Not Another Mobile Phone Blog

I think that the price at which the service providers are selling the iPhone 3G is a big disappointment for majority of Indians. Indians were waiting for this phone, which launched in India in a span of one month from the date it was launched in US. So Indians were happy that they will get their hands on the iPhone 3G along with rest of the world (India is known for getting latest mobile phones to its shores pretty late). The price has acted as somebody putting water on fire. Though the launch events were crowded, actual number of people going for the iPhone was pretty less as compared to the huge lines we saw in front of the Apple stores in the US. This pricing is very much wrong given the huge population of India, just imagine, if they would have priced this somewhere around 20K it would have sold like hot cakes. Anyway, Vodafone has already said that they are lowering down the price by Rs. 2000 and today they announced that they are tying up with credit card companies so that people can buy the iPhone on EMI. These are good measures of increasing the sales of the “pricey” iPhone 3G in India. But then one basic questions stands, “Is the iPhone (service provider locked) worth the 31K price tag? According to me no, I won’t pay that much money for a phone that cannot do basic functions like SMS forwarding, MMS, video recording. Yeah if you buy it, then unlock it and then install applications you can do all these things. But hey, I am paying so much and I am not getting basic functions is cheating. AirTel has not announced any such plans like Vodafone. Also, AirTel said that the prices have been fixed by Apple and not them, which I don’t believe. The only way they can increase the sales is by lowering down the price by 4000 to 5000 bucks. EMI strategy is good but it won't help that much.

The much awaited 3G iPhone is all set to hit the India shores on August 22nd 2008, courtesy Bharti AirTel. But I always thought that Vodafone is the one who was going to get it first to India and till now there is no news from Vodafone on the launch date of the iPhone 3G, strange or maybe they will be launching before this date. But According to the latest news from PC World India, Bharti AirTel has announced that they are going to launch the iPhone 3G on 22nd August.

This is what AirTel had to say, “iPhone has been the iconic technology revelation of this year, "said Sanjay Kapoor, president of Mobile Services at Bharti AirTel. "AirTel has been at the forefront of innovation and customer delight in the Indian telecom sector. Introducing iPhone 3G to India further underscores our commitment to enrich the communication experience of all AirTel users.”

No pricing details are out yet but they would be the same as mentioned here. iPhone 3G will be available in AirTel Relationship Centers.

Update-
Vodafone has also confirmed that they would be launching the iPhone 3G on the same date as AirTel but like AirTel they have also not revealed any pricing details. An India News Daily qoutes that the iPhone will cost 20,000 INR, which I doubt. If it is made available under some plan and contract from these mobile service providers than I don't think so that charging 20,000 INR makes any sense.

Finally, after much of hype and rumors surrounding it, the 3G iPhone was made available across many regions on Friday July 11 2008. 3G iPhone also made its debut yesterday in Japan, marking APAC as one of its debut regions. It is supposed to hit the Indian market in the month of August, this like always is a rumor. Softbank of Japan is offering the new 3G iPhone and some 1000 people came to one of their stores to get their hands on the 3G iPhone. The new iPhone has also been launched in New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong and it seems that Apple is again in talks with China Mobile for the China launch (remember, China Mobile has a subscriber base of some 300 million mobile phone subscribers. Apple will be waiting for the launch of the new iPhone in Indian market given the huge subscriber base and the popularity of the iPhone. Softbank is offering the iPhone @ $215 for 8gig model and $320 for 16gig model. The Indian iPhone prices are also out and you can go through them here. It will be available with AirTel and Vodafone.

This one comes from Financial Chronicle, e-paper from the Deccan Chronicle guys. The plans for iPhone on AirTel and Vodafone are out and they look something like this,

AirTel Plan -

Vodafone

This means that the 3G iPhone pricing in India that leaked sometime back was a false leak. Anyways, the lock-in period for AirTel might spread upto 18 months. There might be some alternative subscription plans also. The lock-in period of 18 months might be a turn-off for mobile phone geeks here in India as, during that 18 month tenure, there is a possibility that, Nokia launches Tube with the S60 Touch Mobile OS. I am pretty sure that, it will certainly have the loyalties of iPhone affected. The news of iPhone coming to India in september was a rumor I guess.

If you planning to buy the 3G iPhone, when it comes to India, this guided tour would be of your help.

After Vodafone and AirTel opened up pre-registrations for iPhone, Cell Passion Blog reports that the pricing of the iPhone in India has been leaked. I dont know from where have they got their hands on these details but the pricing details are pretty interesting.

