Comments on: Expected Price of Airtel and Vodafone iPhone in India

By: zawngek

zawngek — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:51:42 +0000

The iPhone is locked to their networks. And I’m sure all subscribers will subscribes to their data plans as well, most of them with unlimited plans. They are sure to earn a lot through this. Had they make the iPhone a little cheaper, they would not only have their iPhone sales boosted 1000% but that will also means more users locked to their network, which is what every provider is trying to do. No iPhone user can hop providers unlike others.

By: *Rajesh

*Rajesh — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:24:59 +0000

Unfortunately 99% of the people don’t know about the contract terms, neither are they aware of the aware of the contract system in US and hence they have the Misconception that by payimng money upfront ($199) like in India, they get the phone all for themselves.
Oh yea most people also don’t know that incoming calls and SMS are chargeable, even in their home networks

By: Sathya

Sathya — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:53:07 +0000

Rajesh,
Unfortunately 99% of the people don’t know about the contract terms, neither are they aware of the aware of the contract system in US and hence they have the Misconception that by payimng money upfront ($199) like in India, they get the phone all for themselves.
Oh yea most people also don’t know that incoming calls and SMS are chargeable, even in their home networks

By: Rajesh Gupta

Rajesh Gupta — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:12:09 +0000

Hi all

There is a myth in the market place on low pricing of the product (reference price point being Rs. 8000 or Rs.12000/- which refers to AT&T pricing of USD 199 or USD 299).

The reports don’t factor the commitment which a customers needs to give for a particular Price Plan for a period of 24 Months in the case of AT&T. For O2 the commitment is for 18 months with selected plans.

But, if we calculate other cost like montly rental for voice, i.e., 69.99 (USD), the total cost of ownership for the period of 24 months for a 8 GB model comes around Rs.81000/-! The total cost of ownership for O2 is around Rs.200000/- over a period of 18 months.

In first look it looks high, but in long term, it is still cheaper in India. So, don’t stop urself from buying this lovely gadget…

Rajesh

By: anuj

anuj — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:35:39 +0000

friends i think dt bying i phone at d range of 31000 s a vry big stupidity… yar in dt range u cn buy a good hand set 4m nokia, htc,sony erricson etc. and dis s not fair dt dy r selling iphone at dis range.. according to me i phone shud b lounchd at d range of 18000 to 21000 its sufficnt. bcz if v r gtng sme featurng phone between d range of 15000 to 20000 dn y should v buy dis? i dnt thnk dt jst 4 its look u cn waist 31000 smthng amount. its all waistage of money….nd last it will b eazy 4 d every to buy i phone …. bcz since so long evry1 s waitng to buy it.

By: Santosh

Santosh — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:39:31 +0000

@ZawngEK! About the iPhone being locked to Airtel: alright, I hadn’t come across that link. My thoughts were purely based on Vodafone’s announcement wherein they ‘requested’ that you buy a Vodafone sim.

And yes, spending 36k on a cellular phone is pretty stupid. But that’s the price of (stupidity and) wanting to be a “fanboi”.

Then again, I personally don’t mind spending ~30k or less for a cellular device. I make extensive use of it, in situations where you cannot have a notebook at hand. This comment too, was written on a cellular device. You can’t always have a computer at hand.

By: ZawngEK!

ZawngEK! — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:45:39 +0000

Hey Guys, if you have Rs 36,100.00 why drool over the iPhone and get robbed by Airtel/Vodafone?

With that much money, be smart and go buy a good laptop like the Acer Aspire 5920 (I got one today!) which comes with an Intel C2D T5550, 2GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, 15.4 TFT, DVD-Writer, Integrated Webcam, 4-USB Port, FireWire Port, Infrared Port, Intel 802.11a/b/g WLAN, Integrated Bluetooth, multi Card Reader, good Battery Backup (I get at least 2 hours) and lots of other features.

By: ZawngEK!

ZawngEK! — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:22:50 +0000

@ Santosh, please visit http://www.airtel.in/iphone3g/getready.html

Q: Is the Handset locked to Airtel Network?
A: iPhone3G from Airtel is locked to Airtel network.

The cost is high because you can only buy from Airtel or Vodafone. You are stuck with them for life. You can’t use any other SIM nor can you buy it anywhere else except through Airtl or Vodafone. That is why they can announce a ransom’s price for the Indian iPhone 3G. It is like you are buying 1kg of Rice for Rs 100 from Airtel/Vodafone (whereas it is available for Rs 15/kg in Pakistan) because you can’t get it anywhere else!

If it is not to be provider locked, why would the iPhone be launched through Airtel/Vodafone only? It would then be available freely anywhere in any shop like any other mobile phone. All iPhones are locked to a specific provider anywhere they are launched in the world.

That is why there are ‘Jailbroken iPhone 3g’ of which you yourself have spoken of (which means you won’t be locked to Airtel or Vodafone only. You may now use BSNL/MTNL, Idea, Aircel, etc which means it will now behave like any other phone which you get from the market).

By: arun

arun — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:30:02 +0000

Yeah, i’m thinking abt the UNLOCKED version as well.
35000 Rs!
lolz!
Either the companies or all of us are in for a big surprise this 22nd !
Lets see what happens .
I’m waiting for the actual figures of sales.

By: Santosh

Santosh — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:28:01 +0000

@ZawngEK! I don’t think it will be locked to any particular operator, be it Airtel or Vodafone. The cost is way too high for it to be locked to an operator as well.

People did try going legit, it didn’t work out. I guess buying the jailbroken iPhone 3G is the way to go if you are still interested in an iPhone.