Airtel and Vodafone to Price iPhone 3G at Par
Techtree News Staff, Aug 12, 2008 1743 hrs IST
Both the cellphone providers are expected to price the iPhone 3G the same
We can reveal that both Vodafone and Airtel are in close conversation and both companies will price both the 8GB and the 16GB version identically. This is bad news for us consumers since it takes away the spirit of competition.
While certain sections of the media have quoted an "official price" between Rs 30,000 and Rs 36,000 for the iPhone 3G, our sources tell us that the price is still a closely guarded secret.
Our source did have some interesting numbers to share -- Airtel has seen around 2.5 million inquiries over the iPhone 3G, since announcement. Out of which, about 1 million inquiries have been made over the Internet. Airtel expects a 30% conversion rate over these numbers, which is not too shabby.
What left us really depressed was that there is no clarity on when 3G would launch in India. Our source, an executive with a major carrier, lamented that the Indian government has issued no guidance on when the 3G spectrum bids would start, when they would end, and when the actual allocations would be made. The babus seems to be sitting on their behinds, as is usual.
For those wondering about the seemingly exorbitant price -- around 30,000 -- it seems that Airtel is not in the business of subsidies. They look to make at least a 50 percent margin on any hardware sold, we were told, especially over high-end models. Which is strange given the traditional model of selling the gateway product free and then making money over services leveraged by the product.
We'll keep you posted as more action unfolds.
USER COMMENTS
Apple has left the pricing of the iPhone to the operators. Airtel and Vodafone wanted to cash in on the hype and started selling it at the high price. The audacity of Vodafone amazes me. They have a Rs 400 and Rs 600 data plan for the iPhone with a pathetic 34kbps download speed on EDGE!. At least Airtel is much better you get 500MB free a month for the next 12 months and their download speeds are over 110Kbps consistently.
by Drakus, Calcutta, on Sep 07, 2008 03:55 PM, Report abuse
by Mustak, Hyderabad, on Aug 26, 2008 01:10 AM, Report abuse Reply
Why can't Airtel think of having monthly rental like US, anyways this is not going to work with other service providers, so try n market this like US for post paid customers. I would like to have one if sold in this format. spending 31K for people other than city residents is still a problem, would suggest AIRTEL to come in to the shoes of customers, youngistan might prefer to buy one coz money comes from their parents. AIRTEL is following this method for other mobiles like samsung (pre Paid), they can work on this model toooooo
by Gururaj Anekal, tirupathi, on Aug 25, 2008 11:54 AM, Report abuse Reply
pricing is too high when compared to internatinal markets, bringing down the prices by 5 to 7 thousand should boost up the sale.
by Gururaj Anekal, tirupathi, on Aug 25, 2008 11:40 AM, Report abuse Reply
disgusting, first i booked but seriously not interested due to unacceptable price tag
by shahid syed, delhi, on Aug 24, 2008 09:03 PM, Report abuse Reply
30000?? haha, what a joke, for that money i would rather have the n95.
by Juan, Chennai, on Aug 24, 2008 08:44 PM, Report abuse Reply
For all those people who really wanna have a gud phone but cudnt affort.. if i let u people know something than dont u ever try to buy i phone accept ibooks.. coz its just useless... i think better u compare d iphone wid NOKIA N95... u just can able to define, wat is more better than.....
by Tenxin K (Softw, Bangalore, on Aug 24, 2008 05:38 PM, Report abuse Reply
go for Sony Ericsson(SE) Premium Models, these are very reasonably priced and are worth for money..........this company is no. 1 in the technology advancement. Camera in mobile phone, bluetooth, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, 3G,memory card, multimedia......the list is so long....all are the innovations from Sony Ericsson... All other manufacturers follow this company...Nokia now given the maps feature in N96 and highlighted a lot as their first model to show maps ..... Take any 2-3 years old SE phone.......install google maps and wow.. it works...SE launched a new phone with 8.1 MP camera recently....many things are there shows their leadership... you study further and decide....
by Paras Sagarawat, Neemuch, on Aug 24, 2008 03:30 PM, Report abuse Reply
Besides, it's not $199 in the US, that's only for some who qualify and sign up a monthly contract - which is not possible in India. The iPhone in Australia is $730, in Europe it's ~$750, what's the big deal? Sure you can buy it cheaper WITH CONTRACT! No contract? And what's with that outrageous 50% electronics import tax? You see, it's not Apple or Airtel/Voda that's stealing you, it's your government!
