This post is my personal opinion and research. If you’re a smart consumer, please read what I have to say. If you have comments, I welcome them. I’ll keep this as short as possible.

You might be thinking why I wrote this. It’s definitely not to pull any service provider down. Let me share them.

• I am a SingTel customer, I’ve got a BlackBerry and need BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS).
• I am also a StarHub customer and I have another BlackBerry service activated.

An hour ago, I called SingTel to enquire about their BlackBerry plans. I was told that their BlackBerry Flexi plans cannot be ‘activated‘ and must be signed as a plan. So that means I have to wait till next year to recontract. Next, I was offered 3 plans – 1GB, 3GB and the Unlimited plan. Briefed about the prices and was told 1GB doesn’t include any web surfing and 3GB can surf web but only via BlackBerry APN.

Read more after the jump!

This scheduler happens to be lying on the bench I was doing my revision. At this moment I’m writing this article, I wonder if most people will flip and find ways to return it or flip and leave it aside. What will you do?

How did I find her?

Randomly flipping it, I discovered the owner’s name behind, on the last page. I know the owner’s name and 3 possibilities of how she looks like since there’s an mini Instax photograph of 3 girls.

Guess I was out of luck – überTwitter’s Find User didn’t return any results (It took ages to load, but still no dataset was returned).

WhatsApp – Current Chat

This post was written when I was in the car.

If you’re wondering what’s this – WhatsApp is a popular software for iPhone platform. Recently it was introduced for BlackBerry. Soon, Nokia Symbian and Android!

I didn’t get the application until two days ago when I realised its time I contact the developer to purchase it via PayPal directly instead of going to the BlackBerry App World which doesn’t allow users from most (if not all) Asian countries to buy anything yet.

What’s good?

I realised that being able to talk to my friends on iPhone and end up saving on a lot of SMS is already a great deal.

Instantly, I received what people sent, instead of lagging for quite awhile. I thought it should be like this for now but when more use this service, I’m expecting it to be alittle slower.

Functions I like

- Last seen date – shows when your friend was last seen on WhatsApp. You can view it through your friend’s “profile” or at the chat window (appears sometimes).
- Friends list based on mobile phone number (address book) – I do not have to manage another address book.
- Favourites list – allows me to manage people I frequently talk to. Makes talking and selecting people fast.
- Status – I don’t see this as being so useful, but good for a personal note to friends.
- Clean simple design!

What’s not so good?

- Lack of functions! – I don’t expect to be sending files so soon. But can I have logs for my chat?

I think if expectations are put low, with IM in mind, WhatsApp is a wonderful messenger.

Version used to review – WhatsApp Messenger (ver 2.2.2451.400)

I actually took an effort to email WhatsApp Inc to check if there’s any way we in Singapore can actually purchase the software. Tadah, here we have an update!

I was told that they’re now running a beta for a new version of the app. It will be out for the public real soon! And, regardless of where you are, you can buy it as long as you have a Paypal account! (Okay, you can borrow a friend’s.)

How will the new version work?

You will soon be able to download WhatsApp over-the-air (OTA) through their website. The software will be a 48hour trial and after it ends, you will not be able to connect to their servers anymore.

To purchase it, you can get through the menu and you’ll be brought link inside the program that will direct to PayPal and you’ll be done in seconds. After payment, immediately the program will tell you that your ‘license’ has been extended.

Thus, If you do not buy it, you will not be able to use it since the new program now records your purchase with your registered mobile number.

My thoughts

Downloading the whole application was fast with no errors (on their side). Was able to get WhatsApp working smoothly. (I’ve already started chatting with a few friends!)

Will do a review soon!