Tag: store

Creating a Brunei Apple App Store Account Without a Credit Card

As mentioned in our episode of Corner Geeks 8: The Brunei Apple App Store, the video below documents how to create a Brunei account without a credit card.

Do note:

  1. not all apps seem available (e.g. WhatsApp) but most seem there.
  2. no music / movies / TV shows available
  3. AV mentioned that they currently selling Brunei iTune gift cards

The gist of the process:

  1. Load the App Store in iTunes
  2. Search for a free app (e.g. Angry Birds)
  3. Download the free app
  4. Sign up from the dialog box
  5. Select "None" as a "Payment Method" section during the registration

I still think getting a US iTunes Account is still the best option as it is completely unrestricted. You can create a US account without a credit card, using the same method above but select US instead of Brunei. You will need to buy gift cards online though, and I have bought iTune gift cards from both PC Game Supply and Jerry Cards with good results so thus far. See which works best for you and join the ecosystem that has yet to be rivaled (especially outside the US).

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Corner Geeks 8: The Brunei Apple App Store

Corner Geeks Logo beta 2
MP3 link (right click > Save Link As…)

A ‘live’ / non-Skype Corner Geeks recording this week as I sat down with @mfirdaus as we discussed the Brunei Apple App Store while also passing him the InstallESD.dmg file for Lion. We hope that this is the start of more services being opened to Brunei and perhaps a legal way for people to get music, movies and TV shows in the future.

Show Notes

  • Apple brings the iOS and Mac App Store to 33 new territories, including Brunei!

  • We can register with a Brunei Credit Card
  • AV Electronics, the premium reseller of Apple products, says they aren’t currently selling Brunei iTunes gift cards

  • Registration without a credit card is possible with the same hack/work around to register a US account without a credit card (try download a free app in the App Store and create an account from there)
  • Brunei just has an App Store, not a full iTunes store with Music / Movies / TV Shows
  • Not all apps available in the iOS App Store: e.g. WhatsApp (could be developer’s setting when publishing app or some other unknown restrictions)
  • Prices shown in store are in US dollars
  • App ratings are reset meaning Brunei apps could make it to the recommended list
  • Sources for US gift cards: PC Game Supply / Jerry Cards (I have bought once from each of these sellers before and can verify that they work)

Brunei’s Online Shopping Experience – Part 1

I was really encouraged when I first heard of QQeStore several years back. They pioneered the field of online shopping on a local stage and they brought it with a nicely designed website too. Not sure how long after that a rival was born in Shopping.com.bn (I won’t and can’t link to them due to their ridiculous terms of use). I’ve been a customer of QQeStore for several purchases ranging from my old phone (Nokia 3110c) to a Sony Ericsson charger to a hard drive and I was please with the experience but I thought I was time to take a look at these 2 shopping stores and pit them head to head in different features and functionality and tell you which store you should shop at. I recently made purchases from both online stores and document my experiences with them in the following sections.

Covered in this art:

  • Design
  • Usability
  • Product Selection

 

Design

QQeStore
QQ: Design WIN

Shopping.com.bn
Shopping.com.bn: Design FAIL

Hands down QQeStore has a great eye pleasing design and is a joy to use: clean, simplistic and functional. Shopping.com.bn is using way too many different colours and

Round 1: QQeStore

 

Usability

QQeStore

Shopping.com.bn
QQ: Typical page Shopping.com.bn: Typical page

Typical page

QQ: item selection Shopping.com.bn: item selection

Item Selection

QQ: Item Page Shopping.com.bn:Item Page 1/2

 
Shopping.com.bn:Item Page 2/2

Item Page

QQ: Pagination WIN Shopping.com.bn: Pagination FAIL

Pagination

Browsing through the catalogue as you decide to window shop or what item to buy, both stores offer a similar experience but QQeStore stands out by having more product information: “Product Details” and “Specifications” while also offering a section on “Other Products In This Category”, a great way to discover other products that may better suite your needs. The product details is an ideal way to introduce unfamiliar customers with the product and is a great way to give an idea to the customers of what the product does, as to some specifications alone may be complete gibberish. Chalk another point for QQeStore with their “next” and “previous” pagination buttons as both offer small hard to click page numbers, these next and previous links help the process of jumping page to page.

Round 2: QQeStore

 

Product Selection

QQeStore

Shopping.com.bn

QQ: Product Selection

Shopping.com.bn: Product Selection

Both stores are very IT and home electronics related but they other things such as jewelry, wedding rings on Shopping.com.bn and some interesting toys and thinga-majigs on QQeStore

Round 3: Tie (No clear winner)

 

Part 1 Conclusion

After 3 round QQeStore has the upper hand with 2 wins over 0 for Shopping.com.bn. In the following parts, topics such as the shopping process, hidden charges, security and price will be covered so stay tuned