#TBT: 6 Years of iPhone in the Philippines

I can still clearly remember the day when the iPhone was officially released in the Philippines over 6 years ago. I was with members of the media to attend and cover that historic event that will change the smartphone market in the country.

As our tribute to this week’s Throwback Thursdays, we’d like to share with you the milestones and timeline from 2008 with the iPhone 3G to 2013 with the iPhone 5S.

August 22, 2008. Globe Telecom launched the iPhone 3G in the Philippines, the very first entry of the Apple smartphone in the country.

By midnight of that very day, over a thousand people lined up for hours at the Makati Stock Exchange to be the first subscribers and owners of the iPhone 3G.

The event broke records and it was the very first time we saw people lining up in the wee hours just to be the first to get a new handset. But it was Apple and Globe’s affinity with SingTel gave it the advantage to grab exclusive distributorship of the iPhone in the country.

You can read our review of the iPhone 3G here.

July 31, 2009. The iPhone 3GS was officially released in the Philippines. Globe continued to take foothold by maintaining exclusivity over the distribution fo the handset in the Philippines.

The handset was free on Plan 7000; there’s a Php1,000 cash-out for Plan 5000; Php9,550 for Plan 3500; Php17,450 for Plan 2500 and Php24,650 for Plan 1800. The iPhone was certified for postpaid big-spenders.

September 26, 2010. The iPhone 4 was launched in the Philippines with Globe leading the way to selling thousands of units to people lining up at several distribution centers across Metro Manila.

The iPhone 4 was offered free on Plan 3799 and became more affordable at Plan 1799 (with Php10k cash-out).

Renaissance Hotel was one of the distribution centers. Hotel food and drinks were served to waiting subscribers. It was like a house-warming party.

The iPhone 4 was selling like hot cakes it was fetching as high as Php90,000 in the gray market (we bought our own iPhone 4 to review for Php55,000).

You can read our review of the iPhone 4 here.

December 16, 2011. The iPhone 4S was finally released in the Philippines after so many months of waiting. This was also a memorable day as both Globe and Smart were both competing for subscribers for the iPhone.

Pricing and postpaid plans were very competitive as rival carriers try to grab new subscribers.

I can clearly remember this day as it was also the same day I lost both the Nexus S and Razr Maxx in the parking lot after rushing the review of the iPhone 4S in between meetings and coverages.

Globe offered the iPhone 4S at Plan 1799 with Php4,800 cash-out (it was the most popular plan then) while rival Smart offered it Unli Data Plan 200 with Php2,500 cash-out.

You can read our review of the iPhone 4S here.

December 14, 2012. The iPhone 5 was officially released in the country with both Globe and Smart doing their own individual distributions across Metro Manila and key cities in the country.

This was also timely as LTE was being rolled out by both carriers, each of them promising unlimited LTE access as long as you are under a data plan.

Globe introduced a Reset Program where subscribers can pay a reset fee in order to get a new iPhone 5 and just extend their subscription period. Smart countered this with their own Wipe-Out Promo as well.

You can read our review of the iPhone 5 here.

November 15, 2013. This day will also mark a highlight in our timeline as it will be the first time Apple will release the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C thru Globe and Smart.

No details are out yet on what the plans would look like but inside sources have given some really good prospects especially for existing iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 subscribers.

You can read our review of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C here.

Throw it back at You.

The iPhone has been with Globe since, like, forever. Can’t believe it’s been 6 years since and so much have changed in the smartphone market.

I’ve been a Globe subscriber since the iPhone 3G , re-contracted for the iPhone 4 and then again with the iPhone 5.

We’re closely watching the developments since it all started back in 2008.