AirTel will be offering the iPhone in 12,000 INR, with monthly plan of 699 INR spread over a period of 18 months and there is a rumor that Vodafone will be offering it at 32,000 INR. Wait a minute, 32,000 INR is pretty costly man, people better get it from US and then get it unlocked here and if some of you are planning to buy a 32,000 INR iPhone from Vodafone, please don't spend so much money, there are many great phones that are available in the market. Anyways 32,000 INR is a rumor and i don't think that, Vodafone's pricing would be something like this especially when AirTel's pricing is so competitive. By the way, according to my knowledge, Vodafone's existing customers will be getting the iPhone in 17,000 INR and new customers have to shell out 20 to 22,000 INR. Lets see what turns out to be the true pricing of the 3G iPhone.

The Apple iPhone 3G is all set to launch in India, with Vodafone and AirTel acting as two pillars supporting the launch. India, a strong turf of Nokia, is a great competing ground for all the major mobile handset players and now Apple is joining the fragging league. Nokia's CEO is well aware of this and he has said that the launch of iPhone in India will certainly have an impact on Nokia's position in India and he is taking the iPhone launch very positively as, he thinks that Apple's iPhone will make Indian consumers realize what all great features Nokia handsets have. I am certainly sure that when it comes to a phone with true multimedia capabilities Nokia is way ahead of Apple but one thing is sure that, the introduction of iPhone will have some impact on the market position of Nokia. Telecom Tiger reports that, Nokia is gearing up with its branding, distribution, logistics, services and support activities so that it can skillfully tackle their new rival on the Indian turf. Also, the response that the Indian consumer has given to the touch screen technology of Apple's iPhone, is a good parameter for Nokia to measure the success of its well-awaited Nokia 5800 a.k.a Tube when it is launched globally including India.

I am a regular on LinkedIn and love their Q/A features, where you can ask, as well as answer questions. Today, Suresh, a consultant in Mobile VAS and Telecom, asked a question on what kind of impact and opportunities will iPhone launch bring to India? I answered the question and then I thought why not share my answer with NAMP readers, so here is my response to Suresh’s question -

The iPhone will be coming to India anytime and people are going crazy about it. Both, Vodafone and AirTel have opened pre-registrations for the iPhone. They are still not disclosing the launch date and pricing but I guess for their existing customers its will be less than 18K. Though the iPhone is being launched officially in India this year, it had made its ways into the Indian market long time back through the illegal route (the main concern of Apple). When you talk about the impact of iPhone on the Indian smart phone and PDA market, I guess it will not be that much. Yeah people will buy the iPhone just because the kind of multi-touch interface it has. The current features of the 3G iPhone stand no where near to the enterprise phones and smart phones that are there in the Indian market. You talk about the Nokia E90 Communicator or the Blackberry they are tough competitors for the iPhone if it wants to make a head away in the smart phone/PDA market. The initial hype will certainly give a head start to the iPhone but in the long run, I can’t say anything. Also, it will be available only on AirTel and Vodafone; this kind of scenario was not there in India till now. You buy a phone and choose your operator. This can be turn-off for many Indians.
When you talk about UNIQUE applications I think games that are based on motion control will be coming up in the Indian market to take advantage of the iPhone’s built-in motion sensor. iPhone will be used more as a entertainment device than a phone. If you look at numbers, consumers who have an iPhone, only 20% of the time they use it as phone, rest of the time is dedicated to browsing internet, listening to music and checking/sending mails Also, the iPhone 3G is open for applications only if you buy them from App. Store otherwise you have to jailbreak it.. iPhone, no doubt, is an amazing thing that has happened to the world of mobile phones and its touch interface in the most unique one. But I wont be going for the new 3G iPhone, wanna know why, Click Here.

It seems along with the consumers, the mobile service providers are going crazy over the iPhone 3G coming to India. Yesterday I told you about Vodafone's Indian website taking in pre-registrations for the new 3G iPhone and now today I saw it on the AirTel website alslo. Here have a look for your self.

I think Vodafone is pretty sure of the rage that is going to erupt once, iPhone 3G launches in India. Its Indian site has opened up pre-registrations for the iPhone 3G. The site highlights these features of the upcoming 3G iPhone,8GB and 16GB

Its not talking about when it is coming, but then that will be kept a secret so that people long for it. Anways, I have my own reasons of not buying an iPhone 3G. The Vodafone site also mentions that the iPhone is currently compatible with only 2G networks, what is that suppose to mean..ohh yeah there is no 3G in India as of now!!
By the way, though I do not want the iPhone 3G, I pre-registered for it and they immediately sent a mail to me saying that, Vodafone will keep me updated on the launch date, price and other features. Here is the mail,



When I called their call center to get some insights on the price and other stuff, they just said that I will be informed soon :-) !!!