Posted by: Aamir Attaa on November 11, 2008 at 7:42 PM
Guest Post by Naeem Pani Wala
Unlike other countries, cellular companies in Pakistan hold a vital share in advertising spending; both in print and electronic media - Mobile advertising is considered as back bone of advertising industry in Pakistan.
When we see global stats, In 2007 only 4 billion US dollars were spent by mobile companies on advertising (globally), while only Procter and Gamble had more advertising budget then this, that year – however, situation in Pakistan is obviously lot different.
High paying and long running advertising campaigns contributed a lot in advertising industry. I remember that before telecom era, even the salaries were very small in advertising companies, but then came the boom and advertising touched new heights.
Maybe it was strategic mistake by advertising industry to rely this much only on telecom sector. That’s the reason, the downfall of telecom sector (to some extent at least) is severely felt by advertising agencies at most. Continue Reading This Story
Posted by: Aamir Attaa on October 11, 2008 at 8:11 AM
We have discussed before that 3G iPhone is available in Pakistan, with few evidences, but this post will go online with a proof of availability and its exact pricing details.
Thanks to a subscriber, who posted this update at WCCFtech with pictures, to actually confirm the price and location from where he got this 3G iPhone 8GB.
This 3G iPhone (8 GB) is purchased from Hafeez Center, Lahore. And its price is as following
3G iPhone = Rs. 58,000
Turbo SIM = Rs. 1,000
Total = Rs. 59,000
Turbo SIM is used to unlock it, so to total package is going to cost you Rs. 59,000.
Posted by: Aamir Attaa on July 24, 2008 at 2:35 PM
Apple has announced another 50 countries, where iPhone will strike soon…! Bad news for us is that Pakistan is not in the list again. So all those ruomers are given a hald that defined Mobilink or Warid to bring in iPhone in the country. However, Singtel has succeeded in bringing iPhone to Singapore. Other neighbours include India and Qatar.
This list of 50 countries is other than of those 22 nations that recieved iPhone on July 11, 2008.
So those who are jailbreaking iPhone in Pakistan, keep doing so, as there is no ray of hope yet for Pakistan.
Posted by: Aamir Attaa on July 20, 2008 at 9:21 PM
One of the most awaited hacking tools for iPhone 3G has been finally brought forward by iPhone Dev Team that is named as Pwnage Tool 2.0
iPhone 3G is going to get unlocked around the globe with this Pwnage Tool, allowing iPhone lovers to unlock it and install application that they want (but are not provided or approved by Apple). This tool is also going to help to unlock/jailbreak iPhone 2G or iPof Touch on ware 2.0
Currently, Pwnage Tool 2.0 is compatible with Mac and supports the following devices and firmwares:
iPhone (1st Gen) with 2.0: Activated, Unlocked & Jailbroken, (with support for third party applications).
iPod Touch with 2.0: Activated & Jailbroken, (with support for third party applications).
iPhone (3G) with 2.0: Activated, Jailbroken (with support for third party applications).
Through Jailbreak application, hackers open up the iPhone’s file system so it can be modified in order to install other application that are not provided or approved by Apple to be used with the iPhone.
However, this is violates Apple’s iPhone software licensing agreement, still many users use Jailbreak applications with no problems, there are some risks involved with doing so. If this causes any problems, it can void the warranty.
Posted by: Aamir Attaa on July 16, 2008 at 6:33 AM
Good News has hit for those countries where 3G iPhone was not officially launched. Original iPhone took good time to get unlocked, however, its 3G variant, 3G iPhone was unlocked in only its first week. MobileCrunch reports quoting a Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo that the DesbloqueioBR has hit won the race and became very first one to unlock 3G iPhone.
A relatively simple procedure was adopted to achieve this. They altered handset’s firmware and installed a special card add-on to the SIM chip, that’s it. With this configureation DesbloqueioBR claims that the 3G iPhone can now connect to any carrier.
In 22 countries, only one service provider has been authorized to sell 3G iPhone. All carieers are subsidizing the Apple’s newest gadget, resulting long term contracts and relatively larger monthly prices.
DesbloqueioBR says that it has plans to charge between 250 and 375 dollars to unlock an 3G iPhone. Other unlocks are sure to follow and so are the stories that cover them.
Posted by: Aamir Attaa on July 14, 2008 at 2:01 PM
I have previously discussed the availability of iPhone in Pakistan, emergence of 3G iPhone and its craze that we have been witnessing in Pakistani consumers, now i thought of presenting a comparison 3G iPhone and Nokia N95.
As we know well that 3G iPhone or even its earlier version are good enough when it comes to data services, but a gadget lover in Pakistan can not wholly rely on the data features that 3G iPhone offers while compromising with other features such as GPS, 5 MP Camera, Video Capturing etc.
