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: I tried out an iPhone clone in Delhi last week. Shaped exactly like the Apple bestseller, though a little thicker, it had all the features of the iPhone. Only, the touch interface wasn’t as smooth as the original. Unlike in case of the iPhone, one was able to change the wallpaper or switch to the next song on the playlist, with a mild jerk of the phone. On the back, there was an Apple logo, beneath which was inscribed the following, in imperfect English: "Design In California. Assembly By China. Apple Hold All The Power".

There’s a misconception about the pricing of the iPhone in India that needs to be cleared—it is not three or four times the price at which AT&T is retailing it in the US.

The iPhone 3G is being launched in the Indian market at Rs 31,000 ($710) for the 8 GB version and Rs 36,100 ($830) for the 16 GB version. From what I’ve heard, the iPhone will be locked into the Vodafone and Airtel networks, but it will not be subsidised by a differential tariff plan. In the US, AT&T offered the $199 and $299 versions as upgrades for users who already had the 2G version of the iPhone, while new subscribers have had to pay $399 and $499 for it. However, these cheaper versions are subsidised by a two-year call tariff plan, with differential rates.

Last month, AT&T announced plans to retail the iPhone 3G plans without differential tariff—the “no-contract” version, at a much higher price of $599 for the 8 GB version, and $699 for the 16 GB. Thus the iPhone is being retailed in India at only a 18.5% premium to the AT&T version.

The problem is that even without that premium, the iPhone would have been priced beyond expectations of those eagerly awaiting its launch—many were expecting it to be priced between $400 and $500, which is around the price that the 2G version of the iPhone sells at in the grey market in India. At least for the next one year, it really doesn’t make a difference whether it is the 2G or 3G version of the iPhone being retailed in India since we’re unlikely to experience 3G for another year.