Zestful One

Cheap roaming calls while overseas? (Flexiroam Giveaway!)

Posted by IcedNyior on December 27, 2011  |  4 Comments

I’ve been blessed in 2011 to have travelled to many places throughout the year – Kota Kinabalu, Singapore, Penang, Hong Kong for a work trip, Malacca for my birthday trip and most recently, my first Euro trip to Venice, Rome and London.

The hustle and bustle of the Hong Kong streets

As a “seasoned traveller”, my habit is to usually research on the best prepaid multisim telco provider in the destination I was planning to travel. Now there are two problems with that :

1. I will not be able to receive incoming calls/texts to my Malaysia number (because I’ve swapped out the simcard).
2. But, if I don’t get a local sim, then I’m faced with a second problem, the ROAMING CHARGES!

When I was in Hong Kong, I bought a local sim for my personal number but I still had to use my work number and keep it active. And of course, it being a weekday, I received calls from clients and the office regarding work. Calls which I had to keep short and sweet.

The damage?

Yes, RM18.90 for 4 MINUTES of calls. That amounts to RM4.61/minute! How crazy is that? Not to mention that the credit limit you set on your phone bill is not applicable when you’re overseas? That means that you will continue racking up bills even though your credit limit is say, RM100. (Note: this applies to Maxis as of May 2011. I’m not sure if its still the case at the time you’re reading this or for other telcos).

Well unluckily for me (coz I found out too late), but luckily for you, there’s a service to solve that problem!

FlexiRoam (www.flexiroam.com) is a service that allows you to receive and make unlimited amount of calls to Malaysia without changing to a new international mobile number.

While you are overseas, calls made to your Malaysian mobile number will be forwarded by FlexiRoam to your foreign mobile SIM card which you can purchase locally at your destination country. This means Malaysian users do not need to inform their contacts of any new international mobile numbers.

Also, unlike services like Skype and the like *coughyeslifecough*, FlexiRoam does NOT require internet access, but leverages on the GSM network and is available in more than 200 countries such as China, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong (!), Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, United Kingdom and India.

And how much is this service? A mere RM10 a DAY for UNLIMITED incoming/outgoing calls!

(Can you tell how unfortunate I feel for paying RM18 for 4 friggin minutes?)

Signing up is FREE! Which means you can sign up, login and explore what FlexiRoam has to offer before committing some moolah. They also have helpful tips on the countries you are travelling to, for instance, did you know that Prepaid SIMs are not widely avaiable in Japan? Yea, I read that from their FAQ.

Also their service is quite flexible based on where and when you are travelling, you can buy passes for the whole duration of your travel, or just 1-2 days when you need it.

Updates: Flexiroam is now available for Singaporean users for SGD10 per day!

======GIVEAWAY======

Now the best part!

FlexiRoam has generously offered to giveaway 10 x RM50 FlexiRoam credit to you, my dear readers. That’s FIVE whole days of unlimited calling while overseas! Call your loved ones while you’re away, call your best friends to make them jealous, call your clients to settle work, call your hotel to make arrangements, call whomever you want.

Good luck!

My two cents on the #NajibCNY issue and how they got your email (and SMS?)

Posted by IcedNyior on January 31, 2011  |  17 Comments

A few days ago, a couple of people received and email from our Prime Minister @NajibRazak wishing them a happy Chinese New Year. Naturally, many were concerned on where he obtain their email addresses.

At first I thought it was sent to people/bloggers who signed up for his tea parties and dinners that he has organized to meet and greet his online friends. This was not the case. Neither was it sent out to people who registered to vote.

Amanz.my (full article in BM here) later reported that the email was obtained from “media prima database and others”. This information was in fact given by the CEO of Media Prima himself @FaridRidzuan stating “Congrats! Its from our media prima database and others. He just want to reach out to as many malaysian personally from now on! Please reply to him” (source).

It’s surprising how Malaysia’s leading media investment group who owns numerous tv stations, press and radio stations could blatantly ignore or forget about confidentiality and privacy issues. Not to mention that, on the Terms of Use page of TV3, it states the following :

• Information Use
  • • The Personal Information you provide will help our team deliver user support (including processing any complaints or enquiries) and for any other purpose related to the operation of our websites, its services and its advertising.
• Passing on Your Data to Third Parties
  • We will not sell, lease or share your Personal Information except as set forth in this Privacy Notice.

Sadly…..