Check out below table that compares the features of 3G iPhone and Nokia N95
Apple 3G iPhone
Nokia N95
Operating system
Mac OS X
Symbian S60
3G
No
Yes (HSDPA-enhanced)
Camera resolution
2 megapixels
5 megapixels
Browser
Safari
Nokia Web Browser with Mini
map
E-mail
Displays HTML-rich; Push
IMAP (Yahoo); IMAP/POP3
POP3/SMTP/IMAP
Music player
iTunes
RealPlayer / Nokia Media
Player
GPS
Yes
Yes
Touchscreen
Yes (multi-touch sensors)
No
Screen
8.9cm (320×480 pixels)
6.4cm (240×320 pixels)
Weight
133g
120g
Memory
8GB/16GB
160MB
Processor speed
Unknown
330MHz
Expansion slot
None
microSD (Maximum 2GB)
Replaceable battery
No
Yes
MMS (for sending pictures and video)
No
Yes
IM (instant messaging)
No
Yes
Video calling
Yes
Yes
Video capture
No
640 x 480 (30 frames per
second)
VoIP
No
Yes
YouTube
Yes
Yes
User can install 3rd-party apps
No
Yes
Accelerometer changes screen orientation when
rotated
Yes
No
Spell checker
Yes
Yes
Ambient light sensor (dims screen in low
light)
Yes
Yes
Proximity sensor (turns screen off when put
up to your ear)
Yes
No
Video output to TV
Yes
Yes
Visual voicemail
Yes
No
Threaded SMS
Yes
No
Browse music by album covers
Yes
No
Flickr integration
No
Yes
Supports stereo Bluetooth (A2DP)
Headset Support Only
Yes
Locked to carrier
Yes
No
Prices
Rs. 50,000 plus (expected)
Rs. 35,000
Clearly visible that N95 can be a better phone in Pakistan than of 3G iPhone with 5MP Camera, Bluetooth, third party application, MMS, many audio and video supported formats and so on. But if you are addicted to touchscreen and navigation ease that 3G iPhone offers, then 3G iPhone is your certani choice.
Mr. Asim who used iPhone for some time, states in his blog that he has come back to Nokia N95. He has collection of reasons for doing so, which are as following
With N95 you can send/receive files on N95
DVD like video Recording
5 MegaPixel Camera
Internal GPS and Nokia excellent Sports Tracker Application
Bluetooth A2DP Profile (Stereo)
Copy and Paste (Major Bummer)
I can view www.bbcurdu.com (Not possible on iphone)
I can stream into realplayer
I can now use blacklist program
Voice Recoder which records telephone calls too.
Caller Name Playback when you receive call (Excellent Feature! Without picking the phone I know who is calling me)
Voice Activated Calling ( Simply Speak; the phone will identify the contact and call)
Picture Slide show (Pan and Zoom) with Music (Why iphone does not have this feature)
Picture Editor
Easy transfer of Pictures and Songs (Not through complicated iTunes)
and finally lots n lots of good software and 3D games!!!
You may also look at following video that compares iPhone and Nokia N95. The video actually backs me that Nokia N95 can be a better option for basic telephony features
Posted by: Aamir Attaa on July 12, 2008 at 11:21 AM
Enriched with enhanced data capabilities, Apple’s new iPhone 3G has hit the stores in more than 22 countries world wide, sales started with Japan/New Zealand and ending the drama in west shores of US in Seattle and California. Technology and Gadgets blogs remained engaged with iPhone discussions whole day long, but what these discussions mean to a Pakistani cellular user? I am afraid nothing much.
Never mind, dealers and buyers in Pakistan are anticipating the 3G iPhone thriving in local markets in as little as a few days. Though they were not big in numbers, but the roar and thirst of iPhone enthusiasts could be easily sensed in local markets in Pakistan.
Along with Pakistan, In the many other Asian countries, ads and banners were seen in markets for unlocked iPhones and services to unlock them. Phone sellers (retailers and distributors alike) are already seen taking orders for the new iPhone, who estimated its arrival on the gray market in about a week.
On other side, world wide launch saw a drew thousands in North America, Asia and Europe, with customers creating a half-mile line in Tokyo, braving summer heat in Madrid and scouring Toronto for the shortest queues. Lines stretched kilometers with thousands of buyers in queue to get their iPhone.
Through the process stock cleared, however, many faced activation problems that marred the launch of the new 3G iPhone - alongwith, Apple admitted that its new data-synchronisation service, MobileMe, also suffered from some technical difficulties.
for a closer look at 3G iPhone check out this very detailed video review of device
Posted by: Aamir Attaa on July 10, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Its quite an old news, but I thought my readers my like exploring it, along with some Pics of Apple’s existence may give a better idea about This Apple’s store in Lahore. US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson herself had launched this Apple Computers store in Lahore around a month ago.
Apple’s debutant store in Pakistan, named as iStore, sits in PACE, Lahore; and it is reportedly not a big one as of Apple’s standards. Yet you may find Apple’s killer gadgets like iPod and others. Don’t expect any iPhone there, but only the flayers unveiling the glory of iPhone to Pakistani people.
It must be noted that this is not an exclusively Apple’s retail store, instead it happens to be the join venture between Raffles, Apple’s authorized distributor in Pakistan since 2006 and Apple Computers itself.
Raffles have taken Apple’s products in multiple cities of Pakistan, including, Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad and Multan. Click here for their contact details in these cities.
Tons of thanks to Irfan for allowing me to post his exclusive pictures of the iStore.
Good News has hit for those countries where 3G iPhone was not officially launched. Original iPhone took good time to get unlocked, however, its 3G variant, 3G iPhone was unlocked in only its first week. 
