After months of rumours, iPhone 3G is now officially available in Malaysia with Maxis, well at least according to its corporate site hours ago.

The details are no longer accessible now, but you can still check the snapshotted rate plans here.

UPDATE: It seems to be back up, and Maxis has astonishingly made some adjustment to the earlier release.

12 months contract: iPhone 3G price from RM 1,080 to RM 2,290


24 months contract: iPhone 3G price from FREE to RM 1,890


6 months contract: iPhone 3G price from RM 2,540 to RM 2,960


UPDATE: Check here for "latest" rate plans from Maxis.

It means basically you need to commit RM 375 of monthly usage for 2 years in order to get a FREE iPhone 3G 8GB. Well, it is disappointing (at least to me) that Maxis introduces such complicated packages attached with funny terms & conditions, in which it seems to be slightly more appealing to heavy users.

For example, I am on Value Plus 80 now and I still need to fork out RM 2,540 for a 8GB's tied to the 6 months contract. Alternatively, unlocked model from neighbouring countries is available for much cheaper than that, forsaking the official warranty thingy and 500MB "promotional data" of course. But, it is an easy choice to be made.

If you are interested in the maths, read Should you buy an iPhone 3G from Maxis?

Now, let's drill into their dubious terms & conditions.

Data included in i-Value Plans applies to GPRS usage only and excludes SMS, mobile content downloads and other subscription based services.

Does it mean that I have to switch to GPRS mode for internet browsing, while I have a 3G model? What the heck, right? Imagine you have a BMW and nice highways, but you are only allowed to 50KM/H. Talking about promoting mobile web usage in Malaysia!

UPDATE: Maxis has amended GPRS to "mobile Internet usage". Now, that's not so funny anymore :P

Advance payment is waived for existing Maxis Postpaid customers with tenure of more than 6 months AND current monthly commitment usage of RM250 and above. Advance payment will be refunded from the 1st month onwards over the next 5 months.

Probably someone will get the iPhone and runaway from this country! I can still understand the reason behind this, but it just sounds funny if you are to commit RM 9,000 (RM 375 x 24 months) to Maxis, they still don't trust you by asking for RM 2,000 upfront. Talking about customer loyalty!

Maxis reserves the right to rescind some of the privileges of the rate plans should the registered line not be used with the purchased iPhone 3G.

What kind of "privileges" we are talking about? Talking about MNP!

Pardon me for the vents and frustrations. I am a Maxis customer, not a hater, just like other ordinary Malaysians hopeful for better deals from local mobile and internet service providers. I sincerely hope that Maxis will give this a serious thought from the PEOPLE's perspective, before the official launch via the media and so. Else, Maxis will be laughing all the way to the bank even in this recession.