Yet another invite for an event on 22 May has arrived into our mailbox but this time around, it is joint launch event by several companies instead of a single entity. As you can see from the above screenshot, they are Yes 4G, Google and Samsung.

Given the companies that are involved in this particular launch event, there is only one product in our mind: a Chromebook. Specifically, the WiMAX-enabled Chromebook.

This is due to the fact that we’ve seen the device ourselves earlier this year and it is also has been widely used in the 1BestariNet project which involved all three parties. Then again, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves right now. So, let’s see what all three parties have to show us on 22 May.

When we stepped into the venue where Astro and Maxis held their Astro B.yond IPTV with Maxis briefing earlier today, we didn’t expect to learn anything new on top of what we have discussed last week when the service’s official website went online. After all, this is not the first time that Astro is offering B.yond IPTV to fiber-optic customers as they did the same thing with Time Broadband in 2011.

Well, we were wrong…or it could be that we just missed it the first time around.

Apparently, Astro B.yond IPTV with Maxis customers are able to enjoy 10 new HD channels and more than 700 hours’ worth of on-demand contents via Astro Select. Five out of the 10 new HD channels are available immediately which include HBO Hits, HBO Signature, HBO Family, WeTV and check this out: Comedy Central – home to some of the world-renowned comedy show such as South Park and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The remaining five HD channels are scheduled to be out by the next quarter, said Astro.

For those who wondering whether these new channels will be made for standard Astro B.yond customers, well…not anytime soon. According to Astro’s CEO, Dato’ Rohana Rozhan, Astro Select is exclusive only for Astro IPTV with Maxis customers. In fact, not even Astro IPTV with Time Broadband customers will receive the new contents which made Astro Select as one of the biggest differences between it and the new Astro IPTV with Maxis.

We got to say that is quite a bummer especially for hopeful Comedy Central fans out there. Nevertheless, for those who are curious about the new Astro IPTV with Maxis which also features high speed broadband of up to 30Mbps and optional voice service, click on www.astro.com.my/iptv and www.maxis.com.my/astro for further details.

Months ago, in fact, many months ago, Maxis and Astro signed a strategic partnership to combine existing Astro services with Maxis’ networking solutions. This means that customers from both companies will be able to enjoy Astro B.yond IPTV service using Maxis’ high speed fibre internet connectivity. If you’ve been patiently waiting for the arrival of the service, it looks like it’s here as Maxis announces its bundles on its main page.

All you need to do is pick a Maxis Home Fibre Internet Package with options from 10Mbps to 30Mbps, along with a Astro B.yond IPTV Package (Superpack, Value Pack or Family Pack), and you can enjoy freebies and extra discounts with savings of up to RM132.50. Get a 10Mbps Fibre Internet line with Astro SuperPack from only RM248/month; or sign up for 10Mbps Internet with Astro Family Pack from only RM185.95/month.

Visit Maxis for more information, pick your package, or to register now.

Calling all TM UniFi users, it’s time to tune into your HyppTV because you can watch all channels including 10 VOD movies for free. In celebration of winning the 2013 TV Connect Industry Awards of “Best Live Online TV Service or Solution”, the free viewing is available from 18 to 24 April 2013.

Tune in immediate to enjoy the free viewing of all channels including a pretty large list of VOD content like Wreck-It Ralph, The Hobbit, Life Of Pi, and many, many more (full list available after the break).

Have fun and check out HyppTV for more information.

In a brief post on Google’s official blog, the company’s Director of Product Management Felix Lin has recently revealed that our government has adopted Google Apps for the use in classrooms and as part of the initiative, Chromebooks will also be deployed to schools throughout the country. Truth to be told though, Google Apps and Chromebooks are just a part of a much bigger picture.

By bigger picture, we mean the 1BestariNet – a RM 1.5 billion project by the Ministry of Education to include ICT into daily learning process in classrooms and is a part of the ministry grand aim to transform the national education system within the next 13 years. Already in the works since 2011, the project itself is the spiritual successor (or replacement, if you insists) to the ministry’s previous attempt to deliver ICT in education through a project called SchoolNet which takes place from 2005 to 2010.

In order to do that, the ministry has engaged with two YTL-owned companies to deliver the essential components of 1BestariNet. One being Yes4G which is responsible to provide the high-speed Internet connectivity between 2Mbps to 10Mbps in more than 10,000 primary and secondary schools that are under the care of ministry by the end of 2013. In fact, it seems that 4G connectivity is given a special emphasis in the project as it is mentioned specifically in the National Education Blueprint¹.

Click on the Read More link below to continue.

Need a new mobile broadband for your home, office or for usage on the go? Check out Maxis’ Broadband Wireless Broadband plans because they now come with a free modem of your choice when you sign up for a 12-months contract under one of its plans.

Maxis is currently offering 5 broadband internet plans that are catered to meet the demands of all different type of user so it doesn’t matter if you’re a light user, casual surfer, regular streamer, heavy downloader or a power user, there’s a plan for you ranging from 3GB all the way to 48GB, and when you sign up for a contract, you get a free modem of your choice too worth up to RM350.

Click image for larger version.

Maxis Broadband plans are separated into two allocations – from 8am to 2am and from 2am to 8am, so for example, Heavy Downloaders will have 7GB to use from 8am to 2am, while the 21GB is reserved for usage between 2am to 8am.

The free modems offered are as shown below:

If you reside in an area where Maxis has 4G LTE coverage, you can upgrade to a 75Mbps 4G LTE USB Modem at RM200.

Visit Maxis for more information.

We hope that you are not getting bored with the current batch of news on Yes 4G that we have for you right now. We promised that this is the last one for today which should be an interesting one for our readers in East Malaysia.

At this moment, the WiMAX-based wireless Internet and voice service provide has yet to spread its wings to East Malaysia but that about to change later this year as confirmed by the Executive Director of YTL Communications, Dato’ Yeoh Seok Hong. Scheduled in Q3 2013, Sabah will the first out of the two states to receive coverage by Yes 4G.

The expansion plan is hardly a secret though as Yes 4G’s CEO Wing K. Lee has discussed about it back in 2011. Nevertheless, we are definitely eager to see how consumers in East Malaysia will response to Yes 4G once it is available there.

Now that we already done with Yes 4G and its WiMAX-equipped Samsung Chromebook, let’s move on to the reason that somehow open the opportunity for us to come across the notebook: the telco’s partnership with Konsortium Transnasional Berhad (KTB) to deliver internet connectivity to KTB’s passengers while en route to their destinations.

The partnership is nothing new as we have reported about it back in January. That being said, yesterday’s launch did revealed one interesting fact: the partnership with KTB is just the start of YTL Communications’ plan to deploy Yes 4G Wi-Fi Hotspots across the country.

Customers will be able to utilize the service by using existing Yes 4G ID that they used with their personal Yes 4G devices or by obtaining Yes 4G Wi-Fi Pass. The passes are available in two nominations: a 1-day pass with 500MB worth of data and a 7-day pass with 1GB data quota. Obtainable through Yes Stores as well as through retail partners and online, the passes are priced at RM 5 and RM 16 respectively.

Yes 4G has not yet announced any deployment timeline for its Wi-Fi Hotspots at the time being, so we’ll keep you posted once that information is made available by the company.