It's all about my travel experience and things I love to do…
Telco
Celcom Biz iPhone 4 for only RM 1448!!
May 5th
There are so many hype about the launch of iPhone 4 by Celcom. So many that I’ve decided to give it a check.
But, bearing in mind, I will still not use iPhone despite the fact that the deals are so damn awesome.
I am a loyal Android user, but this promo by Celcom is tempting me. Must.Resist.Temptation. Haha.
So anyways, Celcom is offering the exclusive iPhone 4 in white! Damn! This is another temptation!
Sweet right? I know right!!!
But then, the package with the device is also a temptation! This below is the Celcom Biz plans.
- If you don’t have a reason to buy the iPhone 4 already, let me help you with it!
- In the professional world, you need to be smart looking. Hence, a smartphone would always do you justice. Carry an iPhone4 Android with you all the time! It is important for you to look the part! If you’re wearing a suit and you’re all business-like, the best possible accessory would be the latest Iphone 4. You’ll look technologically in-tune, and there’s nothing better than being able to take out the latest communications technology to impress your friends and work colleagues!
- Stand out amongst the crowd! Get a White iPhone 4! While stock is available, so hurry!
- Peace of mind! You see, a phone is like an extension of the human life this new era. Losing your phone is like losing a child. Hence, Celcom is giving you peace of mind with FREE 12-month insurance coverage covers attended theft, accidental breakage and liquid damage which only applies to i248plan on 12 and 24 months contract.
- Great value with optional add-ons like Closed User Groups (to enjoy free calls within the same company) & RM2 SMS pack (FREE up to 300SMS)!
Now, to sum up, why you should get an iPhone 4 Biz Plan…
• FREE SMS up to 600
• FREE calls within network up to 6000 minutes
• FREE data up to 6GB
• FREE SMS & MMS to all networks
• Low upfront payment
• Less entry barrier
• Get the iPhone 4 from as low as RM248!
How tempting you tell me!
You can find out more about the exclusive iPhone 4 packages by Celcom, as well as phone specifications, features and more. Visit the website for more details : www.celcom.com.my/iphone
Win a Volkswagen Golf TSi. Just Travel and Call Home.
Feb 21st
Do you wanna know how to win a Volkswagen Golf TSi?
All you need to do is just do two things.
1) Travel
2) Call Anywhere with your Celcom Roaming (min 20 calls to win the Volkswagen Golf TSi)
Is that simple! What? You think I am kidding you? No, I am not!
Check out Celcom Roaming partners and rates.
I’ll talk more about this at another post. Gonna go for dinner now. Catcha. 
Super W1ggy by P1 4G
Nov 23rd
You see, I have never cease to admire Green Packet in it’s venture to provide great mobile data services. That is why I have been a true follower of their service and innovations.
I am sure you have heard about their latest innovation, Super W1ggy. If you haven’t let me tell you about it.
Come, let me show you their plans. Their plans, starts from RM 59 but I still think their RM 129 package worth more and it’s value for people who are constantly on the move, just like me. You can view more details at P1 Website.
I mean, I am always looking for a better way to get connected and I used to have Celcom. But then again, sometimes, it is good, sometimes, it is not. I then switched to mobile internet when I got my Samsung Galaxy S which can be used as Mobile AP. When I got my hands on P1 4G SUPERW1GGY, I straight away went mobile with it.
So, still not convinced that this should be the plan for you? See, this is the speed at Bangsar!
So, what you waiting for? Check your coverage and sigh up now!
Note that different area different speed ya. Make sure you decide nicely with your 7 days money back guarantee grace period okay? Don’t say I never tell you!
Whoa! I can RSS with iTalk Whoa!
Nov 15th
For those living in a nutshell, RSS is Really Simple Sindication. Okay, geddit? Now, let me continue with that I wanna talk about. 
I am currently using Google Reader for my RSS feeds. It’s a beauty, but I just realized that iTalkWhoa has this RSS function all along and I never knew about it.
With RSS feeds, you can just skip the “Register for Newsletter” and just get the feeds for any new updates from any online website. You also skip the “Bookmark” way as you lump everything at one place.
I was just meddling with the iTalk Whoa! account and here is the step by step way to configure the RSS with iTalk Whoa! It is very simple, if you just follow these steps…
Step 1 – Go to www.italkwhoa.com and login with your user and password. If you haven’t sign up yet, what are you waiting for?
Step 2 – Select the RSS Feeds under Mail panel and click on “New Group” to create new category/group.
Step 3 – A pop up box will appear and you can key in your desired category/group name and then click “Add”.
Step 4 – Just wait for a moment or you just need to logout and login again to see the updated RSS feeds that you just entered.
To input any info on News category, just search for RSS News that interest you. In the example, the feeds gather from The star newspaper.