For some, its not a big issue. In fact, I came across my MrKay’s facebook posting where his friend was saying or implying that its not a big deal and that we were blowing it out of proportion. In fact, she said, and i quote “if you think emel is privacy and you dont think uninvited people can send it to you…stop using email..just use snailmail.”

My response to this was was below:

“Adda, the issue here is not about him emailing the greetings. If he emailed it to all the people who signed up for something like the Tea Party then it’s understandable how he got your email.

In this case, it’s clearly stated that it was taken from the media prima and other databases. When you sign up for these sites, they usually have a disclaimer that your info is private and will be not shared to a 3rd party.

What if other info is also shared? Your phone number? Your mailing address? Would you like to receive spam SMSes? Or tons of letters? The other question is, who else has media prima shared this information to? Other companies? Other government bodies?

According to your logic of “takyah la Pakai email”, then why be online at all? No néed to FB, chat, surf. The thing is, we can’t. Coz that’s whr the future is. Also, isn’t it ironic that the govt is pushing for maximum Internet penetration in the country when they can’t guarantee the privacy of the data?

Please Try to think Beyond your little scope and think of the implications of what this information sharing means to you and the privacy of your data.”

p/s: Urgh, I hate this “you tak suka, you keluar” mentality

Edit : 01 Feb 2010

Some update for today. Apparently some people received an SMS with NajibCNY wishes as below:

Salam 1Malaysia. Selamat Tahun Baru Cina kepada semua rakyat Malaysia. Ikhlas dari Najib Razak & keluarga. najib@1malaysia.com.my

Screenshots below from @nicklwc and @ChelsiaNg

Apparently not every mobile user received it. I’m also not sure if there is any correlation between receiving the email & receiving the SMS. Some people who received the SMS did not receive the email or vice versa. (re: @hewyk @atreyustrange @hawkstah). Some people received both (re: @nicklwc @azrinarizz @wernshen @saldali707 @spectreoutreach).

What are your thoughts on this issue?

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

Posted by IcedNyior on December 31, 2010  |  4 Comments

Yep, its that year end post again. Reflections on 2010 and hopes and dreams for 2011.

2010 was truly a life changing year for me. It was the year that I met countless of people. It was the year I changed jobs. It was the year I did less of some things and more of others. It was a good year.

The Year of Tweetups

This year, it was the year that I went for a lot, and I do mean A LOT of tweetups. The problem for me about tweetups is having to remember whose face is connected to which twitter handle.

I must admit that until now I’m confused who some my twitter friends are (unless they put their faces on their display). Tip : That’s why I don’t address people often by name and why I make sure people like Khir, Khairul or Rara is somewhere nearby so I can ask who is who. LOL!

So I guess for the new year, one of the things I have got to do is learn to remember people’s name more.

The Year of New Jobs.

Its actually funny how I decided to change jobs. I wasn’t looking for a new job, no. I just happened to come across someone’s RT of an RT of an RT about this person looking for someone to do social media. And I thought, hmm, why not? Best part is, the interview had to be at lunch time smack dab in the middle of KL – in KLCC. So I had to take an LRT frm Bangsar to KLCC and back within my lunch break.

So to cut a long story short, I quit my job doing programming and designing (something I spent 4 years of my life obtaining a BSc Hons degree for) to do social media. As I like to tell people, how else would you get paid to Facebook or Tweet? (Of course that was before I found out the amount of planning BEFORE and the number of reports AFTER. LOL)

The Year of Discovery

I discovered that time really does heal things. Though it might take years, but it does heal. I also discovered that without my “posse” of Pam and Aree, I went out less :( That led to more at home time and more time to dabble in projects (particularly baking).  Also I am now lazy to “doll up” and go clubbing for some reason which then leads to less drinking. I suspect it has to do with lack of “kaki”. I actually wouldn’t mind a night of fun every once in a while instead of cooped up at home and work.

It was also the year of lots and lots of road trips! I finally went to Cameron and Bukit Tinggi. I also went up to Genting (meh). Also road trips to Penang, Melaka, Johor Bharu and even Singapore! I was supposed to write a post about my trip to Singapore and Universal Studios but..er….hehe.

Resolution of 2011 : Try to visit as many states in Semenanjung so that I can complete all the states in Malaysia.

The Year of Less and More

This was the year that ironically though I’m working with bloggers, I myself as a blogger has deteriorated due to lack of time. Which leads to less blogging and lower hits (boo!). Also towards the end of the year I’ve felt the need to be more private – hence two different twitter accounts and a private Facebook acc.

