The iPhone's in Malaysia. New iPod Shuffle soon too?

For days, I've been waiting with some curiosity for Maxis to launch the Apple iPhone in Malaysia. Yes, the iPhone is now officially available in the country but to buy it, users have to be subscribed to Maxis. That's how Apple wants it: tie their iPhone with a country's telco. But this sort of tie-up is ridiculous and unrealistic from the consumer's point of work as it becomes restrictive. Of course, it's still possible to bring in an iPhone from overseas and avoid all the association with Maxis.

Anyway, I received an SMS from the telco last night that said: "Be one of the first to own an Apple iPhone3G from Maxis! Check out the iPhone3G rateplans & pre-book yours today at www.maxis.com.my/iphone"

This morning, I decided to visit their website and see whether their enthusiasm could be infectious. On a personal level, no. I'm not too keen on their rate plans. Of course, I would like to use an iPhone but there's no compelling reason to commit at least RM100 a month to a telco just to own it. My monthly usage is never higher than their iValue1 but I suppose a lot of local geeks will fall over this opportunity. Not me, I'm no geek.

Honey, I shrunk my iPod. Yes, that's what's happening at Apple. They shrunk the iPod Shuffle and it's so tiny. Two days ago, Apple unveiled a 4GB Shuffle that's even smaller than its predecessor. Measuring 46mm by 8mm, it's even smaller than an AA battery. Pretty impressive dimensions.

The 4GB Shuffle holds up to 1,000 songs and has a feature that can tell users the song titles, artists and playlist names, as well as provide status information, such as battery life (up to 10 hours on a single charge). The only controls on the gadget are the on/off switch and the shuffle/llnear switch. To navigate the menu and adjust the volume, users have to play with a small protrusion on the right earphone cord.