Just go to the The Star Url – http://thestar.com.my
Scroll further down till the end of the webpage and you will see image as below:
The RSS icon placed on the right side and click on it – 
You may input or place any RSS in iTalk Whoa! for any website that have the RSS icon that looks like this >
Oh, do you know that you can get RSS Feeds from:
• Any newspaper – The star [http://thestar.com.my/rss/]
• At PC/Entertainment website – Apple [http://www.apple.com/rss/]
• At blogger website
Shown above the link for RSS Feeds in The Star newspaper. Thus you can just choose any topic that interests you the most. In this example, Sport under News been selected.
Just right click on the RSS icon besides the Sport News and select ‘Copy Link Location’.
Go back to your iTalk Whoa’s account and highlight the News icon, input ‘Sport’ under ‘Feed Description’ and paste the url copied previously.
The Sport RSS url will appear and click ‘Add New’ button and the Sport RSS will appear in the Feed Name Box as below:
To view all the RSS Feeds for sport, just click on Sport under News at the Mail Panel:
All the Sport highlights will be display in split second and you can just click on any link to read/view the full story of the day.
Notes:
Sometimes, the link create does not appear immediately. Thus user need to wait for a few minutes before the link to appear. Or user may logout and login again into iTalk Whoa! to view the link.
Okay, you read it all here at YapThomas.Com
Don’t worry Ma! My Celcom can roam at very low rates!
Nov 11th
My mom ah, always wants me to call her whenever I go on any trips. Well, all moms are like that lah hor? They never cease to be worried.
I used to carry two lines (wait, I still does) and one is personal and the other is business. When I travel, I always switch my personal line and set it to divert to my business line which is active throughout (*cough*company pay ma*cough*). I am still keeping both numbers anyways as they both have similar last four (4) digits.
Oh! Separate news! I have BB Torch to play with for a few weeks… 
Anyways… I am not too sure if you have heard of this company name Axiata? If you haven’t, you better kick yourself now! Hello! It is a Malaysian owned company! For the past one year, Axiata has rebranded itself as they are expanding over the South East and West Asia region.
They are currently operating in Malaysia (Celcom), Sri Lanka (Dialog), Indonesia (XL), Bangladesh (Robi) and Cambodia (hello) while having strategic stakes in India, Singapore, Iran, Thailand and Pakistan. Not bad huh?
What this tells me? I can now travel with ease of mind not thinking of what telco company to use as Axiata is all over the place man…!! Already in Malaysia, Celcom has a very wide coverage, they also sapu the region pulak now! Keng!
I was actually looking at Celcom website because I wanna grab a Blackberry service package so I can BBM with people around me mah, then mana tau, saw this banner running across their main page.
Whoa! Not bad! I am planning to go Indonesia this year end and Cambodia next year January. Seems like Celcom is already giving my Christmas and Birthday (Hint! Hint!) present already now.
The rates are quite attractive also lah! From RM 0.30 cents per minute I can call back and it’s quite cheap what! Compared to the usual which I am usually charged of RM 10-15 (when I was in Indonesia previously).
What’s more interesting is that I can Tweet while I’m traveling so, to make you jealous! RM 38/day for UNLIMITED data plan! OMG! *jumps with joy* Click HERE for more info!
At least, when I am traveling so many people can keep in touch with me.
The rates are from now till 28th February 2011. Okay lah, a lot of people are traveling during that period of time. Not bad huh! Celcom better give me some rebate for using their service so much!
Oh! Not only us Malaysians should be in joy, but our fellow neighbours from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Cambodia and Bangladesh who is using their respective country’s telco line can enjoy the same rate as well when roaming here in Malaysia.
Axiata! I will support you all the way lah! Please expand to Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Australia and Macau! I am planning to travel there also lah…
please PLease PLEEASSSEEEE…
I promise I will pay my Celcom bill on time next time okay?
20% iTalk Talktime, Raya Gift from TM
Sep 7th
It is the season of the year again, and let me just wish all of you, Salam Aidilfitri. Kalao aku terpijak kaki anda, saya ingin meminta maaf sekarang. Kalau kamu hutang saya, cepat bayar! Kalau saya hutang anda, jangan risau, saya sudah dapat bayar balik. With 20% additional talktime from iTalkWhoa, I can save more and of course be able to pay you back.
Anyways, the purpose of this post is to send a message to you all on behalf of Telekom Malaysia
No matter how their Streamyx connection frustrates you, you should be grateful for TM, else, no internet. But that’s different story and product. This is TM iTalkWhoa.
Sempena Ramadhan and Aidilfitri, starting from 1st September 2010 until 31st October 2010, everyone can enjoy 20% ADDITIONAL talktime automatically credited into your account if you activate/reload your iTalk card from 1st September 2010 until 31st October 2010.
