How Apple, Airtel and Vodafone are ripping off Indian iPhone users
If you feel that Apple iPhone 3G in India is priced a little too high, then you are certainly right. Apple’s pricing strategy for iPhones in India is yet another example of India being given a step motherly treatment by international corporations and Indian companies helping them for their own greed.
Let us first check out iPhone’s prices in two opposite countries, US and Hong Kong. I will return to you shortly why they are “opposite”.
In the US, iPhone 3G sells for $199 (Rs. 9700) for 8 GB version and $299 (Rs. 14,500) for the 16 GB version with which comes the carrier lock for 2 year with AT&T. Which means you can use AT&T network only and it costs about $20 (Rs.970) more per month than their other available plans.
In Hong Kong, you get an iPhone 3G officially unlocked at HK$ 5400 (Rs.34,000) for 8 GB and HK$ 6200 (Rs.39,000) for 16 GB. So you can buy plans and insert sim card of any network provider.
Now on one hand you get an iPhone real cheap in the US but end up paying more to your cellphone provider (who pays to Apple) every month and its the exact opposite in HK where the phone comes quite expensive upfront but you are then free to use any network provider you want. Two extreme opposites, right? Additionally in US with the iPhone plans AT&T provides frills like free access to internet on your phone via thousands of WiFi hotspots it has all over the country, Visual Voicemail, GPS, etc (which, by the way, are not available in India).
Now let us see whats on offer for us desis. 8 GB iPhone for Rs.30,000 and 16 GB for Rs.36,000 PLUS you can only use either Vodafone or Airtel on their exorbitant “iPhone plans”.
Take for example, Vodafone’s cheapest iPhone plan has minimum monthly rental of Rs.799 with which you get 250 free minutes and Rs.0.6 per minute for local calls; this plan falls flat when compared to Vodafone “Corp 299″ plan where monthly rental is Rs.299 only with just as many free calls (250) and cheaper calling rate of Rs.0.5/min. Roughly you pay Rs. (799 – 299) = 500 more every month being an iPhone user. Similar is the situation with Airtel. And of course, neither Airtel nor Vodafone has a single wifi hotspot anywhere in the country.
So we are being given the worst of both the worlds, that is: high cost iPhones, network lock and zero additional frills from the network providers.
The bottomline? In India you pay almost as much for a locked iPhone as it costs unlocked. You do not enjoy free WiFi, you do not enjoy basic iPhone services like Visual Voicemail or GPS and yet you pay more monthly fees to Vodafone or Airtel with no choice of another service provider.
Do send this to your friends and family in India and save them from burning holes in their pockets for nothing.
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Really, the reason for the “savings” is that the AT&T contract gives both Apple and AT&T a “guarantee” of the price (for Apple) and the future earnings (for the carrier) whereas only Apple is guaranteed the profits on the sale of the iPhone in asia.
If you don’t like the difference, complain to the carrier rather than to Apple. Why? What is your comment to a carrier who operates in India when they try to “tie” the phone to their network?
The “economic cost” to the carrier is high–remember they are paying Apple the price of the iPhone and hoping to make it back with the cost of the contract (over 2 years). The “economic cost” is what profit could the carrier have had using the same money during that 2-year period.
Instead of flaming Apple, I’d flame your carriers–Apple doesn’t tell AT&T what to charge, rather AT&T sees getting customer loyalty as “paying them” in the long haul. I’d have to agree since you are saying AT&T is “better” than the offerings in your part of the world.
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