iPhone 3GS in India

[ashwini]

When will it be launched in India? At what price? Anything for the existing 3G owners? AirTel? Vodafone?

[ashwini]

August 9, that the date I hear of. No comment on price yet.

[isal]

When will it be launched in India? At what price? Anything for the existing 3G owners? AirTel? Vodafone?

I heard 40000 as an unofficial price, but they are offering monthly installment plans. It'll be available on both Bharti and Vodafone.

[ashwini]

40,000!!! As if the the 3G pricing didnt teach them anything, they go ahead and increase the prices! Lets hope this remains unofficial and the real prices are more realistic.

[isal]

40,000!!! As if the the 3G pricing didnt teach them anything, they go ahead and increase the prices! Lets hope this remains unofficial and the real prices are more realistic.

I know. But what can they do? The phone's price is infact $699 USD + Tax which translates to around INR 35K + Tax (Vat and what not!). But if you think about it, it is at par with the N-Series and the new HTC Devices. Plus, they are giving you an option to pay monthly.

I got my 3G S for $199 CAD which is around 8500 INR but I'll be paying the $45 CAD + 13% Tax (2000 INR) for the next 3 years. Hence, I also end up paying 40000 for the phone.

The price of the phone won't go down from what it was for the 3G.

[johnconnor2811]

good news for iPhone fans back home in India...i have read an article on iPhone launching details in India....check this one out
http://www.techgodown.com/latest-iphone-3gs-to-be-launched-in-india/

[ashwini]

Sept 19th is the Launch date. 'Unofficial' prices - 36,000 for 16gigs and 40,000 for 32gigs.
3G 8gigs remains at 31,000.

[Europa]

Wow, that's expensive. That's $635/$737/$819 US dollars. Are those the contract free prices? Over here, the 3GS is $600/$700 contract free and $200/$300 with a 2 year contract.

[isal]

Actually it's quite at par. Those prices include taxes. Both Airtel and Vodafone offer monthly installments on iPhones.

[ashwini]

Well, you are locked to the carrier. But there are no iPhone plans... you can use just about any AirTel sim card.

[Europa]

Yeah, those prices are pretty close to the US no contract iPhones.You don't have the option of signing a 2 year contract and getting discounted (subsidized) pricing?

I know their locked to a carrier, the don't sell factory unlocked phones in India.

[ashwini]

That wont work very well in India. Contracts are alien in India.
Are the no contract phones still locked to the carrier in the US?

[Europa]

Yes, they are still locked to AT&T.

These are the only countries that sell factory unlocked phones; Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Luxemburg, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.

[ashwini]

And after the contract is over, can you get it carrier unlocked...legally?

[Europa]

No. The only way you can get them unlocked, is to software unlock them yourself, or buy one that someone else has unlocked and put up for sale (like on eBay).

Factory unlocked phones have advantages over software unlocked phones. They cannot become locked with an Apple update, you never have to jailbreak and unlock them (they just stay unlocked), so you can always have the Apple updates as soon as they are available (rather than waiting for a software unlock to become available).

[ashwini]

Does that mean I am stuck with AirTel all through my iPhone's life?

[Europa]

No. You can software unlock it.

[ashwini]

I meant legally... without having to bother about updates and without having to JB.

[Europa]

You can never turn it into a factory unlocked phone. At best, it will always be a carrier locked phone with a software unlock. All iPhones that aren't sold in one of the countries I listed above are in the same boat.

[ashwini]

Damn !!!!!

[Europa]

Hey now, you're a lot closer to some of those countries than me ;)

[ashwini]

Sept 19 has come and gone... no sign of iPhone 3GS in India...