So? What you waiting for? Fast, fast go and reload your iTalk lah! I also wanna go reload. Finishing already thanks to all the calls to China. (No. I don’t have girlfriend there) T__T
Oh, what’s even more beautiful is that, you can now purchase TM’s online web contents using iTalk.
TM’s online websites are :
• HyppTunes (www.hypptunes.com.my)
• E-Browse (www.ebrowse.com.my)
• B-SmartXpress (www.bluehyppo.com)
• Gamezone (www.hyppgames.com.my)
• MUTV online (www.hypp.tv/manutd)
Enjoy iTalk
Save More with iTalkWhoa
Jul 27th
I have been making more and more calls lately to a few country. They are China, Australia, Africa and Hong Kong. Running my own business is a real challenge as I am constantly looking for a more convenient way which is affordable to sustain my business.
iTalkWhoa now has got a special promotion to call a few countries and it got my attention more than ever. The promotional rates was started on 15th July 2010 and it will last till 31st Dec 2010.
Join iTalkWhoa now to get all the special deals. Login now to www. iTalkWhoa.com
What’s even more convenient is that I can make my call from anywhere I am but still pay the rate from Malaysia. How cool is that? Can you find something similar for me? No right? How about I introduce you to use iTalkWhoa. You will sure like it…
And guess what? Now, iTalkWhoa supports Firefox! Wheee… I can never tell u how much I hate Internet Explorer. Actually, it is more like convenience rather than hate because I am a Firefox user and I like it fast just like it does.
So yeah, back to iTalkWhoa, I am currently using this to make my international call. Even if I am running out of credits, I can top it up with an online banking. All I need to do is click on “Purchase Credit” and then you can choose any of the 15 payment options available. (Read about payment options at Rojaks.Blogspot.Com)
Two photos above thanks to Rojaks@Wingz.
What you can do now is to head over to www.italkwhoa.com and register yourself and load up and talk away.
Cheaper Call Rates with iTalk Whoa!
May 28th
I’ve been recently making a lot of international calls. Some are to friends and some are to my clients and suppliers from oversea. Well, that’s what I get for working in the travel industry. The world is my classroom yo!
My last trip to Phuket, I was using the iTalk Whoa to sms back home using local Malaysian rate. Thanks to technology, I can do so. I even got to call home at local Malaysian rate. How cool is that man?
Then recently, a blogger friend told me about iTalk Whoa’s IDD and told me to check it out. He told me that it saves him a lot of money while calling Singapore and boil porridge with his girlfriend.
Feeling the itch, I did gave it a check and trust me when I say this. iTalk Whoa’s IDD rates are a lot cheaper and I mean a lot with capital A!
I’ve pretty much compared the rates for IDD by three big telco giants here in Malaysia. I’ve got a wider understand how these telcos charge and what not, but afterall, iTalk Whoa’s plan got to be the most comprehensive and not forgeting, cheapest!
Here’s a table of comparison I’ve made based on the few countries that I frequently call.
| Country/Telcos | Orange | Green | Yellow | Blue** |
| Australia | RM 0.81 | RM 0.99 | RM 0.93 | RM 0.92 |
| India | RM 0.50 | RM 0.62 | RM 0.62 | RM 0.62 |
| China | RM 0.11 | RM 0.43 | RM 0.43 | RM 0.48 |
| Hong Kong | RM 0.14 | RM 0.50 | RM 0.43 | RM 0.48 |
| Thailand | RM 0.35 | RM 0.43 | RM 0.43 | RM 0.48 |
| Indonesia | RM 0.32 | RM 0.33 | RM 0.72 | RM 0.72 |
| Nigeria | RM 1.35 | RM 2.39 | RM 1.28 | RM 2.28 |
| South Africa | RM 0.70 | RM 2.39 | RM 2.38 | RM 2.28 |
All call rates are charged based on per minute
** Promotional rates till June 2010
Look at how much the difference is? It’s like literally WHOA! I wouldn’t believe it until I compare and see it with my own eyes. I feel cheated for not knowing it earlier that I could save a lot more with iTalk’s IDD. What more even with iTalk Whoa’s IDD rates.
Now you know eh! I ain’t no lying to you my friend. You really gotta check it out.
Log on to www.italkwhoa.com for more info .
The Weekend In Pictures
Mar 22nd
Just a record for both March 21st and 22nd… I’m still in chilaxin’ mode. I’ll tell why.
Pictures first.
Did a crazy test on Friday after work. Hook up my Celcom broadband to my laptop in the car. Drive all the way from KL back to Sunway. Passing through Smart Tunnel and NPE, reaching Sunway. It stayed connected 95% of the duration of the drive. Wicked!!
Played “doctor” gastronomy during the day on Saturday 21st March.
