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iPhone 4S sashays its way to India, up for pre-order this week
They're pumped. You're pumped. Everyone's pumped. Why? Because the iPhone 4S is coming to India, that's why. According to the Times of India, Apple's latest handset will be available on November 25th from Bharti Airtel, the country's leading carrier. The Times' report comes just a few days after rival domestic provider Aircel confirmed its own 4S launch (also slated for the 25th), with a post on its Facebook page. Neither company has announced a price yet, though Aircel will start taking pre-orders on the 18th, at the source link below. [Image courtesy of Bollysite.com]
iPhone 4S to launch in India on November 25
Airtel and Aircel, two rival wireless carriers in India, are poised to launch the iPhone 4S later this month. According to The Times of India report, Airtel has confirmed it will begin to sell the iPhone 4S starting on November 25 at midnight. Pre-orders will begin on the carrier's website starting November 18. Aircel has not provided a launch date, but the carrier announced on Facebook last week that it will begin selling the iPhone 4S soon. Since neither carrier has an exclusive agreement with Apple, it's expected that Aircel will launch on November 25, just like its competitor Airtel. No pricing has been announced, but the iPhone 4S will likely cost about the same as the iPhone 4, which sold for about 35,000 Indian Rupees (USD $650). Instead of an upfront discount on the handset, these competing carriers will offer incentives on voice plans and data plans to entice customers. [Via The Next Web]
iPhone 4 to arrive in India on May 27
TUAW readers in India waiting for the iPhone 4 to show up only need to wait two more days. Indian mobile carrier Airtel has been taking pre-registrations for the iPhone 4 since earlier this month, but now competitor Aircel is going to hit the market first. Aircel is launching the iPhone 4 on Friday for both pre-and-postpaid plans. The retail price isn't cheap -- you can expect to pay Rs 34,500 (about US$763) for the 16 GB iPhone 4 or a whopping Rs 40,900 (about $905) for the 32 GB model. There's something that should make the sting of paying for the iPhone price up front a bit less painful. Aircel is using a reverse-subsidy program, and you can recover the full cost of the iPhone 4 in monthly credits over the next two years. Details of the plans Aircel is offering are here.
iPhone 4 to hit India via Bharti Airtel Ltd, Aircel
The iPhone 4 may land in India in the coming months according to a report from Reuters. Both Bharti Airtel and smaller rival Aircel confirmed they would soon carry the iPhone 4. Unfortunately, residents of India who want to mark a launch date on their calendar will have to wait as neither carrier announced an exact availability date for Apple's popular smartphone. The iPhone is not new to this country; previous versions of the iPhone are available from Bharti and Vodafone Essar. Apple's move to bring the iPhone 4 to India should help boost sales as the Indian mobile phone market is prime for growth in the upcoming years. Carriers are rolling out high-speed 3G networks, and smartphones account for a mere 5 percent of all mobile sales. A staggering 95 percent of cell phone owner are prospective future iPhone and smartphone owners. Overall, India boasts 800 million mobile phone subscribers. Bharti alone has 159 million, while Aircel has 53.5 million.
India's 3G auction draws to a close
It's been a long time coming, but after countless delays in getting the auction underway, bidding on nationwide 3G spectrum in the world's second most populous market has ended -- and four companies appear to have come out on top. Most of the Indian markets only had three licenses available, so you'll likely be doing some roaming if you travel much, but Reliance, Bharti, Aircel, and Tata have all come away with significant swaths of airspace. And how much did it end up costing for the privilege of delivering high-speed wireless 'round these parts? After kicking off India-wide bidding for one slot at 35 billion rupees (about $773 million), the auction wrapped up at 167.51 billion rupees ($3.7 billion) after some 183 rounds of bidding in just over a month. Now, the hard part: actually building those 3G networks. Chop chop, guys!
