Team-BHP - The iPhone Thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaggu (Post 948216)

Well guys i went and picked up my iPhone 16 GB Black from AirTel. Right now in the process of syncing and setting it up :)

Launch was the worst ever for the gizmo and gizmo freaks!! more on that tomorrow when i get some time.

Really interested to know about the iPhone launch "party". After all the hype that was created and then the price turning out to be a damp squid (was expected though).

Were there hugh lines with people jumping over each other to lay their hands on THE iPhone? Please please post your experience.

Prices are expected to fall - 30% drop in 6 months & upto 100% drop in 1 year. So you might get 8GB iPhone for 15K by the same time next year.

Points to remember:

THE PRICE! At Rs 36,100 for 16GB model & Rs 31,000 for 8GB—against $300 and $200, respectively, in the US—iPhone 3G looks a luxury
SMS can't be forwarded or copy-pasted
No external memory option
Bluetooth can be used only for handsfree calling
Camera does not have flash, auto-focus , optical zoom and video recording facilities
Options to transfer contacts from phone to the SIM card and select multiple contacts are unavailable

Looks like the launch of iPhone as been luke warm. Here is the story in today's Business Standard:

Vodafone to offer iPhone on EMIs
Bs Reporter / New Delhi August 22, 2008, 0:30 IST

Vodafone, which is offering the iconic Apple iPhone in India along with Airtel, has tied up with Axis Bank and Barclays to offer the phone on six or 12 equated monthly installments (EMIs) for customers who may find the Rs 31,000 to Rs 36,000 price tag too steep. Talks are also in the final stages with ICICI Bank and an agreement is expected to be signed in a few days.

The caveat is that customers have to buy the iPhone on the credit cards of one of these banks. The interest rate on the EMI, however, will be significantly lower than standard credit card charges.

Industry sources said talks with one of the country’s largest credit card companies Citibank were not successful.

For Vodafone, the phone will be available through 250 stores in 50 cities across India. Apple stores will also stock the product. In Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore, customers who have paid Rs 10,000 advance will be invited to pick up their phones at midnight. Executives said the company has received bookings from over 2,000 customers.

Airtel, however, said it has had over 200,000 pre-registrations. It will launch the phone in more than 65 cities beginning tomorrow. To woo more customers it will also offer 500 MB of downloads free of cost for a year apart from some other value-added services.

Sanjay Kapoor, Bharti Airtel president for mobility, said it had no immediate plans for an EMI scheme though they are looking at some options.

The iPhone in India is much more steeply priced than that in the US, where it costs $199 (around Rs 8,300) plus a yearly charge of $99 (Rs 4,200), principally because service providers are subsidising the handset.

“In the US you have lock-in contracts with a phone that does not work in India as there is lack of accountability,” said Kapoor. “We will not make any money on this product it is just to give the customer the best experience.”

A product which is sold in US for Rs.8000/- is launched in India for Rs.31000/- !! What more can an indian expect ?? That too with a huge list of drawbacks (earlier posts mention many of them and its proved to be true already). My crazy neighbour went and got one already and I was the first one to open up the box and read out the manual for him. It feels good and looks great and just blows your mind off everything else. He needs to buy an apple laptop (another 1 lak going into drain !!) to get a full swing use of many features. But the cost part ?? I dont think I will buy one unless they cut down the price ! I dont have a Mac too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diabloo (Post 948301)

Airtel techies dare hackers to crack iPhone code

"They claim even the most deadly hackers on the planet won’t be able to crack the codes that support the iPhone’s Airtel applications with rival company SIMs"

Did you read that article? Its a laugh!

They claim that customers may be able to use the AirTel iphone to make voice calls but they will not have access to AirTel Live and Mobile Office or mCheck.

Why on earth would I use Mobile Office or AirTel Live on a phone that I use another SIM on? In any case, would the other operator allow me access to MobileOffice or AirTel Live?

And please explain to me why I should hack an AirTel phone, use it on Idea for example, and then use mCheck to pay my AirTel bill when I dont use the AirTel sim???

They also claim that customers will not have access to the 2 airtel applications on the iPhone - which is basically the SIM Toolkit and a shortcut to AirtelLive. Why would I want such access if I'm using another SIM?

That whole article is a joke. Dont take is seriously.

my colleague has had one for the last 7 months or so - bought in china - cracked open in china so that it can accept any SIM. Another colleague had it brought down by some family member from the US - open phone so it accepted the local SIM etc.
nice attractive phone but IMO, far far too expensive at the moment.
Unless you're one of those people who loves all things latest and newest regardless of cost, no point buying now- better, like Shajufx to wait a bit!:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by shajufx (Post 948479)

Quote:

Originally Posted by neon_daytona (Post 948476)

Univercell has apple iphone on its website and at a lesser price. I don't think its the old gen Iphone, since the specs have 3G mentioned...

UniverCell - The Mobile Expert - Buy Mobile phones, Exchange old mobile handsets, Recharge Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel online, Gift a mobile, win a mobile, buy at best price, very low prices or any accessory in contest, Compare multiple brands, Purchase

Attachment 41100

if u see the specs, its a 3G model. How did univercell manage to price it lesser than airtel ?