Being fairly new to Singapore I am learning the local ropes slowly but surely. The little nook and crannies that conceal the occasional taxi allowing me to get home without having to book one. The hawker stalls that the locals might be hanging out at versus the gawkers from the Lonely Planet. I am getting the hang of it but one thing about me already defined me as a local – the Singaporean craving for all things gadget like. Phones, mp3 players, in car TV systems, big screen TVs, stereos, remotes, and more phones. The statistics tell us that we must each have more than one.

Singapore is mad about mobile phones. When I first showed up to town with my little Nokia I bought used in Bangkok I knew right away I was out of depth. Fortunately on my first day at work I was given my trusty new BlackBerry. I was stepping up in the world but of course everywhere I went I was bumping into iPhones.

The local mobile phone companies all push iPhones with great calling plans and incentives to entice people into being a proud iPhone owner. Everywhere I go I see an iPhone and at times I have iPhone envy. iPhones in people’s hands, iPhones tethered to machines for surfing the web 3g style and iPhones being tapped on in the dark of the cold movie theater giving off a warm, inviting glow.  I won’t lie – there are times I have iPhone envy but I haven’t given in yet.

Not quite yet.

Being the tech hungry media junkie that I am though I was able to stave off my iPhone craving with a Nexus One from Google. Singapore is lucky enough to be one of the countries where you can pop online and buy a Nexus One directly. Unlocked and ready to go. Just pop your SIM card in and experience Google’s vision of the new smartphone. Of course I didn’t order mine. It was given to me for some testing I am doing for some mobile software products. What can I say other than it is cool but sometimes I still look at the iPhone’s in my friend’s hands and get a tad jealous but at least now I have a phone that I can swipe, pinch and touch. Makes my BlackBerry look at little old school but I still use that little keyboard profusely.

Apple keeps tempting me but so far I am holding my own against the tide – that is until I touched one.

I saw my first one at a conference. It was too far away so I just ignored it and pretended it had no effect on me. Another time I saw a whole stack of them in boxes. A good friend had returned from the states and brought five of them back with him. I wanted to open a box and see it for myself but I refused. There I was though. In a meeting and sitting right next to me was a co-worker reading his email on it. Zooming, flipping and engorging his email. I read my email all the time but he seemed to really be enjoying his email. Much more than anyone should.

I asked if I could touch it. He said go ahead – check out some web sites on it. Oh and here is the latest episode of Lost – plus check out the Keynote stuff. I had only wanted to touch it but I couldn’t help myself. Loaded up DaringFireball and marveled at the speed of the page loads. ITunes, TV shows and then Lost. The TV show has jumped the shark but watching it on the iPad made me feel like I was back in season 1 enjoying the magic. Then I popped into Keynote loaded up a PPT. A staid company presentation came to life and I was suddenly drinking up the corporate brainwashing and actually agreeing with the company line.

I set it back down on the table and slide it over. Like something forbidden that I wasn’t meant to cradle – let alone explore.

I keep telling myself I don’t need one. They are all over SimLim and I even have a friend selling a stack of them at US prices because he is an Apple fanboy wanting to spread the gospel without making a killing. I have refused – but it keeps getting harder to do so.

All was fine until I read the Apple press release stating, we knew it was coming, that the iPad is officially coming to Singapore in July. People are speculating as to the exact date, how much and will this include the 3g model as well. Which carrier will jump behind it and what wil the plans be – the discussion will peak in the ensuing months. I am positive we will hear more soon but I have to admit though that I may just have to pick up a 3g model knowing that I won’t be able to resist the call of the overgrown iPhone.

Can you?

Well – finally happened. I made it back to This Week in Asia – I think I am the only returning guest that has appeared more thance once. I love what these guys are doing and hopefully they will make me a regular. I will keep up my campaign!

http://thisweekinasia.net/2010/04/this-week-in-asia-episode-22-google-domination/

I am also encouraging them to do some video and a live show from Echelon.

Enjoy!

From Infocomm:

I had the joy being invited onto the TWIA podcast last night. Find it here:

http://thisweekinasia.net/2010/01/this-week-in-asia-episode-15-ipad-tsunami/

First off I want to say thanks to the team that puts it on for inviting me. I had a great time and I hope they invite me back again. I love their interview format and the general say what you are thinking round table Skype conference call.

Until next time!

Here is the description:

Michael Smith Jr, Director YDN SE Asia from Yahoo! joins the TWIA crew as our guest for the week. The discussion centered on the aftermath of the Apple iPad after months of speculation. With the Founders’ Institute coming to Singapore following after many incubators setting up shop here, the TWIA discussion group discussed the impact on tech entrepreneurship in Singapore and overall to the other countries Indonesia and Malaysia in Southeast Asia. With Maxis opening apps store in Malaysia and China’s declaration that they have nothing to do with the attacks on Google, the crew steered ahead with an exciting week in Asia.

