Vodafone To Launch iPhone 4 In India
Vodafone India has announced that it is going to bring the newly launched Apple iPhone 4 to India. The device was unveiled at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco and will be available from June 24 in the USA, France, Germany, Japan and UK. Though Vodafone did not give any details about the date of availability, or the price.
The 16-gigabyte model will cost $199 in the US and the 32-gigabyte version will be priced at $299. “Pricing in India will be around Rs 35,000, as has been seen in all Apple iPhones,” industry experts said. According to the experts, the unlocked versions of the new iPhone would be available in the grey market at a discount of Rs 5,000-8,000.
Earlier versions of the iPhone are officially available in India through Vodafone and Airtel. The new iPhone, which is 9.3mm thick, is 24 per cent thinner than the iPhone 3GS. Jobs said the new design was the “biggest leap” since the range was first launched.
Vodafone iPhone 3GS Price in India
After Bharti Airtel, Vodafone is also selling iPhone 3GS in India. Vodafone Essar will offer three plans – a prepaid plan of Rs. 100 and two post paid plans with Rs. 799 and Rs. 999 as rental respectively. Under the Rs. 799 plan, the customer would get 249 minutes talk time and 250 MB data usage free, while the 999 plan would offer free talk time of Rs. 299 and data usage of 600 MB without charge.
iPhone 3G is available at Rs. 33,500 (for 8GB version), Rs. 40,500 (for 16GB) and Rs. 47,500 (for 32GB) in Mumbai, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, respectively. For other regions, the handset would be available for Rs. 29,500 (for 8GB version), Rs. 35,500 (for 16GB) and Rs. 41,500 (for 32GB).
Vodafone joins the iPhone Gang
Mobile operator Vodafone is to start selling the iPhone in the UK and Ireland from early next year. The deals mark an end to the exclusive UK arrangement between O2 and the US technology firm, which has been in place since 2007. Vodafone says users can register an interest online, with the handsets becoming available to customers from early 2010. Vodafone has set up a pre-registration iPhone site for those wanting to sign up to automatically receive more information from the operator when it becomes available.
Apple already offers the iPhone through multiple carriers in many countries, but the company is very careful to maintain control of the platform, regardless of the network from which their customers get their iPhones. Apple considers iPhone users to be Apple customers – network operators are just dumb pipes to Cupertino.