Login and Buy

Didn't write here for quite a while and quite some changes for me.

Because of the new job, I need to play around with lot of different apps. Some of them are quite good and some of them are poorly made.

When I play around these apps and trying to buy something there, I face one problem. Why I am asked to register for an account?

Fundamentally, when a merchant is going from offline to online, they are moving their stores to internet. It could be fairly simple. What they need to do is just:

1. Setup a shopping cart - It could be done within an hour.
2. Upload their product catelog - Well... is going to take a while but no better option.
3. Setup an online cashier - it could be also done with an hour.

That's all, and this is just easier than setting up a normal retail store.

Asking a buyer to register an account so that they can purchase anything online is just identical to ask the buyer at the shop to fill a membership form so that they can pay. I am sure that is just a gate to stop a business for a businessman.

I can understand the need of collecting user profiles for further marketing purposes. In the retail world, none of these could be collected anyway and there are still business doing very well.

So why a registration is needed? 

沒有 Palm 的日子，買什麼電話好？

早一陣子心愛的 Palm Treo 680 跌爛了，尋找了 Treo Centro 好一陣子都找不到。一心打萛等 Palm Pre （或者任何 Palm Web OS）的機有貨才買。

結果，等不了，因為連我的 Nokia E71 也死了。
今次的死因是因為電話沒理由的發熱（在我的 E71 很正常），熄機以後開不了。

馬上去了 Nokia (星加坡)，一小時後的回答是，我們要把你的機 Esculate 去 L2 Support （咁上下），但係即係 27/5 一定拿唔到。

只得一部 Sony Ericsson K750i，對我來說都沒有太大問題，但 K750i 跟著我很久了，也跌了很多次，又給我好幾次大雨之中使用。還沒死，但是話音已經變得很不清。

沒電話用，只好買一部。

我本人買電話的要求很簡單，一個有 Qwerty keyboard 的電話，有聲，有 Email，可以跟 Outlook Sync 就可以。

但是，在沒有 Palm 的日子，這樣一個電話原來都不易找。

iPhone 沒有一個實在的 Qwerty keyboard，從來沒有考慮。

最開頭是考慮 Google (Android)，後來聽聞 Google 有 Engine 會調查電話使用模式（即是去什麼 Web Site 多，做什麼多）。而 Google 是做呢一行 (Data Mining) 起家，絕對有可能。打消念頭。

Windows Mobile 也沒有考慮，很久以前用過兩前 Windows Mobile 都是幾個月便賣機，再加上 Windows Mobile 7 不會向下兼容 Windows Mobile 6.5，更不會考慮。


經過 E71 的經驗後，再加上 E52 更差，Nokia Symbian 又不考慮。


結果發現竟然沒有選擇。


結果，買了一個 Blackberry。

爆冷。


沒有 Palm 的日子，買一個電話竟變得這樣難。

iPhone vs HTC Touch

I am not a fan of iPhone because I think the features provided by iPhone do not fit my daily need.

And I actually think that it is quite bad if you consider iPhone is a SmartPhone.

I got this picture few days earlier from a friend, which is quite funny, and it is actually right.

 

So an iPhone is just an inch better than a stone. 

Haha....

SQ SMS Check-in

Singapore has recently launched a SMS Check-in Service, which draws my attention immediately. You can find the link here of you can see the text below: 

Singapore Airlines is pleased to offer you SMS Check-in service designed to reduce hassle and offer more convenience should you be on the go.
To take advantage of this facility, you need to be a Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer or PPS Club member. When you log-in to your KrisFlyer account, access  “My Booking Alerts” and register for a personal flight alerts profile. 
To check-in, simply reply with the given code in the check-in notification sent from “SQAlert” and you will receive a check-in confirmation message when you are successfully checked-in for yourself. 
SMS Check-in is currently available for flights operated by Singapore Airlines with the exception of flights departing from Colombo.  The service is unavailable for mobile phone subscribers in Canada, Japan, Korea and USA.

For me, this is kind of innovative service because it is really better to check-in with mobile, especially when I am in oversea where internet connection is not obvious. The process is simple, just replying a SMS. It is done.

But then, the next question coming is, why I need to do an early check-in?
To reduce hassle, which is answered in the above already.

However, how do we present the boarding pass? Perhaps one day, the Singapore airport and some more airports allow to use a bardcode (or something else) on the mobile as the boarding pass, it could be the solution. Technically is possible and it is not very costly. But I don't see this will happen because part of the check-in process is visual check. This can't be done by a mobile device. In addition, even if I have checked in with mobile but I arrive the airport late. At the counter, will the airline still help me to print the boarding pass? I doubt. Or they have just released by seat because I did not show up in time.

The second reason for an early check-in is to select a seat, but I don't think this can't be done by SMS.

So? Do I need a SMS check-in?

Why I need to switch to prepaid mobile service in Singapore?

Usually, a mobile operator would prefer a postpaid (contract) subscriber rather than a prepaid subscriber. It is because postpaid subscribers are usually more loyal to the network and they generate higher revenue.
Postpaid subscribers also bind to a contract in term of years. It could mean the operator can give a bigger discount because once they have signed the contract, the cost to manage them for the coming years (1 year - 2 years usually) will be lower.

In simple, postpaid subscribers are higher revenue and lower cost.

On the other hand, prepaid subscriber is price sensitive and they are easier switched to other operators just because of the price. They usually don't value the service provided by the operator. From every annual reports of any mobile operators, we can easily figure out that the value of a postpaid subscriber is much higher than a prepaid subscriber.

Moreover, the additional cost overhead such as SIM cards, topup cards are also huge. Therefore, a prepaid subscriber usually means lower revenue and higher cost.

However, after receiving this bill, I would switch my postpaid subscription to prepaid subscription.

The picture here may not clear, but basically:
1: Postage & Handling Fee for Reminder. S$0.50
  I am being charged because I paid my bill late. They have sent a reminder and it costs $0.5.
2: Caller-ID: S$5.00. Caller ID service is worths $5
3: AutoRoam: S$10.00: Roaming service is $10. It allows your mobile to roam.
4: Free v019: S$5.35. IDD call, subscription is S$5.35 per month.

If I switch to prepaid, the item 2 - 4 will be ALL free. It is just part of the package. In addition, since I become a prepaid subscriber, the operator does not need to send a reminder if I pay my bill late. I will save $0.50.

It is true that my mobile bill is paid by company. But I don't feel I am a value customer at all. One time, I paid my bill late, they have stopped my service when I was in Jakarta. I can't make call and I can't receive call. The operator did not allow me to log on to any network.

That's all.