Airtel ,India’s largest mobile operator , has announced that they will start shipping the much awaited Apple iPhone in India , one of the largest mobile markets in this world , from August 22 .Airtel and Vodafone had earlier announced that both of them will be shipping Apple iPhone in India but with Vodafone shipping 15 days earlier than Airtel due to their contracts with Apple in other countries.
“iPhone has been the iconic technology revelation of this year, “said Sanjay Kapoor, president of Mobile Services at Bharti Airtel. “Airtel has been at the forefront of innovation and customer delight in the Indian telecom sector. Introducing iPhone 3G to India further underscores our commitment to enrich the communication experience of all Airtel users.”
Earlier in July Apple had announced that they will be releasing Apple iPhone on August 22 in 20 more countries .So with Airtel India’s announcement ,India is there in the list.But as of now there are no reports about the price of iPhone in India but i think that they will be following the contract usage for 2 or 3 years with iPhone locked into their networks.Also with Vodafone making no announcements it’s more likely that they have decided to unveil iPhone on August 22nd itself ,or else they will have to start shipping it tomorrow for taking that 15 day margin and that’s highly unlikely.
With Japan’s carrier for iPhone reducing the 2 yearly contract rate to $29 , Indian consumers will be hoping to get lower priced iPhone.Some rumours are there that it will be costing 9000+ Rs for 8GB version and 14000 Rs for 16GB version, But It’s not yet official.
Checkout for more latest news in Airtel’s iPhone page and Vodafone’s iPhone Page