As per Apple’s practice, the phones are tied to subscription to the mobile services of either of these two companies.
Aircel said, in a Press Release, that iPhone 4 will be offered along with post-paid as well as pre-paid mobile phone services.
The 16GB version of iPhone 4 would cost Rs.34,500/- and the 32 GB version would cost Rs.40,900. Customers can recover the entire cost of the phone by way of monthly credits in their service plans over 24 months, it said in a statement.
According to a statement from Airtel, the phone would be availbale from them under similar offers.
Airtel has the largest subscriber base with well over 162 million subscribers whereas Aircel has some 55 million subscribers. India is the second largest mobile services market after China.
With 3G services being rolled out by various operators in different parts of the country, the sale of smartphones with 3G – like the iPhone 4 – is expected to increase substantially. According to CyberMedia Research, 12 million smartphones – representing a growth of 100% over the previuous year – are expected to be sold in India during 2011.
Airtel and Aircel have the necessary bandwidth to offer 3G services in 13 of the 22 service areas of the country.
With more than 811 million subscribers, India is the second-largest market in the world for telecom services, China standing in the first position.
However, it has been rumoured that a new version of iPhone is likely to be launched later this year. It is worth noting that so far Apple has never released its iPhones in India at the same time as in US and Europe. Indian users have so far been forced to buy obsolescent iPhones long after their introductory launch in the US. The story seems to be repeating now. Against this background, the rumoured launch of a new iPhone acquires some credence.
The following snippet gathered from Apple’s website is quite informative as well as instructive:
“Customers who want to upgrade from another phone or replace an iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS should check with their service provider for pricing options or visit www.apple.com/iphone/buy. For those who are not qualified customers, are not eligible for an early upgrade, or wish to buy iPhone as a gift, the prices are $499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB).”
If $699 is the price to pay for the iPhone 4 (32 GB) without being saddled with the compulsion to tie up with the services of any particular mobile operator, the price at which the phone is being offered in India (tied up with specified operators at that) does not appear to be particulalry appealing.
The practice of tying up the sale of a mobile phone with the services of specific operator(s) does not seem to have gone well with the Indian consumers so far for what seems to be an apparent reason. But the Indian consumers may respond differently now, given the impressive features of iPhone 4.
