I should have jumped with joy today when I saw mail from Vodafone asking me to come to their store and pay up the advance for the iPhone. Instead, I was disappointed. The reason: it will be available in 8GB & 16GB models, priced at Rs 31,000 and Rs 36,100 respectively. And that’s official Vodafone communication. Whoa! Imagine paying $715 for something that is priced $200 in the US?
Add it to the list of ‘Things that are wrong with this world’.
I had read this yesterday and also saw the news item on Zee Business claiming that there will be an option of phone contracts for iPhone where the down payment will be as low as Rs.8600! There has been no official news from Airtel, as yet on the pricing. I was really hoping that both Airtel & Vodafone would offer a long-term contract and make the upfront payment attractive. I have been an Airtel user for 3 years now and see no disincentive in signing a long term contract with them.
During the launch of iPhone in other markets, I remember the price being announced days in advance. Strange that Apple India has not put up the pricing yet on its site and the telecom provider has announced the price just 2 days prior to launch. And that’s a huge deterrent for a majority of those waiting for the iPhone here.
Makes me wish I was an importer in the grey market. I would be the only person thrilled with this iPhone pricing.
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5 Comments
That’s too much for an i-phone with all the basic negatives at least in the Indian context. I also have been hearing a promo on Radio mentioning about some offers! Get Rs.750 and Rs.1000 off on 8GB and 16GB i-phones respectively by giving an old phone or mp3 player. I mean, i didn’t find any sense in this, especially giving back my old phone? Anyways I am not a tech-freak but just for the love of the brand called Apple, I think this price is a bit too high. With fierce competition from brands like Nokia, Samsung, HTC etc, all the best Mr. Jobs!
iPhone at 31K / 36K ! Not worth it at all. Do the Indian service-providers and Apple-India feel that there are more than a few fools in India to buy it at that price? No way… will fall on face very soon. Big failure I must say. Indians don’t like to be extorted by anyone. Seriously, this is sheer burglary in broad daylight. I suggest that they make use of these sets to build their interiors/table/chairs, rather than dumping simply – heeeheeee. Horrible business logic… no logic at all. Steve Jobs will be really sad to hear this. Sorry Steve, but didn’t expect this from you. Don’t make us feel cheated. Get me iPhone at the original $199+tax, I’ll pick it. No fooling around. The HTC Touch Diamond is a much better option here.
Chetan, Joy: thanks for the comments. My sentiments exactly on the pricing – it defies logic. Only the hardest of the hardcore Apple fans or those who don’t really care for the price tag will end up buying it. I might belong to the first category but even for the price tag is astonishingly high given the US base price of $200. I was hoping for a bundled price with long-term contracts – don’t know why the operators did not explore this option.
Chethan the promo on is on ipods NOT on the iphone. Regarding the pricing, God knows what they are thinking. But HTCs design sucks. If that’s a good enough reason against it. Whatever.
Gitanjali, thanks. ‘Whatever’ sums up the sentiment of the average mobile phone user – who wants an affordable phone that can make calls and send text messages.