by Zoltar, Europe, on Aug 24, 2008 08:14 AM, Report abuse Reply
If the import tax is 50% it's the government that makes all the money and is stealing your S
by Zoltar, Europe, on Aug 24, 2008 08:01 AM, Report abuse Reply
by prateek, delhi, on Aug 23, 2008 03:10 PM, Report abuse Reply
its price is high so demand will be less in india so decreace price
by anand, kadapa, on Aug 23, 2008 01:23 PM, Report abuse Reply
why company wrire 199$ dont they know currency change formate or hv no idea of indian market they fallowed fake type
by neelesh tripath, kanpur,u.p./nit hamirpur,h.p., on Aug 23, 2008 10:12 AM, Report abuse Reply
its nice but let me say you that there are no of chinese mobiles in market having windows mobile operating system in it so why do we buy 3g phone which costs 30000RS chineese mobiles are available in less than 9000RS.
by RAHUL SINGH IS , BANGALORE, on Aug 23, 2008 07:40 AM, Report abuse Reply
that's bcos windows sucks compared to mac os. besides iphone has multi-touch interface
by sandeep, Chennai, on Aug 23, 2008 08:41 AM, Report abuse
by Arkha, delhi, on Aug 22, 2008 07:44 PM, Report abuse Reply
what a sheam airtel&vodafone go to hellllllllllllllll..........
by gaurav, belgaum, on Aug 22, 2008 04:54 PM, Report abuse Reply
Dont get fooled of the sick airtel and vodafone to buy Iphone for such a huge cost.Its useless
by mac, chennai, on Aug 22, 2008 03:24 PM, Report abuse Reply
All u are thinking that 8000 rs in us. thats wrong. there u have to paid monthly rental of round 2000 rs per month for two years. now calculate the actual price. 8000 + 48000 = 52000/- now i think indian customers are getting that it cheaper
by Aakash Vijay, Jaipur, on Aug 21, 2008 04:35 PM, Report abuse Reply
How do you see it cheaper in india, would you bee keeping your phone in pocket without ne balance????
by arvind, pune, on Aug 22, 2008 01:31 PM, Report abuse
y iphone is tooo costly in india ?
by sai kiran, HYDERABAD, on Aug 22, 2008 11:23 AM, Report abuse Reply
Its just horrible to see costing as Rs.30,000/- For 8500/- we can expect it to say with taxes n margins not more than 10,000/- The main thing should be quantity not the price.
by Hrushikesh Waka, Nashik, on Aug 22, 2008 11:11 AM, Report abuse Reply
airtel & vodafone make fool us, i think they cannot sold more then 1000 set on 22 AUG.
by kulwinder singh, ludhiana, on Aug 21, 2008 03:17 PM, Report abuse Reply
Very bad to listen that Iphone cost is Rs31000/- It is extremly high value for Iphone.Bkz It has no video recording facilities.
by bpradhan, bhubaneswar, on Aug 21, 2008 02:23 PM, Report abuse Reply
When Iphone is sold in other markets for INR 8500 here 30000, this is being pathetic state.. and showing corporate attitude. They just work for profit. The phone available for 30000 Rs. is not worth of taking.
by Arun Varghese, Kochi, on Aug 21, 2008 09:35 AM, Report abuse Reply
If this news is correct! I must say iPhone providers are big Crook.... 30K for iPhone come on........ Let it be
by Mohit, Delhi, on Aug 12, 2008 09:50 PM, Report abuse Reply
Foolishness........ruining the iphones reputation and brand value.......I hope they come to their seses and put up a more appropriate price.......advice to all dont buy for 31k as the price maybe reduced in future.......
by Ankush, Mumbai, on Aug 21, 2008 02:10 AM, Report abuse
alas! all xpctations r dammed.... nw i cn state dt Its Real INDIA..Unpredictable nw where is steve jobs..is he mindless ds tym..it ws his official statmnt dt iphone wl b priced at 199$ across d wrld...vodafone n airtel r lusng thier hard earned trust by the custmrsbase. evn dey cud hv launchd d iphone wd a bit large postpaid plan to earn revenue in breaks.. i dnt thnk ds its the rgt strategy to mk Rock top profit...i wsh the sales trgt shud b screwed so hard so they cudnt even cover the cost of agreement..
