It’s official. Vodafone will sell the 8GB 3G iPhone for 31,000 rupees ($712) and the 16GB model for 36,100 rupees ($828). And this for a 3G model when India does not even have 3G services yet.
Vodafone and Airtel will launch the 3G Apple iPhone in India on August 22. Airtel is yet to announce its price for the phones but it’s unlikely the pricing will differ much.
The price of the 8GB model in the U.S. is $199 and $299 for the 16GB model. So is buying the iPhone in India worth it or will the grey market rule?
Who will buy the new iPhone? All those who had pre-booked? The ones who want to get the latest gizmo on day one of its official launch in India or the geeks who cherish anything Apple?
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These stupid foreign corporates still feel they can fool us as in the olden times .31000 for 8 GB & 36000 for 16 GB. Why would a person buy such a thing when the same thing is available in US for just 8000. Why would one pay for if he can do much better things then buying Uphone3G( coz i’ll not buy Iphone3G at any cost specially when there are no 3g services in India.Better to call it a
- Posted by Nischay‘UR’phone.
Buying an accessory that has feature that are not currently supported in the country is an old sad story. I see no point in going for a white elephant.
- Posted by mattizLess than three hours to go for the launch and we are geared to cover the event. Would be interesting to see if there are queues in front of the stores similar to what we had seen around the world.
Interesting too will be the comment from the first buyer.
- Posted by Anirban RoySo what CAN I buy for the price of one 16GB iPhone by Vodafone or Airtel? Let’s see….
A Compaq laptop OR
A 80GB iPod + Nokia 7900 Crystal Prism OR
A high-end Sony Music System OR
A home theatre system
… who do Vodafone and Airtel think they are selling this iPhone to? People who have been loyal and ethical enough to wait for the official piece rather than buy from the grey market? Is this really the kind of “Happy to Help” they want to spread around?
- Posted by SeemaThe saddest thing in all this is that everyone who booked the iPhone 3G knows what price Apple was launching it at internationally and Vodafone/Airtel haven’t so much as sent out a one-line explanation on why its so overpriced?!
This is the point where I want even my Rs. 6/- back of the Premium SMS rates that I paid for the booking SMS!!! Really really sad to see a company like Apple lose the plot in such a lucrative market!
@ Sourabh :
what you have written should be an article in itself….
If someone is holding an iPhone to show off to others, he’ll be laughed at as a fool. It’s not your status symbol anynore but a symbol of you IQ.
- Posted by Mr. RealisticOnly crazy people will buy this phone for such high price.
- Posted by AjayPlz dont buy this phone with a price of 31k coz u can get phones having same features in less price.Still if u want to buy this phone just know the limitations of this phone.
- Posted by satyakiIt is just Crazy . Any lunatic will buy this ,i am all redy suffring of this iPhone which i am having .god save all
- Posted by sandeepdo these companies think Indians are Fools or What ? 3 times the price in US, illogical to buy a stuff like this. Even with some import duty etc, it should not cost more than $ 300. Too Greedy ! They will realise it soon.
- Posted by swamiFriends …..those of you in India planning for iPhone… THINK TWICE BEFORE MAKING A DECISION… The short comings of iPhone are endless…
No video calling,
no AD2P on the Bluetooth,
CAN’T share ANY (mp3, images,videos. …) files via bluetooth,
can’t use as a wireless modem, (you pay ridiculous data charges to activate internet on your phone, but cannot connect it to your PC and browse when you are at home)
no copy and paste,(cannot copy a part of a…. say…. email & send it….have to type it out yourself)
no 3.2 or 5 megapixel camera,(the 2MP camera it carries is worst camera i’ve ever seen….. photos look like they have come out of a VGA camera)
no video recording with camera,
no front camera,
no flash.
no JAVA support
No physical keyboard (BELIEVE me! this alone is a dealbreaker. ..touch keyboard as good as it looks…once you use it then only you come to know about the importance of having a hard keypad)
No 3G network yet in India..so why pay for expensive 3G phone if you cant use its 3G services … so, for India, iPhone 2.0 is no better than its first version
No removable battery. (You cannot change battery. Have to send it to apple outlet.. Come on now!!!!…This is not an iPod. Its a phone. You cannot live without phone for 2-3 days)
No haptic feedback and
cannot send MMS,
can’t use as external storage device (16 GB of utter waste..next time you go to your friend’s house & find some interesting songs, movies, etc…sorry you cannot connect your ‘16 GB’ phone and share it!!!! Apple apparently has a solution.. ” BUY MUSIC & MOVIES FROM iTUNES STORE “….. Give me a break will you APPLE!!!)
no FM radio,
can’t use your mp3 files as ringtones,(This is heights man!!!)
cannot insert any other SIM card….
completely tied to iTunes… Connect to your friend’s iTunes & you risk erasing everything on your phone.
list goes on & on & on….
We Indians are used to these features. Most of our phones already have these features. & we cannot do with out them…. i mean can you imagine paying so much for a phone with which you cannot transfer files via bluetooth. what age is this …STONE AGE???
