Is Apple finally warming up to the idea of India being a hot market for its products? Apparently so, if the latest rumours and Friday's launch of the iPad2 are any indicators to go by!
The swirling rumours are about the imminent launch of the iPhone 4… unlocked. Yes, that is not a typo. Business Line spoke to a few handset retailers and senior officials in two service providers who say that the iPhone 4 could be launched like a regular handset off the shelf.
The sizeable number of Apple fans in the country has been waiting after Airtel announced that the iPhone 4 will be coming to India in the next few months. The buzz is that Airtel and Aircel will launch the iPhone 4 by the fourth week of May. With the unlocked version following soon thereafter, you don't have to stick to the plan of any service provider.
With more and more Indians opting to change their mobile phones every year, not being tied down to a contract might actually push up the iPhone's sales in India. This has been a sore point amongst many handset buyers who had eyed the iPhone 3. The iPhone 4 is expected to be priced in the Rs 30,000-plus bracket, which might just send other players such as Samsung and HTC scurrying for cover.
All the hype surrounding the iPad last year was met with equal measures of disappointment, when Apple restricted its initial launch to just the US. By the time the iPad reached Indian shores, many people had already purchased their own units abroad. With the iPad 2, Apple went the whole hog and launched the tablet simultaneously across 40 countries. It's no wonder then that buyers in India and Japan were in for a treat on Friday, when Apple unveiled the iPad 2 just six weeks after its US and UK debut.
Apple retailers were in for a busy day, when they were met with queues outside their stores even before opening time. What's more, within a day almost all units of the iPad 2 were sold out, and if you weren't one of the early birds, you're in for up to a 10-day wait, while Apple scrambles to restock in India.
Unofficial sources claim that around 10,000 iPad 2 units were shipped to India before launch. Sales were better than expected, with Apple's India representatives saying that the 3G units were extremely popular. As far as pricing goes, the iPad 2 is cheaper in Hong Kong and Singapore. However, given the fact that import duty and extra levies such as VAT have to be taken into consideration, the differential isn't much. Interestingly, compared with the UK prices, apart from the 16GB Wi-Fi model, the iPad 2 is actually cheaper in India.