I have no idea how many people are buying, but the newspapers are full of stories about the pre-emptive grey market and its better pricing. For first-gen users, Apple released a carrier update sometime post-midnight today. I have no idea what it does, since the 2.0.2 update still doesn’t fix the caller ID issue for India.
There is some indication that first-gen iPhones should now be unlocked on Airtel and Vodafone. Can anyone confirm this?
Hat tip to Angad for this article on Tech2.com. The news is also on Techtree.com and infotech.indiatimes.com.
The executive summary: 8GB for Rs 31,000 (about $730) and the 16GB will retail for Rs 36,000 to 37,000 (around $870). This is without factoring in the accompanying voice/data plans.
I don’t know how credible these numbers are, but I would not be surprised if they are accurate. Why?
From a brand/positioning standpoint, it would be unjust to price the iPhone 3G lower than the average BlackBerry or HTC handset. Vodafone and Airtel have painted themselves into a corner. I don’t anticipate big sales numbers—quite likely less than the erstwhile grey market for first-gen iPhones. My fervent prayer remains that I am all wrong about this, but I can’t think of another scenario, without forsaking logic.
Winner: Apple. Hustler: Carrier. Loser: User.
My last post demonstrated suspension of reason. The new iPhone does not do video calling. Exactly why, I’m not sure, but I just read an interview with a Nokia official who claimed that the primary reason for video calling not taking off—apart from the cost—was that it makes people look rather unflattering. Whatever.
So why should one buy the iPhone 3G? The reasoning is pretty simple, really. If you could justify the original iPhone to yourself, there’s no way this one will be any different. It’s cheaper. Additionally, you get 3G and GPS, making for a nicely rounded-out feature set. I don’t think there are too many GPS-enabled phones out there for $199. The new firmware brings third-party apps to the party, which should be fun. Jobs was smart to feature lots of free stuff that will be available in the App Store.
MobileMe sounds very nice indeed, but my data is increasingly—or near-totally—on the Google cloud now, and I wouldn’t want to pay money to move out from a free, and perfectly workable suite of services. I’d like to believe that Google will put out a syncing app for their services as well, but it may be wishful thinking, given the evident conflict of interest.
While GPS and all the possibilities that follow are nice, they won’t really make a big difference for us in the 2.5th world, i.e, no routing in Google Maps.
So it boils down to price. For the amount you’d pay for a typical feature-phone, you’ll soon be able to buy an iPhone. I’m curious about how Apple will enforce a single global price, given that in markets like India, carrier subsidies are not as big as they are in the USA. Both Vodafone and Airtel have announced their intent to bring the device to India.
the iPhone changed mobile web browsing forever. As soon as I read the rumours of the new one sporting a front-facing camera, I knew this would be big. So here’s a somewhat obvious prediction: iPhone 2 will actually make video calling happen. There are millions of phones with front-facing cameras and 3G, but I’ve never seen a video call personally, or demonstrated. I think the new iPhone will make it happen just like it made the regular web accessible when out and about.
I couldn’t care less about Flash support, but GPS is going to be huge. Location-based coolness is the new cool. I just hope I can get a decent trade-in for old faithful.
I’m not interesting, really. All my hits are now coming from ET. Please go there. Even I prefer to read her over my own drivel. Oh, and do check out her/our photos from our trip to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Nazareth.
Moving on.
iPhone status: 1.1.2, jailbroken, activated, using with X-Sim. Amazing what market demand and trader ingenuity can do for you in the motherland. X-Sims are flexible, reportedly work even with the 1.1.3 firmware, and are available over the counter for a minor premium. No fucking with the baseband while you wait for the rapid and dangerous revision cycle that is the 1.1.3 jailbreak effort. Stick with 1.1.2 till everyone else has bricked and recovered.