So, how was your iPhone history since 2008? Share it to us in the comments.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

12 Comments

trigee says:

11 years ago

sir abe, since matagal ka nang globe subs, like me, have you noticed lately na panay endge na lang ang kalimitang data signal nila, yung 3g na wawala or mahina. kaasar e
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CopyCat-droid says:

11 years ago

I agree with Abe, let’s get our smartphone’s battery BURNED by this LTE speed !
Abe Olandres says:

11 years ago

I think I am lucky in my area (Makati, Taguig) and I’m getting 4G almost 80% of the time. It used to be just 3G/HSPA in my room but now I’m getting 25Mbps on a good day.

ariel says:

11 years ago

I have been with globe since 1998 during my college and masteral days at UPDiliman, have not change my number till now ang plan ko ay hold your breath! 325.00/ month (poor kasi ako during my student days yun lang kaya ng budget ko then) 240 free text and 40 minutes free call di na ko nag upgrade even though globe keep on pestering me to upgrade my plan though nakailang palit na ako ng fone from nokia 5210 una tas naging nokia 3360, sony erricson T3 yun yellow na maliit na ist colored ang screen ever, tas nokia 7650 (sliding fone) and then nokia 6610 then sony erricson ulit P990i then last 2009 i got my 1st ipone the ipone 3GS and all through those years never upgraded my plan but got hooked with ipone though i got my ipone 4s with smart dahil maganda signal nila in the entire archipelago ang globe ko na stuck na sa 3GS pangit kasi ng servie at kadalasan wa signal pag lumayo ka ng manila…i just cannot afford to stop my postpaid sa globe due to sentimental reason and all my classmates and friend from UP knew that number kaya stuck na ako sa 325/month ko sa globe kasi cheap lang naman at kung type ko ng bago fone takbo ako greenhill buy doon tas tanggalin ang sim ng globe saksak sa bago fone which is wht i did all those years kaya 325/month pa rin plan ko sa globe…
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ariel says:

11 years ago

andrei, i nearly gave up my 325/month plan ko last 2009 when i fell inlove with ipone 3GS bat naiisip ko ayaw ko patali sa globe, so placed my order with globe for my ipone 3gs (sila kasi ang sole distributor nito noon and paid 35k for the unit kahit kinulit na talaga nila ako na mag upgrade, i never did kasi nga my current work requires me to travel around the country from manila to davao nad gensan and northenr luzon area pangasinan to appari to batanes, GOD walang globe sa halos lahat ng lugar na dinadalaw ko (yeah but if you are wiithin the city limit of those places meron mahina nga lang) not like Smart na halos lahat ng sulok ng pinas malakas at may 3g pa kaya mobile hotspot talaga 4s ko from smart kaya worth sa akin ang 1,5k per month ko na plan with smart sa ipone 4s na nakuha ko sa kanila 2 years ago…
andrei says:

11 years ago

Lucky you sir. Had the same plan as yours at the same time period kaso I was forced to upgrade to a higher plan para makakuha ako ng mas mababa price ng iphone from globe recently. Sobra mahal kc ng iphone pagbibilhin retail price not unlike sa telco na subsidized na. Some times I regret upgrading. Sayang ang 325/month

DB says:

11 years ago

Smart had the WIPEOUT promo to compete with Globe’s Reset Program.
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Jessie says:

11 years ago

My iPhone with globe is totally worthless parang camera lang siya saka ipod kasi napakaunreliable ng mobile internet ng globe and poor cust service. Siguro paid post to. Ugh!
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Genocide says:

11 years ago

Tama, nasa location ang basihan ng network performance. Okay yung signal ko didto sa Cebu and not to mention mas hamak na mas maganda ang CS nila. D katulad ng ehemm _______ [Hint: SUN]

Peace ya’ll.
Lance says:

11 years ago

Network performance varies by location, but for me, Globe has better customer service.

Anonymous says:

11 years ago

Globe still sucks. Bad signal reception, delayed text messages, Unfair Usage Policy and most of all poor customer service management!
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Jesson says:

11 years ago

I’ve been with Globe and iPhone for my need when it comes with communication.
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