After various announcements, the last of which was more than a month and a half ago, operatorsAirtel and Aircel are finally making good on their claims of bringing the iPhone 4 to India. The duo will be launching it by May 27, or Friday, almost a year after it was launched in the United States, last June. So far, only Aircel has revealed pricing, and as expected, it has a slight premium attached.
The 16GB Apple iPhone 4 will retail for Rs. 34,500, and, the 32GB version will retail for Rs. 40,900. A requisite bumper, to avoid the ‘death grip’, will be charged for separately. This news fortunately is not too confusing for potential customers, as at that price, there are plenty of other phones with better specs, including the just-launched Samsung Galaxy S II, available for around Rs. 33,000.
Customers opting for a new connection will get a micro SIM for the device, and we expect some provision from the operators to help cut SIM cards for existing customers. We were hoping the iPhone 4 would launch with some sort of contract, enabling customers to buy it at a lower price. Aircel has come up with some plans, but we aren’t too sure they will entice customers.
Aircel postpaid customers will be able to get the phone for “free” in the Premium Money Back plan, by paying up front, and then availing voice and data plans that are equal to the phone’s value, valid for 24 months. The Advantage Money Back plan is the same thing, at half the phone’s value and for one year validity. Let us hope Airtel comes up with better plans.