by MANAV, delhi, on Aug 20, 2008 11:03 PM, Report abuse Reply
Im really disappointed in the pricing done by Airtel..Im cancelling my booking and rushing to the grey market...who cares if its illegal or not..its much better than getting paying 31k(Ridiculous)
by Nihar, Bangalore, on Aug 20, 2008 08:48 PM, Report abuse Reply
Are we ridiculous to give Rs.30000 for iphone 3G where it costs about only between Rs.8000 to 9000 in U.S
by arun, bangalore, on Aug 20, 2008 08:47 PM, Report abuse Reply
Do we need to loose any feature if we buy ipone from US and unlock it?
by Rajini, Chennai, on Aug 20, 2008 06:03 PM, Report abuse Reply
At this price i would prefer to go for an alternative like htc or even a hacked one. Why not we boycott iPhones in india ? If not Shame on us
by RGD, Bangalore, on Aug 20, 2008 05:10 PM, Report abuse Reply
What a SHAME! The iPhone 3G 8GB: US Price Rs 8,000 approx (US $199 from AT&T) Indian Price Rs 31,000 (Airtel/Vodafone) (A difference of Rs 23,000 approx, with which you can get a Nokia N82 or a similar phone from Sony Ericsson, etc) Why isn't not the other way round? Maybe US companies knows it pays more to care for their customers and win their hearts. In India, not only are politician's corrupted, but even seemingly TRUSTWORTHY companies like Airtel/Vodafone are building their castles by robbing hard working poor Indians shamelessly! That too in broad daylight! Classic example of The rich eating the poorman's fish! Knowing that it would arrive in India through a legal channel, I was waiting for the the LEGAL iPhone 3G instead of the UNLOCKED iPhone 3G. Now it's clear, I would definitely get my UNLOCKED iPhone 3G for Rs 1*,000 ONLY! AND I'M FREE TO USE THE iPHONE WITH ANY PROVIDER! No, Airtel/Vodafone, you've already made your offering, and I decide I'm not going to be LOCKED with you forever.
by ZawngEK!, Lamka, on Aug 20, 2008 04:42 PM, Report abuse Reply
I have received a message from Vodafone just an hour back.. Foe 8 GB its Rs 31000/- & for 16 GB its Rs 36100/-................i think its too much
by Pankaj Lohan, Yamunanagar, on Aug 20, 2008 03:28 PM, Report abuse Reply
i was not expecting such a high price for Iphone... i m planning to go for other options available...;)
by baji, pune, on Aug 20, 2008 02:56 PM, Report abuse Reply
Guys, just maintain your cool. Its a common tactic, first make lot of fuss about the product, second make fuss about the higher price and then finally launch the product with bit lesser price than people have originally estimated. After this fuss, on August 22nd even if Airtel/Vodafone lauch IPhone at Rs 25K people will die to buy it, thinking that they got a good deal. Old and lame marketing tactics.
by Guru, Delhi, on Aug 12, 2008 07:44 PM, Report abuse Reply
cant agree with u more...absolutely right
by kamat, Gurgaon, on Aug 12, 2008 09:40 PM, Report abuse
I have both iphone and n95 8gb. N95 8gb is way better than iphone and costs less.
by sandeep, delhi, on Aug 20, 2008 01:04 PM, Report abuse
Total MF WTF man Airtel vodafone just want to take advantage of hype. so people let them f*** themselves. There r great phones from samsung and sony ericsson coming up so go for them. If I have to cost iPhone 3g it would b 8gb-16000Rs and 16gb-22000
by HImanshu, Dombivli(E)., on Aug 20, 2008 12:21 PM, Report abuse Reply
ust got a mail from Vodafone that 8gb costs 31,000 and 16gb costs 36,100 and available on 22nd august..Vodafone asks the customers to book iphone by paying an advance of 10,000 in vodafone store and take an appontment..the remaining amount should be paid on the appointment date..Whom the hell is they are thinking apple and vodafone..???? the same mdel and piece is released with 199US $ and now came to india it was 750 US$ .what they are thinking indians as fools??? BOTH COMPANIES SHOULD THINK ONCE ABT THE INDIANCUSTOMERS..WHAT THEY ARE THINKING..
by SRINU, HYDERABAD, on Aug 20, 2008 11:51 AM, Report abuse Reply
Guys.. it's official.. 31k for 8gb and 36.1k for 16 gb.. that is complete rubbish.. we need to do something about this, and tell Airtel and Vodafone that Indian customers cannot be treated this way.. this price is outrageous. I will buy an officially unlocked at&t phone for $600 than pay so much for a locked phone in India.. so DUMB
by P'd off, mumfai, on Aug 20, 2008 03:33 AM, Report abuse Reply
Its official 31000 for 8 GB and 36100 for 16 GB through Vodafone, came across the info from Vodafone in site, which was available for pre registered booking.
by Jayakrishnan, Bangalore, on Aug 19, 2008 11:26 PM, Report abuse Reply
30% conversion rate for airtel on iPhone? Well well you are in for a big shock !
by Ramanan, chennai, on Aug 12, 2008 08:51 PM, Report abuse Reply
yea a big big big biggest shock ever!! 99.99% of enquiries will surely go down the drain!! i can guarantee you that!!!!!!!!!!! wtg man
by Aditya, Hyd, on Aug 19, 2008 08:34 PM, Report abuse
by lnvk, chennai, on Aug 12, 2008 07:27 PM, Report abuse Reply
if the same price of 31k wll prevail..den the sale or target score of airtel or vfone wll bang...they ms thnk that these inquiries ovr intrnet are arising as customers had a mind setup dt iphone wl b price arnd 200$ to 300$+ duties n bit taxes.. i wsh ds wud b a big rumour fr 31k price..
by manav, delhi, on Aug 13, 2008 12:17 AM, Report abuse
yes manav, these enquiries are all crap, they r enquiring it only on the net and i can guarantee airtel n vodafone that 99.99% of all net enquiries will never materialise. btw looking at the not soo gr8 features, 20k is the max the fone can demand. it has nthn but touch interface and large memory. camera sucks, no flash, no video recording!!!
by Aditya, Hyd, on Aug 19, 2008 08:13 PM, Report abuse
does apple iphone to be launched in INdia very soon contains bluetooth device...
by Mukesh soni, Jaipur, on Aug 19, 2008 04:48 PM, Report abuse Reply
http://www.vodafone.in/iPhone/Pages/iPhone_details1.aspx
by puneet, delhi, on Aug 19, 2008 10:54 AM, Report abuse Reply
i want to buy the new apple i phone ... which is of 149 $......
by Prabin Agarwal, kolkata, on Aug 18, 2008 09:16 PM, Report abuse Reply
I just spoke to an Airtel Sales person who himself is going through product training. He said that as per his knowledge (from hints he got), it shoulde be around 15-16k for 8GB and 20k for 16GB. But certainly data plan charges will be there. I m not sure whether his so called hints are corrent, but I honestly want him to be correct. Otherwise 30k for a mobile , oh God ! As to Airtel and Voda, I will only say "Lalaj buri baat hain" I hope their greed doesnt make them fall from their arrogance.
by Arnab, Kolkata, on Aug 18, 2008 07:13 PM, Report abuse Reply
its too costly if u reduce to price to aroung 10 to 20 grands u will have more demand ,thts 4 sure
by Pranav, Mumbai, on Aug 17, 2008 06:50 PM, Report abuse Reply
i heard thru my frnds that iphone is selling in grey market at 18K so Airtel/VodaF why wud even dare to price a product more than that? and i think if they dares to do that i m not sure that they will get enough stupids to buy at around 30K.... as iphone is just too hyped product... can u think of a film called TASHAN... which was produced by someone like apple in bollywood...think people think... this ppl just want ur money whether its Cool Gadgets / Insurance / luxirioius cars / Everytnhing which is not necessity in life...they hire MBAs frm IIMs to sell thier products - which we might need at such (i.e. 30K ) price points....Have a good Day.
by Kalpen, Vadodara, on Aug 17, 2008 02:58 PM, Report abuse Reply
Will any sane person buy that phone for 30k??? it is ridiculous.
by klusy, chennai, on Aug 12, 2008 07:25 PM, Report abuse Reply
YES! 30000 is very cheep for an Apple experience.
by Josef Stalin, Mumbai, on Aug 12, 2008 08:53 PM, Report abuse
Yes sir many people are willing to pay 35 - 40K for the iphone. I wont pay anything above 20K but many of my friends are willing to pay 35K and above
by Sidharth, Visakhapatnam, on Aug 14, 2008 11:55 PM, Report abuse
Love the iPhone, they got million +interest when roumors of price was 15k. At30k, interest will be much less n conversion much lower. I love the iPhone but at 30+k, it's a non started.
by vishal, delhi, on Aug 14, 2008 11:52 PM, Report abuse Reply
today i had a tlk wd a person wrkn at vodafone. discloses tht iphone wl b priced nr 12-15k fr 8gb n 20-21k fr 16gb...lets c wt hppn on 22nd aug..
by manav, delhi, on Aug 14, 2008 12:39 AM, Report abuse Reply
get serious. Apple will not allow it phone to be sold so cheap without a contract. And a 2 year contract is simply not feasible in india. So expect anything above 20K
by Sidharth, Visakhapatnam, on Aug 14, 2008 11:51 PM, Report abuse
30000 ? are you joking. Only 10% of the people enquiring will buy it. Price it around 20000 and i bet almost 90% will buy it.
by Sidharth, Visakhapatnam, on Aug 14, 2008 11:49 PM, Report abuse Reply
I have information from a very high up source (think CEO) in one of the two companies (not naming which) and we can bet on the 8gb version to be priced at around 18k. Good day to you all!
by Mogambo's Reven, mumbai, on Aug 14, 2008 12:22 PM, Report abuse Reply
I also have the same information from a person who happens to be in a top position. And he said it will be Rs. 18000.00 for 8 GB
by apurbakm, kolkata, on Aug 14, 2008 08:53 PM, Report abuse
Guys these people [AirTel/Vodafone] are just stupid. They are trying to make a huge profit after creating so much hype. If at all the price remains at Rs. 30000.00 then don't go for it.
by apurbakm, kolkata, on Aug 12, 2008 08:36 PM, Report abuse Reply
Copy that! Iphone is basically a much-hyped product.Sure it has cool features but when it comes to overall product usability, prices above 20K are not justifiable and the phone will meet a lukewarm response. I'll wait & watch to see for which other company bites the bullet and reduces their prices(probably like most of us indians).
by Sumit, lucknow, on Aug 14, 2008 12:48 PM, Report abuse
its the iphone man!! .. the onli other country that sells the iphone outright is australia as far as i know and there the 8gb is 29000 RS depending on the rate but to be precise its 730$. So it makes sense for airtel / vodafone to sell for 30k +. If they start a plan system where u pay for the fone as u go by signing a contract wit them for a specific amt of time then they fone will be available to the people of india for about 10k. Which is peanuts for a fone lke iphone. but in india they cannot implement the contract signing because people will not pay and might jus dissapear and basically not good laws. No doubt if it was cheap many ppl buy it, but then when its so exp it become pretigious and ppl in india do have money to throw. and when n95 came out it was bout 25k+ if im not wrong, and i find iphone way better than n95. But the 3G iphone makes no sense in india as of yet become there is no 3G, how stupid. I wanna c how airtel market it by sayin 'iphone 3G, now with faster speeds' when there is no 3G! haha.. good 1
by Neil, Mumbai, on Aug 12, 2008 08:48 PM, Report abuse Reply
bang on target. I did expect it to be above 25K. Anyway would have loved if it was around 22K
by smilingface, Mumbai, on Aug 14, 2008 12:21 PM, Report abuse
by arvind sengar, morena [mp], on Aug 13, 2008 05:33 PM, Report abuse Reply
you can get two units for this price 36000/- in grey market
by gopi, hyd, on Aug 13, 2008 03:46 PM, Report abuse Reply
n even im not sure dat dis is correct info or not but if it is lot of craze for iphone 'l go into vane.........
by abhishek, bangalore, on Aug 13, 2008 01:40 PM, Report abuse Reply
i think 30k is way too hgh,wat v had expected nyways luk out for d product iphone but if v compare it wid othrs pda's availble here cost is relevent i dont abt myself im confuse now aftr 30k news.........
by abhishek, bangalore, on Aug 13, 2008 01:38 PM, Report abuse Reply
Its better Not to go for an iPhone rather we can use iPod Touch for Only Music.
