Afterword

ThimphuTech was the first technology blog in Bhutan. We started writing it in 2009, just as broadband and mobile internet started to take off. (Although internet in Bhutan was launched in 1999, it was either super-slow or super-expensive, and was only used by a selected few).

In the blog, we wrote about technology and food, but also about plenty of other stuff. The blog became popular and influential in Bhutan. A companion bi-weekly column -- Ask Boaz -- was published for many years in the Kuensel, Bhutan's national newspaper. (The complete Kuensel columns are available as an ebook, Blogging with Dragons).

We stopped updating the blog when we left Bhutan in 2014, but the information within the posts can still prove useful, and thus we decided to keep it online.

We thank all our readers.
Tashi Delek,
Boaz & Galit.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Will the new iPhone 4 work in Bhutan?

(9/9/2010: See also the follow-up post)

If you're thinking of asking your friend in Bangkok to get you the latest iPhone, think again. In addition to the nuisance of unlocking the beast (so that it will be able to work with any mobile network), Apple have added an additional issue: While previous  iPhone generations use the standard mini-SIM card, the latest model uses a tiny SIM card version known as a micro-SIM. The common SIM cards sold by B-Mobile and TashiCell will not fit the new iPhone.


If you are really pressed on using the iPhone 4 in Bhutan, the web is packed with information on how to chop down a standard SIM and turn it into a micro-SIM (here's one such tutorial, which uses a chef's knife). Otherwise, sit on your hands and wait until the mobile companies starts offering SIM cards in the new format.

P.S.: The same hurdle also exists with the over-hyped iPad 3G. It also uses a micro-SIM to connect to a mobile data network. If you are thinking of getting one, I suggest you take this issue into account.

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