So yea, more blogging this year I hope?

Anyway, here are the Top Blogposts of 2010

1. Malaysian Twitter Users put Rais Yatim on Trending topics #yorais (link) – This is actually quite funny. A bunch of Twitter-ers (namely bongkersz) started this yorais hashtag in retaliation to what he said about Malaysians shouldn’t be immersing themselves in Facebook and Twitter
2. The Body Shop Malaysia 2010 Sale + price list (link) – It was the big sale for TBS and I managed to get a pricelist (and spent a bomb)
3. Google Analytics Master Class (GAMC) Kuala Lumpur + Slides (link)– Google SEA organized a FREE class to teach us all about Google Analytics. I wrote a post about it and provided download links
4. Full List of Academy Awards (Oscars) 2010 Winners and Nominees (link) – I guess this really needs no explanation :)
5. Craft Brews Brewhouse and Restaurant Party (link) – Craft Brews invited us bloggers to sample their food and even gave us a mini brewery kit for us to try it out ourselves. Good food and good beer!
6. Digi and Maxis iPhone 4 Comparison Chart (link) – I did an table of comparison between the plans and the pros and cons for both. I think many people found it useful.
7. Artist Lineup for Arthur’s Day 2010 in Kuala Lumpur (link) – This was the list of all the awesome artists that came to KL! I was there that night but didn’t stay for long.
8. Accident on Cheras-Kajang Highway (BHP Incident) (link) – This was a really sad story about how, due to red tape, help was not able to be given to someone in need.
9. Twitter on ‘Men Carrying Handbags’ (link) – I did a quick survey on twitter asking friends what they thought about Men carrying handbags. I posted some of their reactions. What do you think?
10. Mencari Tetek Janda? (link) – Do you read the Google Adwords advertising when you’re visiting websites or checking gmail? Here’s a funny one.

There you go, round up of 2010. Hope everyone parties safe tonight!

Happy New Year 2011!!

Digi and Maxis iPhone 4 Comparison Chart

Posted by IcedNyior on September 27, 2010  |  5 Comments

Im using both a Digi and Maxis number. So I guess you could say I’ve got my foot planted firmly on both camps :P

Am interested to see whose plans is better so I decided to make a comparison. Unfortunately, some things were in the way

• Digi does NOT have a 12 month contract plan
• Maxis has plans with 1GB, 2GB and 3GB while Digi has plans with 1GB, 3GB and 5GB

So i present the following table:

Digi and Maxis iPhone 4 Comparison Chart for 1GB and 3GB plans with 24 month contract

Interesting things to note to influence ur decision:

• Warranty : Digi offers only 1 yr warranty, while Maxis offers 2 years warranty
• Free SMS/MMS : Maxis free SMS/MMS is to Maxis-Maxis numbers, Digi is for all telcos
• Contract Period : Maxis offers 12 month contract for the iPhone 4, Digi does not.
• Coverage : Maxis has undoubtedly better coverage than Digi, especially outstation
• Exceeding Data : Maxis will charge RM0.05/10KB (to a max of RM250) while Digi does not charge anything extra but might throttle your speed (need to double check on that)

So, hope that helps you make a decision. iDigi or iValue in Malaysia? Or perhaps get a set from Singapore?

Malaysia News : Digi iPhone 4 Rate Plans (& Maxis too!)

Posted by IcedNyior on September 23, 2010  |  4 Comments

Edit 2 : Rates are correct. Click on Link below to see proper link. If you’re interested, I have made a comparison chart – Digi and Maxis iPhone 4 Comparison Chart.

Edit : That was fast! Digi pulled down the link. It now redirects to their main site. Lucky took screenshot

Found this link on Twitter to the Digi iPhone 4 plans and it shows the new plans that are valid from 24th Sept. Below is a screenshot in case they pull it down

As usual, the table is damn confusing. Was it for 24 mths or 12 mths? I bet most of you have seen the plans from Maxis right?

What? You haven’t? Here it is below courtesy of MalaysianWireless.

So which plan is better? And more importantly, which will you choose?

Edit: Come on guys, do I really need to make this disclaimer? Though it was pretty obvious already.

Disclaimer:  Rates above are NOT official as the official media briefing for Digi iPhone 4 plans will be at 6pm Malaysian time today. Screenshot above is what i got frm the link earlier.

Rumours: Maxis to bring iPhone 4 to Malaysia in August 2010?

Posted by IcedNyior on June 29, 2010  |  5 Comments

Rumours all over twitter today:

This is straight from the horse’s mouth, the animal here being our local Star paper’s tech pull-out InTech.

The report has the Maxis boss telling the paper’s reporter this: ‘Van Overbeke said the iPhone 4 could be available here by August, but declined to provide prices.’

This is only a ‘could’ scenario. It doesn’t confirm that Apple phone is actually going to sell here in that coming month.

The same reporter also wrote: ‘As for the iPad, he said it is possible that Maxis will be distributing the 3G version of the tablet computer.’ That word ‘possible’ can also be roped into the same familial ‘could’.

But at least Van Overbeke is quoted to say, “But it’s really up to Apple at this point.”

A lot of readers, in Star, and in here, genuinely hope Apple decides to let Maxis bring in the iPhone 4 and the iPad. Here’s keeping our fingers crossed.

Source : MobileWorld

Update: I got the TechCentral URL link. The article is titled “Maxis going big on mobile content” (source). Here’s an excerpt:

Van Overbeke said the iPhone 4 could be available here by August, but declined to provide prices. And, he said, Maxis’ data packages for the smartphone “would not be very expensive.”

As for the iPad, he said it is possible that Maxis will be distributing the 3G version of the tablet computer. “But it’s really up to Apple at this point.”

“We were the first to introduce the iPhone to Malaysians and (because of that) some presume that it would be the same with the iPad.

“On the day of the iPad’s international debut, some people started coming in to our sales centres to see if we had stock,” Van Overbeke said.

Still, a positive sign for iPad fans in this country is that Maxis is keen on creating educational applications for the iPad, and is in talks with the Education Ministry to gauge interest and opportunities.

Are you excited about the iPhone 4? I upgraded my 3Gs to iOS4 and is loving it!

Happy Telco New Rates (Mahal siot!)

Posted by IcedNyior on January 22, 2009  |  8 Comments

For those who don’t know, Happy is a sub-telco of Digi which launched in 2007 and offers a very cheap flat rate of RM0.99 to any telco provider – including landlines (Telekom Malaysia), Maxis, Hotlink, Celcom, XPAX, UOX, SOX, UMobile & Digi. I wrote a post about it in 2007 and so did many other bloggers like MohdIsmail, Qai, Empithree, Manchurr, Mixterr & Khai.

Today, 22 January, Happy telco released its new rates. And its quite a shock to most people – in fact, I think many people are not even aware of it. Quoted from the website [Happy News],

Thursday, 22 January 2009

Happy is now HAPPIER with brand new call rates.

With Happy, you can make extra long Happy to Happy calls of up to 45 minutes anytime between 9:00am to 5:00pm for just RM0.99!

For short calls, we’re gotten even better with a super call rate of RM0.33 a minute to all networks! That’s way cheaper compared to our previous rate!

And you’ll be glad to know that SMSes are still RM0.10 to all Malaysian numbers!
The new call rates are applicable to all new and existing Happy customers. Find out more about these rates in our updated rate table and be HAPPY!

Don’t understand? Here’s a quick breakdown of the new rates

Happy to other telcos
RM0.99 for first 15 mins = RM0.06 sen/min
After 15 minutes = RM0.33/min

For Happy – Happy
Between 9am – 5pm : RM0.99 for 45 mins
Other times : RM0.33/min for less than 03 mins call

Lets do a bit of calculation. Based on the old rate, 1 call (which will get cut off after 45 minutes) is RM 0.99.

New Rate :
45 mins = 15 mins + 30 mins
= RM 0.99 + (RM0.33 x 30mins)
= RM 0.99 + RM9.90
= RM 11

That’s a 1100% INCREASE! Insane right? So are you going to stay with Happy or just let your simcard expire?

Tutorial: Pacmee – Malaysian Twitter

Posted by IcedNyior on March 18, 2008  |  2 Comments

Hey guys! Tuesday again, time for another tutorial. Was my last tutorial about spoilers helpful? I hope so. Sorry couldn’t upload this post earlier, my internet was down because my modem got electrocuted after the heavy rain yesterday.

Edit : pacmee can only be used for hotlink/maxis users. Boo!

Have you guys noticed the newest addition to my sidebar on the right? Its under SMS Updates. That small widget is updated via SMSes from me about my current updates. Meaning I don’t have to be physically in front of the PC to make my update. Cool eh? Let me teach you how to get one