iPhone 3G to cost $870 in India?

India's leading newspaper, Times of India has confirmed the news that the much-awaited iPhone 3G will be launched in India on August 22 by Bharti Airtel just as I had reported last week.

They mention that reports indicate that the 8GB iPhone 3G model could cost Rs. 31,000 (approx. $730), while the 16 GB model could cost as high as Rs. 37,000 (approx $870) and this does not include the monthly rentals.

In a statement, Bharti said that millions of Airtel subscribers will be able to purchase the iPhone at Airtel's Relationship Centres from August 22. Sanjay Kapoor, President of Bharati Airtel had this to say about the iPhone:

"iPhone has been an iconic technological revelation of this year and Airtel has been at the forefront of innovation and customer delight in the Indian telecom sector."

Though the launch of iPhone 3G is good news for all those people in India waiting to get their hands on one of the most hyped gadgets ever created, the pricing seems to be shockingly high when you compare it with US where it costs $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. That probably compares to the unlocked iPhones that are being sold on eBay.

The other interesting bit about the iPhone 3G launch in India is that 3G services are still not available, the Department of Telecom has just announced the much-awaited guidelines for third-generation (3G) spectrum allocation and so it is expected that the 3G services will be rolled out only after 6 months. So Indians will be paying that high price for an iPhone with 3G but for EDGE speed, which makes the pricing sound even more ridiculous.

I checked Airtel's website to compare the pricing for other smart phones and found that Blackberry 8820 which costs $249.99 in US (after mail-in rebates and for a 2-year contract), costs Rs. 31,990 (approx $750) excluding the rental plans. So the pricing of iPhone 3G seems to be in line with the pricing of other smart phones. The terms and conditions on their site for the Blackberry also suggests that iPhone 3G will be SIM locked:

"BlackBerry Devices from Airtel are SIM locked to Airtel Network, and no other operator's SIM will work on these devices."

So that also rules out the explanation that unlocked iPhone 3Gs will be sold in India like they are sold in Italy and Hong Kong.

I understand that India is a maturing market for smart phones but I wonder how Airtel expects to reach the millions of subscribers at such a high price.

What do you think?

PS: All currency conversions were done using XE.com on Aug 13, 2008.

[via Times Of India]

 

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