iPhone price in India ??
Vodafone and Airtel started pre-registering customers for the iPhone” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview (’/outbound/www.apple.com’);”>iPhone 3G this week, and ever since, offices and blogs have been abuzz with discussions on what Apple’s much-awaited product will be priced at.
Many think it will be just a shade over Rs 8,000 — the rupee equivalent of the price in the US, which is $199. Now, that’s a fantastic price for the 8GB product, and will certainly have every competitor worried.
Nokia’s 8GB N95 smartphone , for instance, is priced at well over Rs 25,000, and its new N96 is expected to come at over Rs 36,000. But we think the iPhone/”>iPhone, expected to hit the Indian market in September, will be priced substantially higher than Rs 8,000.
The $199 price is a hugely subsidised one, subsidised by the US operator AT&T. Market researcher iSuppli has just estimated that mobile phone service providers are subsidising each handset to the extent of $300.
Some other analysts think the subsidy is higher at $350 per unit. In other words, the actual price that AT&T pays to Apple for each iPhone unit is $499, going by the iSuppli estimate.
Vodafone and Airtel are unwilling to talk about the price they will offer the iPhone at, but Bharti Airtel CEO Manoj Kohli told TOI there is no question of subsidising the handset in India. “US operators are able to subsidise handsets because they can make up for that with their call charges. They charge rates like 25 cents a minute. In India, the charge is 1.5 to 2 cents a minute,” Kohli said.
In the absence of a subsidy then, the handset could be priced at $499 or a little over Rs 21,000 (governmental levies on mobile phones in India are marginal).
Unless Apple chooses to offer the iPhone at lower margins to countries like India. iSuppli estimates it costs Apple just $173 to produce the latest version (excluding the cost of software development, shipping, distribution, packaging and accessories included with each iPhone). So it enjoys a huge margin on the product.
We’ll have to see if Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs is willing to sacrifice some of that. But any which way, even at a price of Rs 21,000, the iPhone looks certain to sizzle the handset market.
Source: ET
I am sure it wont be priced at Rs.8000 but at around Rs.20,000 .
who knows lets wait and see…
We still have more time to discuss about this. There are more hidden costs attached to it to bring the iphone to India which will be added to the cost of the phone. Hence we can expect the cost to be around RS. 25000/- minimum.
I would love to have a apple iPhone 3g in my hand
Vodafone - iphone 3G arriveson Aug 22. 8GB model is for Rs. 31,000 and 16 GB for Rs. 36,100. Avail on selected Vodafopne stores & to confirm booking u hav to pay Rs. 10,000 on Aug 20 or 21.
I think this is outrageous and ridiculous pricing by Apple/Vodafone. I am not going to buy the iPhone for Rs. 31000. It simply does not make sense.
i think its about 8000 -9000…….
it is too high cost w.r. t nokia n96
who knows lets wait and see… I am sure it wont be priced at Rs.8000.. heard about 20,000
who knows lets wait and see… I am sure it wont be priced at Rs.8000.. heard about 20,000
India is a victim of another overpricing. Apple doesn’t want to win in Indian market. They just want to screw up everything by overcharging. When everywhere else they launched around Rs.16,000/-, we Indians have to pay double the price. Their understanding of Indian market and the positioning is wrong. They think we are nuts. I will never think of buying this phone, even though they reduce the price. Also many people using iphone I asked about the performance, they all say it is nothing greater than a normal HTC phone.
Better ill buy one from us for $199 and unlock it in india… that would be best… or else ill switch to Samsung OMNIA it marvelous…
Who will pay more than Rs.8000. It should not be more than Rs.8,500 including tax & service chatge. Think twiec before you are going to buy this phone.
[...] iPhone is available for Rs 31,000 for the 8 GB version and Rs 36,100 for the 16 GB version. The 16GB phone will be [...]