News & Reviews:   Digi plan

With the impending release of the next version of the Samsung Galaxy Note II, the price for the existing version has dropped from RM1999 to RM1799. This has resulted in a price drop for the phablet under telco plans and DiGi's current Samsung Galaxy Note II plans now starts from RM669. You'll need to sign up for the DG SmartPlan 58/88/148 under a 24 month contract but if you're a long-time DiGi Postpaid user (more than 12 months) you don't need to pay the advance payment.

If getting even an entry-level smartphone is difficult, then perhaps you'd be better off going for DiGi's Postpaid Simple plan which now offers the Sony Xperia E for free. The plan requires you to also select the Mobile Internet data plan of your choice as well but in the long run it should be worth it. You also have to sign up for a 24 month contract. The full details of the deal are listed in the table below:

It took a bit longer than we thought but better late than never as DiGi finally announce their 4G LTE network services. This time around, DiGi are offering a more complete set of services including 4G LTE Broadband for their subscribers with LTE Phones and Tablet users who are using DiGiNet+ SIM cards and those willing to buy their own modem. Strangely enough, DiGi aren't offering their own 4G LTE modem but have provided a list of compatible devices here. The price breakdown is as follows:

• Broadband 4GB Day (2AM-7PM) - RM49/month
• Broadband 4GB - RM69/month
• Broadband 6GB - RM99/month
• Broadband 10GB - RM139/month
• Tablet 500MB - RM25/month
• Tablet 1GB - RM29/month
• Tablet 1.5GB - RM39/month
• Tablet 2GB - RM49/month
• Tablet 6GB - RM99/month
• 4G LTE On-Demand 1GB - RM8/day | RM30/month

After just two weeks or so of offering top smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One on Zero Contract at subsidized prices, DiGi are slashing the prices for these two top smartphones by about RM100 or so. While the Samsung Galaxy S4 was initially offered at RM1883 DiGi is now offering it from as low as RM1773 while the HTC One is dropping from RM1953 to as low as RM1843 on Zero Contract. Contracted plans for 24-months have also received a price cut which you can see in the table below:

It is amazing how some telcos can complicate their freebies by placing limitations on their various free calls or free SMS. Sometimes you get charged differently for free SMS or calls on the same network or over a different network and sometimes you only get said freebies under other conditions. In a move to keep things simple, DiGi have introduced their DG Postpaid Simple plan where you get RM100 worth of free voice calls and SMS to any network. The plan still works like any other Postpaid plan with a monthly commitment and call or SMS rate but do check out the details in the table below:

If you were wishing for a Samsung Galaxy S4, LG Nexus 4, Sony Xperia Z or HTC One without any contract but still at a subsidized price, then DiGi is the first telco to offer this type of deal. Covering four of the major smartphones in Malaysia, another thing setting them apart is that they all offer Google Edition versions although, we're pretty sure you won't get the Google Edition if you buy any of them except for the LG Nexus 4. While you won't be contracted for 12 or 24 months you will be signed on with a DG SmartPlan 58 but you can terminate the plan anytime without any early termination fee. In addition to this you will also get two months monthly fee waived. For more details on pricing check out the table below:

The BlackBerry Z10 actually comes in LTE-enabled and non-LTE enabled versions. While other major postpaid telcos are offering the non-LTE BlackBerry Z10, DiGi is probably the first to offer the LTE-enabled BlackBerry Z10. For us, it's a bit strange considering DiGi don't yet have an LTE service of their own up just yet, but its not as if DiGi haven't released other LTE devices before either (this includes the Nokia Lumia 920, BlackBery Q10, Sony Xperia Z, HTC One, HTC Butterfly). For now, you can get the LTE-enabled BlackBeery Z10 at RM2288 on retail but with the various DiGi packages you can get the smartphone from as low as RM1039 on a 24-month contract. Check out the full details in the table below:

We've only just scratched the surface with 4G LTE, especially here in Malaysia with only Maxis and Celcom offering it (and rumours that DiGi may be offering 4G LTE soon as well). This isn't too different in the rest of the world as well, as 4G LTE adoption has yet to gain the same acceptance as 3G. Regardless of this, Samsung are currently working on 5G technology which they hope to bring to the masses by 2020.

Practically all of the major telcos have already come out with their bundle plans for the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV. While not totally unexpected, all of them are offering the Non-LTE enabled Exynos 5 Octa powered Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV or I9500. The estimated RRP for this model is at RM2199. According to some telcos the LTE-enabled version or I9505 is coming soon, perhaps to be offered with a suitable LTE bundle plan.

As we get closer and closer to the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV launch date, it was inevitable that prices for the previous version, the Samsung Galaxy S III would drop. However, we didn't think that it would drop this soon or this low as DiGi is now offering the Samsung Galaxy S III for RM399 under their DG Smart Plan 148 with a 24 month contract. In addition to dropping the S III's price, DiGi have also done the same for the HTC One X and the LG Nexus 4. Now all three of the devices are priced the same for the DG Smart Plan 58, DG Smart Plan 88 and DG Smart Plan 148. Check out all the details in the table below: