• Vodafone to sell 3g Iphone in India soon !

    by Arun Prabhudesai on June 26, 2008 |

    27 comments

    Finally we have some official news about the new Iphone. Yesterday’s times of India flashed this advertisement across India right on the front page. So if you want to get hands on that new 3g Iphone, go right ahead and SMS IPHONE to 56789. You can also pre-register for your Iphone here. You will be one of the first to get your hands on this much sought after phone.

    image thumb Vodafone to sell 3g Iphone in India soon !

    There is no word on the pricing as yet, however expect it to be 20,000 rupees upwards. I’d be surprised if it has a lower price point. Have any readers applied for it already? Any idea about the price? Let us know.

    Related Posts

    Author

    Arun Prabhudesai is founder / chief editor at trak.in. He jumped the Entrepreneurship bandwagon in early 2008 after a long 13 year stint in I.T Industry. You can follow him on twitter @trakin and Facebook. Arun’s Google+ Profile
    Arun Prabhudesai
    View all posts by Arun Prabhudesai
    Aruns website

    If you enjoyed this article, join 16,791 others and get free email updates!

    Manoj June 26, 2008 at 2:55 pm

    Its the war between vodafone and airtel to get the initial subscribers. I think its playing around with customers asking them to register without even letting know anything about the price, the lack of features, release date (at least probable date).

    Reply

    Karthick June 26, 2008 at 3:49 pm

    Paying 20k for that which costs 8k in the states is amazingly expensive.
    While we would not subscribe to the other *ahem* route, I really am interested to know what exactly they would be offering (stocks/itunes/maps) with the phone.

    If it’s feature rich and functional it would justify the cost.

    Reply

    Manoj June 26, 2008 at 4:03 pm

    Oh I forgot to mention, they don’t even tell if there will be a contract or not and expect people to register, man this is insane

    Reply

    Ketan June 26, 2008 at 8:50 pm

    If it stays below 13-14K then it is the good deal otherwise no point in paying the extra money.

    Market here is bigger than the States if it stays close to 10k.

    As Manoj commented, I see the same problem. What is meant by booking an iPhone by sending sms.

    Reply

    Shaheen June 27, 2008 at 5:39 am

    Well finally they have arrived atleast!!

    Reply

    demesne June 27, 2008 at 11:56 pm

    @Ketan @Karthick
    The price of iPhone is heavily subsidized, AT&T pays around $325 per iphone to Apple. That makes the total price to 22K.
    In India Airtel/Vodafone cannot give that much subsidy because they are not unique carrier. Its just that they are bringing the iPhone legally to India, be happy to buy it. You cannot get an iPhone at the price of a nokia E50 or Moto Rokr. Be realistic apple is company in business to make money and not charity.

    Reply

    cosmoss June 30, 2008 at 8:06 am

    Its quite unlikely that the price will just be 199$ (199 * 43 = approx Rs 8500).
    The US rates give a rough indication of the costs. AT&T, the service provider in the US, charges $30 (approx Rs 1,200) and for business use, it is $40 (approx Rs 1,600). There’s a good chance that the costs in India will be around these figures.
    Apple really isn’t slashing its cost of handsets. It’s just passing on the slashed cost to the mobile operators.

    Reply

    Robin Carter June 30, 2008 at 7:12 pm

    Well, to be very honest, the price of the 8GB version of the iPhone is going to be somewhere around 8k, and that of the 16GB version is going to be aroung 12-13k.
    Believe it or not, thats the truth.
    I know for sure because my cousin works at Apple.

    Reply

    D R Sharma July 8, 2008 at 4:18 am

    Well, as the news comes that the price for 8 GB i phone launched in india may be around 9.5 K to 11 K, only then it may be a good deal. If it has higher pricing, then no need to waste money.

    Reply

    hms July 12, 2008 at 12:26 am

    i’ve got a cousin working for airtel he told me tahr the price for iphone in india to be 14k[8gb] and 18k[16gb].
    iphone is scheduled to be launched somewhere around august end.

    Reply

    kowshik July 13, 2008 at 6:57 am

    hmmmmm whn in US thy buy 8gb phone for 8.5k and 16gb at 16k…y cant thy give in india nd i hope thy wont raise the price nd make sme unfair decision..whn i cald up vodafone thy evn dunno whn thy r launching it here wht a worst  part…

    Reply

    kowshik July 13, 2008 at 7:00 am

    but the thng is whthr thy release wth the same feture as of in US wtht chngng anythng…

    Reply

    Dee July 15, 2008 at 8:07 pm

    In US, Iphone 3g cost 199 for 8gb and 299 for 16gb and the basic plan from $70+tax which might come around 78 not $30 dude… and there is a 2 year contract… if you are look for India, the plan would be postpaid plan + unlimited data.. so check with the existing customers for a normal postpaid plan & for unlimited data..(it might include some more 100′s since they would pay some for apple) that will give you and rough estimate of wat would be the plan if iphone comes to India…

    Reply

    Jerry Smith July 18, 2008 at 2:04 pm

    We are selling the unlock 3G Apple 16GB iPhone for just US$450 and also the 3G Apple 8GB iPhone for just US$400 (Including FREE SHIPPING) and guaranteed that it will work with any preferred network.This does not VOID your Apple warranty since you are not hacking the Firmware. You do not have to worry about it relocking when Apple comes out with a new Firmware. Its perfect! Will work with any GSM provider in the world.BUY 2 UNITS 3G 8GB iPHONE FOR JUST US$750BUY 2 UNITS 3G 16GB iPHONE FOR JUST US$850we sell the 2.0 firmware versionWE ALSO STOCK NOKIA PHONES, HTC PHONES & IPODS:Nokia E90…….US$400
    Nokia N95.(8GB).US$350
    Nokia N77…….US$250
    Nokia N76 ……US$250HTC PHONES:
    HTC Shift………….US$1000
    HTC Advantage X7510…US$900
    HTC P3470………….US$400
    HTC Touch Cruise……US$510
    HTC Dual…………..US$350
    HTC S730…………..US$390
    HTC P6500………….US$700
    HTC TyTN II………..US$400
    HTC Touch………….US$900
    HTC S630…………..US$320
    HTC S710…………..US$340
    HTC P3600i…………US$450
    HTC Advantage X7500…US$950
    HTC MTeor………….US$190
    IPODS:
    Apple 2 GB iPod Nano…..US$60
    Apple 4 GB iPod Nano…..US$70
    Apple 30 GB iPod Video…US$110
    Apple 60 GB iPod Video…US$150
    Apple 80GB Ipod Video….US$200Mr Jerry Smith
    Celebrity Mobile Stores.
    Email: salesrep.celebrity@gmail.com
    celebritymobile.inc@hotmail.com

    Reply

    Hitesh July 20, 2008 at 3:21 am

    WOW Jerry smith is the 1st to unlock 3g iphones .. How can u be so stupid !! and JErry Smith ?? isnt this spam thing too old ?? get a life and stop TRYING to make people fools with your silly prices and ads. DICK !!

    Reply

    Fen Castro July 21, 2008 at 12:35 pm

    Well Hitesh,
     
     Its not rocket science to unlock iPhones. Its been ages ever since this has happened in London and in many of the European nations. It is O2 the operator who has the rights to sell the iPhones, However, you would see folks using iPhones on 3, Orange and Vodafone networks. I need to admit that Mr. Jerry’s pricing is massive compared to UK ones.

    http://fencastro-virtue.blogspot.com/2008/02/visiongain-iphone-event.html

    I reckon Vodsafone will shine with the 3G iPhone with their Quadplay strategy which Airtel would hesitate to venture into.

    Let’s sit back and see how the battle crawls.

    Fen

    Reply

    nitin jaitely July 28, 2008 at 1:42 am

    Iphone 3g will b launching in india on 18th august n itz prize will be around 18k………

    Reply

    hariom August 17, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    I phone is not atall going to launch in India.

    enjoy the photos of Iphone at a cheapre price rather

    Reply

    Rohan August 20, 2008 at 1:23 am

    iPhone 3g being supplied by Airtel and Vodafone who dont have 3G license at present :-(

    Reply

    md ali August 21, 2008 at 2:48 am

    US market is nothing us compared to Indian market….Indian can b very profitable to apples bcoz…….Indian population will make them rich in twice or more than twice speed of that of any other nation……so…..better to sell in the rate which it is now in the US.but i think…people will buy iphone if they will b at the cost of around 8,000 INR for 8gb, and 12,000 to 13,000 INR for 16 gb  3G iphones 

    Reply

    md ali August 21, 2008 at 2:49 am

    affordable rate for public will make apple more profitable………n happy.So,lets c wat happens…..

    Reply

    md ali August 21, 2008 at 4:02 am

    dont buy iphone……..bcoz it is selling the iphone 3G (8Gb) phone at Rs 31.000 (which cost in US at $199 i.e RS 8557)  and 16 Gb iphone at Rs 31,600(which cost in US at $299 i.e at Rs 13000 approx)…….

    Reply

    Nj August 27, 2008 at 9:12 am

    Get your iphone unlocked or upgrade it to the latest version

    UNLOCKING OTB 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4 & 2.0 3G iPhone Using Pure Software

    WITH ALL The iPHONE FEATURES WORKING FINE.

    UNLOCK WITHOUT OPENING THE PHONE, SO DONT WORRY

    If anyones interested, please email me cuteprick@hotmail.com or call me…

    Come with your iPhone & i’ll unlock it within 15mins.

    To get ANY iPhone issues Solved/Repaired

    CALL ME ON 9820541041
    AM LOCATED IN MUMBAI

    Reply

    Rajiv September 2, 2008 at 12:52 am

    Hi all

    So, finally comapny understood mindset and problem of common man of not want to spend such a big amount of Rs. 31000/36000 to

    buy an iphone and made it available through EMI with tying up with few banks. I saw this info on iphone section of airtel

    site (http://www.airtel.in/iphone3g)

    Rajiv

    Reply

    Crackle September 8, 2008 at 12:54 am

    Vodafone Corporate Theives of the Common Man, I have been using Vodafone or Hutch dosent really matter but I have had their service for over a year nd have on repeated ocassions been robbed by them. They have a system where your funds are deducted for I guess maybe their boss’s bday and even messages are double charges so that the employees could avail a free msg on the common man’s cost. I WOULD SUGGEST TO EVERYONE BUY THE iPHONE FROM AIRTEL NOT VODAFONE, vODAFONE’s SERVICE SUCKS TO THE CORE ALL OVER INDIA AND IN THE LONG RUN YOU GET ROBBED ALOT. bE cAREFULL pEoPlE YOU DONT WANNA BE PAYING 1000 BUCKS LESS AND TAKING THE PHONE FROM hUTCH INSTEAD OF AIRTEL ND AT THE END OF THE YEAR REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ROBBED OF ALMOST LIKE 2000-3000 BUCKS BY HUTCH.

    Reply

    Leave a Comment

    who's online