• The Apple iPad: Who among us within the TWIA crew will buy it? We discuss how we felt about the product and the joys and disappointment accompanied with the announcement by Steve Jobs yesterday. An interesting point from Michael why Flash is not supported on Apple products.
• Founders’ Institute launched in Singapore: With Founders’ Institute decided to set up shop in Singapore. Michael also weighed in his opinions about the issue and discussed with the whole crew how the whole region will be affected by this sudden surge of incubators turning up in Singapore.
• Maxis setting up an apps store: Malaysia telco Maxis has set up an apps store for developers. We looked at the general trends of telcos trying to get into the apps stores bandwagon and chatted about the possible implications on the industry in general. One more thing, they are not telling us about how they are going to share profit with the developers.
• China denies involvement in Google cyberattacks: So, what’s next for Google China?

In the states right now freezing and lamenting the current Cali weather. Would be one thing if I was up skiing or something but I am not. Oh well.

Good to see Nokia coming out swinging a bit. I think all the stand alone GPS guys are going to be taking another one on the chin but in the specialty market I don’t think the phone version of GPS works well. On my motorcycle for instance I would not use an iPhone, Android or a Nokia. They are not waterproof, have small buttons and I don’t want the phone ringing while riding. I picked up a Garmin for my bike and am pretty happy with it.

Those interested in developer activity in SEA should check out this list put forth by e27. Should come in quite handy!

There is a lot going on in Singapore if you are in the tech/developer/media space. I have been thinking about it a lot and decided it was time to put my thoughts out there for people to digest. Right now Singapore is my part time home. I have been in Asia close to 10 years now working in tech, consulting, hospitality, and in general just moving around experiencing the coolest region on the planet. I have lived in Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore. I have had extended stays working in Japan, China, Australia and India plus I have traveled to every part of Asia but Burma. Southeast Asia continues to be my favorite area though but the problem is most of SEA does not provide great employment choices.

For those interested there is a Barcamp happening in Burma BTW.

For those not from Singapore I don’t think many people strive to work in Singapore. It usually just happens. Most of the good expat gigs are in Hong Kong or Singapore. Those with families tend to choose Singapore and the younger singles or couples tend to choose Hong Kong. In my opinion Hong Kong is not what it used to be as China slowly bleeds it out and fills in the harbor.

Singapore is probably growing in its appeal though given the tax rates, the ease of setting up a business and the current activity in the startup/investment community. Over the last six months Singapore is getting a lot of attention as a place for startups, incubators, funds and as a regional Asia hub for all things web/tech related.

Little things make the difference, such as HackerspaceSG – of which I am a member and absolutely dig the space. I think this is the first hackerspace in SEA.

Singapore as a city/state/government has thrown huge resources into getting companies/people/investors to want to build their business dreams in Singapore. Singapore is a great place to work. From firsthand experience I can tell you that getting my employment pass and getting my government paperwork sorted was a dream. The easiest country in Asia I have dealt with. The country is connected and the internet is fine but I get a little tired of the censorship and blocked sites. Such is life. There are a lot of incentives for companies to be in Singapore and recently the government has put together some great packages for investors/incubators.

All this is great but I have always felt that startups getting funded too early and too easily makes for lazy companies. I won’t name any names but Singapore is littered with zombie startups and companies who move REAL slow. I blame the funding models for the most part and the education/entitlement system but I digress.

Just look at the activity as of late:

New Incubation Scheme: http://www.e27.sg/2010/01/05/milestone-in-singapore-startup-ecosystem-introduction-to-the-7-new-tis-incubators/ . Some commentary on that here.

Then out of the blue Joi Ito and team decide Singapore is interesting – this could be the game changer in the sense that Joi attracts a certain crowd – a certain following. Read about Neoteny to get a sense of what I mean. Can also read more about Ito and team here.

With Joi Ito now comes others – http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/20/founder-institute-international/. All this attention is great for Singapore and may be the secret sauce that added to the government soup could be just the meal everyone is looking for but let me offer up a contrarian view of sorts.

If Singapore could, I am sure they would put a lid over their little island and control the weather. Imagine Christmas on Orchard Road with actual snow falling and you get my drift. One cannot create an environment – they just happen.

People tend to think that the startup world or ecosystem is simply created by incubators/funding sources/spaces/entrepreneurs/coders/designers and the government climate to allow all of these people to do what they do best with as little red-tape and corruption as possible. Makes sense and in this regard let’s give Singapore an A+. Having worked and lived in other places in Asia they have done an amazing job and this makes Singapore hugely attractive.

The problem is the rest of the environment that excites/challenges/inspires people is lifestyle. This is where Singapore is lacking and I am not sure they can fix it. Most of the people around the world who are involved in startups tend to be people living an alternative lifestyle. That is just impossible in Singapore unless you plan on going to jail. Others tend to go unfunded and live cheap so they can build exactly what they want and how they want without the fear of KPI police or early stage investors calling the shots. First off – you can’t live cheap in Singapore and I have seen incubators/government with PPT slides on KPIs. The bohemian or “starving artist” lifestyle is damn near impossible unless you have parents to bunk with.

Singapore will nail the business/funding side of this equation but not sure they can fix the “lifestyle” side but maybe Joi and team can help:

Neoteny (pronounced /niːˈɒtɨniː/), also called juvenilization, is the retention, by adults in a species, of traits previously seen only in juveniles…