Went to Ikea to check out some bedroom furniture at night. Not a total disappointing visit tho..
Sunday is a chilaxin’ day and this is what I had for tea, completed by Jolly Shandy. I’ve got few more cans to go that will last me another 2-3 weekends. Yes, I have tea time on Sundays. Only when I’m back in Klang.
I have been very disciplined. I told myself to take a break. So I did. Sunday was my break day. I wanted so much to hang out, but the inner me told myself
“Shut up! Sit home! Relax! Chill! Play with your nephews! Your dog! and ROT!“
Which was pretty much what sums up my Sunday… That my friends, is call LIFE!
Life for those who work in a crazy working environment… -_-
Okay… I’m gonna go back to chilling. That’s all for today.
More to update on Monday and Monday is sure gonna be a crazy day for me.
Palm Pre and Palm WebOS
Mar 15th
My plans to buy a new phone is put on hold partly is because of this phone.
And also.. I have so many other phones in my options to choose.
Man… I’m spoilt for choices… Gah! I won’t be getting any new phones if new phones keep coming out.. HELP!!!!
This new phone is slated to take down iPhone like David, with iPhone being the Goliath.
The beauty of this phone by just looking at the pictures is unquestionable. Sexy isn’t it?
First thing I want to say about this phone is that it is not all touchscreen. It comes with a slide down QWERTY keyboard. The profile of this phone is slightly curvy, making it ergonomically easy to use. I don’t know, don’t quote me. I’m just saying by the looks of it.
Let’s see what this beauty has in store for us. This beauty works on the all new Palm webOS.
This is going to be a powerhouse of this baby. It is a touchscreen phone to begin with and it comes with the similar touchscreen feature as iPhone. Flick scrolling, deck view of running applications and gestures that works the whole OS itself. You can gesture left and right switching in between applications and it will not end the application. To end it, just swipe it up the screen and it will close the application.
Imagine also, the same powerful OS which can sync all your contacts with Gmail or Facebook. Just sync them to Gmail and voila, your contacts as per Gmail’s list. Don’t worry about having Yap Thomas in Gmail and Thomas Yap in Facebook. Palm Synergy will link them for you. Marvelous? You tell me.
Palm webOS also would solve my problem with my accounts on GTalk, MSN, Skype and Yahoo Messenger. It will just consolidate them all together in one application. When I own this unit, GTalk or Skype me anytime my dear friends. I’m constantly within reach on and offline.
Second of the lot is the ability to be connected.
Not to mention also, Palm has always been a business phone. Thus, email is no doubt a hassle free. I can get in touch with my work mail, Gmail and AIESEC mails anytime, anywhere.
Then… I’ve always wanted a GPS. Being a walking GPS myself don’t help much either. I sometimes need direction myself too. I’m not perfect okay. So they say Palm Pre comes with a superb GPS. Let’s just hope we can get as similar as what they have to offer in The States.
In my line of work, I need to be connected to the internet most of the times. Now, when I need to be connected to the internet, I have to use someone’s PC or carry my laptop around. The later is pretty much a big hassle. So with Palm Pre, I can web browse with its large touchscreen easily by zooming in and out. Hopefully.
Oh gosh. This is not helping much! This beauty better come cheap, else, it is gonna burn a big huge hole in my pocket. Maybe I shall just keep to my Nokia 1200 for now as it is already a cheap powerhouse for me now to call and text.
Hmmm… it is about time I think about upgrading already too.
GOSH! I’m so confused. Palm Pre better reach our shore now already!!!
——————————————————
Palm Pre Specification taken from Palm website
Operating system: Palm® webOS™
Display: 3.1-inch touch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color 320×480 resolution HVGA display
Keyboard: Physical QWERTY keyboard
Email: Microsoft Outlook® email with Microsoft® Direct Push Technology POP3/IMAP (Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, etc).
Messaging: Integrated IM, SMS, and MMS
GPS: Built-in GPS
Digital camera: 3 megapixel camera with LED flash and extended depth of field
Sensors: Ambient light, accelerometer, and proximity
Media formats supported
Audio Formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR, QCELP, WAV
Video Formats: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264
Image Formats: GIF, Animated GIF, JPEG, PNG, BMP
Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g with WPA, WPA2, 802.1X authentication Bluetooth® 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
Memory: 8GB of user storage (~7.4GB user available) USB mass storage support
Phone as laptop modem: Bluetooth tethering
Connector: MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
Headphone jack: 3.5mm stereo
Palm® Touchstone™ charging dock: Compatible
Dimensions:
Width: 59.5mm (2.3 inches)
Height: 100.5mm (3.9 inches)
Thickness: 16.95mm (0.67 inches)
Weight: 135 grams (4.76 ounces)
Pictures & Information source:
Palm Website
Engadget
I’ve never made such a long preview of a phone before.
