(updated) Comparison: Celcom, Digi, Maxis,U Mobile & YES' Samsung Galaxy Note 8 pre-order plans

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Today is the day! Pre-order for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has now begun and all four major telcos - Celcom, Digi, MaxisU Mobile and YES are offering various deals for the latest phablet with an S Pen. If you're wondering which plan to get, you've come to the right place. So check out the comparison below on which plans suits you the best.

Celcom - For those who want a lot of Internet data

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First up, there are four Celcom postpaid plans for the Note 8 - the FIRST Gold Plus, FIRST Gold, FIRST Platinum and FIRST Platinum Plus. Each plan contract duration is 24 months depending on which one you go for, you can pay from as low as RM98 per month, but the phablet device price will vary, which can go as low as RM1848 (excluding GST). But there is a catch here, customers will also need to do an RM1000 up front payment first and should they choose to terminate their contract, a penalty will be charged based on their balance monthly commitment. Foreign customers are required to pay a deposit of RM500 only.

As mentioned in our Celcom FIRST Postpaid Plan guide, the four plans above all have Unlimited calls to all networks, Free Whatsapp and Wechat usage, Free Yonder Music, Free Video Walla (from 25GB - 100GB, except FIRST Gold Plus) and fixed Internet data pool that's split into weekday and weekend. Just like Samsung Malaysia, Celcom users who pre-order today until 10 September will get a free special RM888 reward which includes Cash Rebate of RM321, Samsung Protection Plus (worth RM298), 5100mAh battery pack (worth RM269) and a clear cover too.

We suggest those who are Internet-hungry should go for these plans because of the huge Internet data offered by Celcom. For more information, visit here to find out more.

Digi - That 43% discount!

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Next, Digi has three postpaid plans + a massive 43% discount. That's RM2268 (from the original RM3999 price) and this is possibly the easiest to understand out of the four telcos. But of course, you're still bound by 24 months contract with either Digi 78, Digi 108 or Digi 138 and you can collect the device on 18 September onwards after the pre-order. All three Digi postpaid plans have Unlimited Calls to all networks and the Internet data pool is divided into weekday and weekend. As for the pre-order promo, Digi still has the Samsung Protection Plus, 5100mAh battery pack and clear cover, but missing out the Cash Rebate of RM321. A bit of a bummer but the 43% discount makes up for it a lot.

For those who don't watch a lot of videos on their mobile phones, Digi's plan should suit best. Plus, the Internet data pool isn't that bad as well. For more information, visit here to find out more.

Maxis - Instalment or full up front payment 

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Like Digi, Maxis is also offering three postpaid plans. But you can opt for either a full upfront payment from as low as RM2199 or a Zerolution monthly payment from as low as RM102 for 24 months. On the pre-order page, you can actually check if you're an eligible long term Maxis customer so if you are qualified, you can actually waive the up front payment, which is RM512 (MaxisONE Plan 128), RM632 (MaxisONE Plan 158) and RM752 (MaxisONE Plan 188).

Also not forgetting, you can also choose to count in the Zerolution Upgrade program which is an annual upgrade program for MaxisONE users to have a new phone every year, provided that your returning existing phone is still in good condition after 12 months. The Zerolution Upgrade program is RM44 per month and an optional Zerolution SafeDevice add-on is RM23 per month. Maxis' Note 8 pre-order also offers the special RM888 bundle package.

Long time Maxis users will probably benefit from this the most because of the "eligible" status that can waive off the up front payment. Also, those who prefers having instalment plans should go for this. For more information, visit here to find out more.

U Mobile - Video, Music, Call and Roaming Onz!

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In the other corner, U Mobile is using three Ultimate Device (UD) plans + the full special pre-order package. The lowest device plan on the UD 130 plan is just RM2108, but you will have to do an upfront payment of RM960 which will eventually be reimbursed as a monthly rebate for 24 months. There is actually almost no difference in signing whichever plan (except the data pool) because you will be paying the full amount of RM3253.08 (including GST) in the end anyway.

All three UD plans offer Unlimited Music Onz, Unlimited App Onz, Unlimited Video Onz (only UD 130) and Unlimited Call Onz (except UD 60). We think those who travel often can opt for this one because of the Roam Onz included in UD 130 and UD 90, also for those who binge on videos and music at a reasonable price. For more information, visit here to find out more.

YES - 50GB?! YAASSS

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Last but not least, YES is offering the Note 8 at RM1899 only which is more than 50% discount off. There are two postpaid plans that you can sign up which is either the YES 4G LTE Postpaid 128 or 88 plan. If you take the first one, you will be granted 50GB Internet data pool (no split between weekday and weekend), unlimited Yes-to-Yes VoLTE calls + SMS for RM61.33 per month, whereas the latter gives 30GB all-day 4G LTE data + unlimited Yes-to-Yes calls + SMS for RM54.67 per month. We should also mention that you have to do an up front payment from RM800 and the contract is 24 months as well. 

There's no Cash Rebate for pre-ordering the Note 8 from YES, but at least you'll be enjoying savings and freebies worth up to RM2667. For more information, visit here to find out more. We think this plan is perfect for those who don't like their data split between the weekday and weekend. What's more, the price seems quite reasonable too. 

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