Column Apple or lemon?

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

: box to India for around Rs 17,000. There are those making a quick buck by selling unlocked iPhones online as well—I've seen many a comment on blogs, asking readers to call a particular mobile number and/or send an email to a particular address, to purchase an unlocked iPhone in India. Less adventurous buyers have bought iPhones in the US and unlocked them here in India.

One expects the Airtel and Vodafone versions of the iPhones to receive a lukewarm response in India, and would be very surprised to find people queuing up for blocks outside retail outlets—that has been something of a norm in the US. Both Vodafone and Airtel are well aware of iPhones already in use on their networks, and it will be interesting to see if they actually take the risk of “bricking” or blocking illegal iPhones in order to force users to switch to the legal versions.

What surprised one the most about the iPhone clone, apart from the sardonic inscription on the back, was its very attractive pricing: for the yuan equivalent of just Rs 5,000, it has the potential to knock every mobile handset player out of the market, and change mobile usage habits in India forever. Even at twice that price, it will still be at least one-third the price of the iPhone. Which makes one wonder—why did Airtel and Vodafone decide to bring the iPhone to India, at such an absurdly high price?