NEW DELHI, INDIA: The decision by Vodafone to price the
Apple iPhone 3G at Rs 31,000 and Rs 36,100, for 8GB and 16GB respectively has disappointed thousands of eagerly awaiting mobile users in the country.
Expected to be priced in the range of Rs.16,000 to Rs 20,000, which is Rs 10,000 more than price iPhone is selling in US, users feel let down by exorbitant pricing of the much hyped handset in India.
Says Mehak Chawla, "I expected it to be priced at around Rs. 16000 much less than the current exorbitant price."
"If it's available for only 12000 in US, why is it so crazily being priced here," adds Mehak, an iPhone fan who has now shelved the idea of buying the phone.
Apple iPhone 3G is available for $199 (Rs 8,358) in the US, plus $99 (Rs 4,158) as an annual contract with the single mobile operator AT&T, unlike India where the handset is linked to both Vodafone and Airtel.
The handset will be launched on August 22 across India. Unconfirmed reports have suggested that Airtel is also mulling the same pricing plan for Apple
iPhone in India.
Mehak's disappointment is shared by Aamir Khan, IT specialist at IT services company. "This is pretty discouraging. For me, 3G excitement has been punctured even before it could take off. If the best 3G phone is so costly, how do users get to know what high-speed mobile internet means", says Khan.
"When the access device itself is costly, how can we go for 3G services", adds Khan.
The pricing has also surprised market analysts, who expected the pricing to be more reasonable considering the dynamics of Indian market.
"iPhone is clearly over priced in India. Operators are looking at skimming the high end market in the country" says, Prasanto K Roy, Chief Editor at CyberMedia.
"The operators are basically following US model, pricing the handset at a very high price in the first year and then lowering the prices," adds Roy.
However, Roy questions the judgment of using the same model India also, "Indian mobile users have been exposed to
iPhone and are quite aware of the pricing world wide" adds Roy.
"They will feel let down", contends Roy.
Roy also adds this pricing would only encourage grey market for these handsets in India.
"iPhone is available in Indian grey market at around Rs 20,000 much less than the price it will be sold here," adds Roy
But will the pricing impact sales of iPhone in India?. Roy feels the initial excitement and hype around iPhone will see the operators through the initial six months.
"Initially operators won't face any problems selling the iPhone in India and once the hype is over in another six months, I expect operators to revise the rates." adds Roy.
Hitesh Raj Bhagat, editor of Living Digital, a consumer electronics magazine, though doesn't fully agree that iPhone is exorbitantly priced in India as compared to US. However, he contends the terms of pricing for the handset are not justified in India.
"See in US, they pay $199 upfront and another $99 as annual contract which roughly comes to $450 which is also reasonably costly", says Hitesh.
"Why they didn't follow the contract model here in India was operators were afraid that users will buy iPhone for subsidised cost and get them unlocked in grey markets to use any other network provider", adds Hitesh.
This, Hitesh argues would have seriously dented operators revenues.
However, Hitesh feels Vodafone, is completely unjustified when it comes to modalities charted out by company to sell handsets in India
"In US you pay the money in installments and not upfront as it is the case here. And your
iPhone is being locked with the operator and he decides which talk plan to choose", Hitesh.
"This is totally unfair. You can't have cake and eat it too", adds Hitesh.
[Note: Airtel's Web site has also now listed the price of the iPhone 3G. It is similar to Vodafone's price: 8 GB (Black) for Rs 31,000, and 16GB (White & Black) for Rs 36,100, respectively.]