by Pradeep, Chennai, on Aug 13, 2008 12:38 PM, Report abuse Reply
31K no ways its gonna workout in INDIA as ther r many in Samsung & nokia which is worth & more cheap. This airtel & voda r just hyping because there call rates r gone down frequently for years now so they now wana make money in selling phone.Out side inof is that we wil be atleast getting 1.5k to 2k every month from this airtel & vodaphone on the bill for all service.but 30k is not worth seriously for this not expandable Memory phone ........
by vivek, bangalore, on Aug 13, 2008 12:37 PM, Report abuse Reply
Thanks for this info techtree. We all are waiting for the launch. I dont believe tech2.
by Dev, Bangalore, on Aug 13, 2008 12:35 PM, Report abuse Reply
30000 bucks for this phone is not worth it as many of the features that were expected on this phone are missing and also one major reason is that its a 3G phone and we do not have a 3G network in India. It is foolish to buy the phone in this scenario for 30000 bucks.
by Kartik, New Delhi, on Aug 13, 2008 11:47 AM, Report abuse Reply
Why don't Apple sell IPhones all by by itself? Its like looting the customers two times. 1. Apple sells the IPhone to Airtel/Vodaphone with a great profit margin 2. Again Airtel and Vodafone sell IPhone to end customers with a great profit margin. If apple would have launched the IPhone all by itself, the price would have been much cheap. By all means the price should not be more than 20K to 22K. Anything more than that will signify that only fools will buy it. Apple should rethink about their sales model in countries like india where the given tranditional model of sell now for free and eran later doesn't work. The companies like AT&T are spending giving out lot of money by subsidizing the phone. Here in India Airtel/Vodafone will just act like importer or re distributor. Dude, this phone is gonna cost a fortune, if Airtel/Vodafone are going for a 50% profit margin. I thing even Apple is not having 50% margin on many of their products.
by Graptor, Gurgaon, on Aug 12, 2008 07:16 PM, Report abuse Reply
by Gunjan, Chennai, on Aug 12, 2008 07:26 PM, Report abuse
u r absolutely correct . even i think that apple should avoid mediators . airtel and vodafone should only be allowed to sell under contract where they give the phone to cusomers under some plan where the phone is provided for around 10 k and the rest be charged under the plan. and to whom the company gives such an option should be the sole prerogative of the company . they can decide who are their bonafid customers and who are not . and for others apple should sell the phone at their stores but the prices should remain same . but anything above 22000 would be dampening .
by LOVENEESH, MORADABAD, on Aug 12, 2008 10:13 PM, Report abuse
u r very right, the same is happening with data cards sold by most of the service providers, they cost very high, only reason being that profit is took twice, first by manufacturer and lastly by service provider, and by a big margins.
by naveenchaudhary, meerut, on Aug 13, 2008 11:31 AM, Report abuse
I think its just a marketing strategy... spread panic about the high price and then sell it at 'low' price to create the 'wow' element. After using the iphone for a year, 30K is not just worth it (although its the best phone available)
by PratikShah, Bangalore, on Aug 13, 2008 11:04 AM, Report abuse Reply
this appears to be a techtree "follow up" initative after rival websites posted "claimed pricing" info first. {refer the section which starts with " While certain sections of the media..." and "our sources.." Grow up tech tree...either give us some real "new" info or just wait till 22 nd Aug (like all of us) I have been using iphone for 1 year now and i am not prepared to pay 30 K..its just not worth it at the price. happy with 1.1.5 and confident that i ll finds ways for it to work post launch In the entire article Neither they are giving any indicative pricing
by swayam, mumbai, on Aug 13, 2008 12:13 AM, Report abuse Reply
Any reason yu have not upgraded to 2.0 or 2.0.1 with the old phone ? Works like a charm...
by Pratik, Bangalore, on Aug 13, 2008 10:52 AM, Report abuse
Air tel or Vodaphone should keep the prices minimum to cater the requirements of Rural based and urbanpopulation and should introduce a resonable instalment recovery method of price so fixed in the monthly bills They should not keep the magin of 50% on such products as they can earn more from services so utilised on mobiles.The companies can lock the phones internally unless the full value is recovered from user and thereafter they shpould be allowed to return or use other sim as the customer wants.They can introduce buy back system on 40% of cost so fixed after certain utilisation period.
