launch in Singapore in September, according to unconfirmed reports. Local broadcaster Channel News Asia claims that a deal has been signed with Singapore Telecommunications, also known as SingTel; while Channel News cites industry sources, SingTel has declined to comment, and Apple has not made any announcements. Such a deal could make Singapore the first country in Asia to carry the iPhone, ahead of more prominent targets such as Japan, Thailand or even China. Singapore is a city-state, with approximately 4.6 million inhabitants.
