MUMBAI: A moderately warm welcome greeted the Apple iPhone 3G as it made its debut in India at the stroke of midnight on Friday.
The device, which combines a music and video player, cellphone and web browser, was launched at a suburban mall in Mumbai, accompanied by a shower of confetti and cheerleaders heralding the entry of the much hyped phone.
Brought into the country by cellular service providers Vodafone Essar and Bharti Airtel, the touch screen handset phone has been priced at a steep Rs 36,100 for the 16 GB version and at Rs 31,000 for the 8 GB version. The same product is currently available in the US for as low as $199 (Rs 8,650), but the operators are in no mood to subsidise the premium phone in the Indian market.
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According to Airtel CEO for Maharashtra and Goa circles, Madhu Talwalkar, the phone is being made available at 400 Airtel outlets and 19 Apple stores across the country.
The phone’s USPs include easy downloads of Apple’s iTunes, and Talwar said that Airtel, that pioneered the Hello Tunes music service in the country, would be the best suited to the new product.
Airtel’s executive director K Srinivas said the phone would be best suited for the business classes as well as working people, although, judging by initial responses, it is the younger set that seems to be keen on the product.
Over 2,00,000 inquiries have already come in for the product, Talwar said, while an initial 50 bookings had already been accepted by the time the media conference rolled on Thursday night.
Pictures by Mitesh Bhuvad