by CHAND BABU BAIR, JAIPUR RAJASTHAN INDIA, on Aug 13, 2008 09:05 AM, Report abuse Reply
If it goes above 15-20k, then most will buy the iphone from the grey market
by baba, chennai, on Aug 13, 2008 08:27 AM, Report abuse Reply
I dont believe this to be true.These prices would only be possible (but still exorbitant) for an unlocked version of the phone, but then in the first place why would Apple have tie-ups with Airtel and Vodafone in the first place? There is bound to be tariff-based package which should be in the range of 14k-20k depending on the phone version.
by Nishant, Hyderabad, on Aug 13, 2008 07:52 AM, Report abuse Reply
30000 really it should be affordable to a common man to they said it is 199$ n in indian price not more than 9000rs but it costing 30k it waste buying tht phone it better can buy a second hand bike....iphone must be banned..
by duggu, vjwada, on Aug 13, 2008 02:17 AM, Report abuse Reply
Old policy of SALES(as Nokia does):- First premeum sale of Rs.30,000/- for rich ones. Next for lower rich Rs.25,000/-, Next for higher middle class Rs.18,000/- Next sale for Rs.13,000/- Lastly for Aaam Janta Rs. 8,999/=.(when craze is over for iPhone). Right Mr. Apple iPhone..?
by SAJAL SHETH, CUTTACK, on Aug 13, 2008 01:10 AM, Report abuse Reply
i-phone is more worth with 3-G services which are currently unavailable in India and also it seems to take more time to get this service lauched in India.
by gaurav, ghaziabad, on Aug 13, 2008 12:30 AM, Report abuse Reply
by Arjun, Mumbai, on Aug 12, 2008 06:46 PM, Report abuse Reply
i would not buy an iphone for anything more thn 20k.. although i am dying to get one for me. Alternatives, thats what i am starting to think about.
by MAK, delhi, on Aug 12, 2008 10:41 PM, Report abuse
crap companies in india are just feeling there pockets it was said the much awaited iphonbe has beeen released first of all its being launching in india so late and on top of that the price is 30k its really devastating,and also there is compulsation that u cant change the operator what the damn thing is that its really not worth
by amardeep, pune, on Aug 12, 2008 10:30 PM, Report abuse Reply
instead i will buy HTC diomond touch .............30k is toooo much for i phone with so less features compared to HTC...........iphone 3G became popular coz first it was said dat price is 200$ but in india if price is 30k den its really no point in buyin since still 3G is not available in india...!!
by kingameya_k, mumbai, on Aug 12, 2008 10:14 PM, Report abuse Reply
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lly after the long wait is over and airtel and vodafone have launched i phone in India. The Apple CEO Steve Jobs clearly announced at World Wide Developers Conference 2008 that "I phone will sell at $ 199 and at price of 199 $ it will affordable by every one and we will be rolling out I phone in 70 countries at same time and almost everyone of these countries the price is maximum 199 $ all around the world". ( Videos are also available on the internet) thus the Airtel and Vodafone companies have betrayed the verdict of Apple CEO Steve Jobs and playing with the sentiments of interesting and genuine buyers of I phone. The Punch line on the website is "Its here The New I Phone 3G. Twice as Fast, Half the price". which is not half the price.In real sense the price in US for the 8 GB model is 199 $ (.8650.55 in Indian rupees),however its launched at the price of Rs. 31000. Is this not a Joke or whatit is .it is almost 4 times the price,in compersion with the price in u.s.a. which is unfair on their part. Assuming that some expenditurehave to be I ncurred on importing the I phone sets. let us assume it beit will be $ 200 then the price will come $ 398 ( 17313 in Indian Rupees), however the price of I phone at the time of launching is given as Rs 31000/36000 which is clear cut cheating with the sentiments of interesting and genuine buyers of I phone.It seems that the Airtel and Vodafone authorities are trying to make I Phone a hen which lay golden eggsby increasing the price of I phone. I am very disappointed or i should write that we are really disappointed about that. We all friends in my office was planning to buy the I phone even at Rs 15000 Rs to Rs 20000. I was thinking that apple will brake all the records by launching I phone in india and various other parts of the world, however I am afraid that it will not be the caseas there will be no buyers through out the world to purchase I phone at such high price. As all are aware that People were already buying from grey markets hacking them,and useing them,as it was not available in india earlier .. Now these companies are forcing the people to buy from gray market as it will cost very less.This will definitely affect the market of Airtel and Vodafone.Thus both the companies are digging there own grave.
by vikas chopra, chandigarh( India ), on Sep 04, 2008 11:13 AM, Report abuse Reply