Some features may be activated by jailbreak.. But why the hell should you risk losing your warranty after paying so much.
And want to add third party softwares??. . YOU HAVE TO BUY THEM FROM iTUNES STORE ONLY!!! . (Shell out more money). Apple is a control freak. Dont surrender your freedom to it.
Its good for american market (who have no idea what mobile freedom/choice is) which is in stone age compared to asian/european markets. When they want to buy a phone, they have to go to network operators and buy only those phones that are available on that network. & stick to that company till their contract expires. You want to change carriers? Not before paying damages, & buying another phone on the other network again.
On the contrary, we in India have so much freedom. We go to handset shops & buy which ever phone we like. Then go to carriers.. checkout the plans & buy SIM.. Dont like the plan or rival carrier came up with a better plan???? EASY .. just remove & replace the SIM.
Apple are trying to IMPOSE THEIR MODEL ON US riding on the hype iPhone has created in the US (yes it was a flop in Europe ..thats why Apple never talks about its sales in Europe).
Dont fall for the subsidized price of iPhone… CHECKOUT THE DATA PLAN ATTACHED TO ITS SIM ..they will recover the cost through ridiculous data plans. Bill might come to around Rs 2500/month.( ATLEAST AMERICANS PAY THAT MUCH)
Let me clear one thing though.. iphone is the best looking phone (its touch interface is nothing like you have ever seen ), & best browsing experience out there no doubt …. (& others are fast catching up..check out the android demo at Google IO 2008)…. BUT AFTER A FEW DAYS IT ALL COMES DOWN TO FUNCTIONALITY. ..
Those of who buy it… You will be most happy for atmost a week… & then, MARK MY WORDS…YOU WILL START REGRETTING IT!!!
Still not convinced by then…by all means go for iPhone…
So friends lets spread this info to all our friends and help them in making a wise decision…. . & those of you who have bought unlocked versions already please share your experiences with others
- Posted by sourabhWho told India is a poor country, never by those who try to introduce (I think withdraw is more correct) “i phone” to Indian markets! The price of the 8GB model in the U.S. is $199 but in India $828 amazing!!! Let them congratulate for their efforts. Some important points are, till now there is no 3G services in India, the phone have reported technical troubles while in the 3G network, after all there’s no external memory option on the i phone and the bluetooth feature—which most other high-end phones exploit for data transfer and wireless music—is configured to only allow handsfree calling (head sets connected with bluetooth).
- Posted by SHIJIwell, what government is doing? simply sitting behind and watching this greedy’s doing anything to make profits and that to upto such an extent, don’t they know we’re still a developing country, they should’ve priced it even lower than in US.
- Posted by sanyEven though no 3G in India & the phone is designed for Americans tastes…!
By the time 3G comes to India, other mobile company’s will release 4G, 3.5G is already available in market.
They call it 3G phone without a front camera for video conferencing….!aren’t they crazy….!
I wud suggest to go for a Nokia set(N95 or N96), or any chinese touch screen models….!
People Act Wisesly….and spread this message..!
KRAZY ….In marketing they call it SKIMMING Price. The iphone is probably following this policy. How they can charge more than double the US price although now body knows about 3G….
- Posted by Raman DeepWhether these people joking.. A phone which is priced $200 overseas available here for $600 here.. .haha.. I actually booked one through texting… when I got the message.. I decided to continue with my Motorola.. with the pricing I made my so called Indian telephone giants is going to miss out. This is purely idiotic…. and there are lot of other phones in India which are available at that price which am sure is far better in features and compatablility.This one is not for me I am decided..
- Posted by Aruniphone high price in india …………iphone price very low in block marker(8gp 13000rs)(16gp 16000)onely……….dnt buying airtel and vodafone stores,
- Posted by kamarajhahahahaha ha. I am a die hard apple fan… but nevertheless, this price point is rib tickler.. they want us to pay full price of an unlocked phone for a locked version with either Airtel or Vodafone. hahahahaha these guys are so funny, no wonder i like apple so much. Btw i waited for iphone, but i will buy a nokia/sony ericsson now. thanks you apple, airtel and vodafone for this five mins of funny moments.
- Posted by Mihir ShahIts really stupid of Apple, Vodafone and Airtel to price the iphone @ Rs.31,000 and Rs.36,000 in India. I guess they are giving a chance to the grey market to grow. Well I’m not going for it in India as I can always get one from the US for a good bargain and that too an unlocked one. And there is still time for the 3G technology to come in India. Give us a break man!!!
- Posted by PritamGuys, I gifted by iphone 3 weeks ago as it is an useless PDA. It is only an ipod with mobile abilities. I will prefer a Palm Treo anyday : free software…
- Posted by RameshJokes a apart, when we don’t have 3g services what purpose does it serve. And people, spending money on mobiles is foolish, just have one which you can talk and listen to music. Many of our offices wont allow camera phones, and I dont thinkit is any fun to browse net through a mobile phone. And there are 100’s of models which are cheaper but of better quality than the rotten Apple.
- Posted by Pauli have booked iphone,but i am not crazy to buy in this price.
- Posted by adnan