India, Czech, Estonia, Poland also set for Aug 22 iPhone launch
Wireless carriers in India, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Poland have joined those in Romania, the Philippines, and Hungary by announcing local availability of Apple's iPhone starting on August 22nd.
India
In India, both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone said customers can begin pre-registering for their respective iPhone 3G launches on August 22nd, but neither has provided any pricing details.
Bharti Airtel has about 69 million subscribers, while Vodafone Essar has about 49 million.
Czech Republic
Over in the Czech Republic, O2 said it has gained exclusive rights to market iPhone given that it's the only regional 3G network operator.
For individual customers, iPhone 3Gs will be available at all O2 brand stores from August 22. O2 business customers will be offered iPhone service via O2's business partners, the carrier said.
Customers who are interested in the iPhone 3G can register their interest and will receive pricing and other details at a later date.
Estonia
Meanwhile, TeliaSonera and EMT also announced plans to bring iPhone 3G to Estonia on August 22.
"The launch of iPhone 3G represents another strategic step for us in the development of the mobile broadband market and strengthens our position in the Nordic and Baltic region," said Kenneth Karlberg, president, Business Area Mobility Service, TeliaSonera.
Poland
Finally, both Orange and Era said they too will begin offering their subscribers the iPhone 3G on Aug 22nd.
India, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Romania, the Philippines, and Hungary are the first seven of twenty international stops announced as part of Apple's second phase iPhone 3G rollout.
India
In India, both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone said customers can begin pre-registering for their respective iPhone 3G launches on August 22nd, but neither has provided any pricing details.
Bharti Airtel has about 69 million subscribers, while Vodafone Essar has about 49 million.
Czech Republic
Over in the Czech Republic, O2 said it has gained exclusive rights to market iPhone given that it's the only regional 3G network operator.
For individual customers, iPhone 3Gs will be available at all O2 brand stores from August 22. O2 business customers will be offered iPhone service via O2's business partners, the carrier said.
Customers who are interested in the iPhone 3G can register their interest and will receive pricing and other details at a later date.
Estonia
Meanwhile, TeliaSonera and EMT also announced plans to bring iPhone 3G to Estonia on August 22.
"The launch of iPhone 3G represents another strategic step for us in the development of the mobile broadband market and strengthens our position in the Nordic and Baltic region," said Kenneth Karlberg, president, Business Area Mobility Service, TeliaSonera.
Poland
Finally, both Orange and Era said they too will begin offering their subscribers the iPhone 3G on Aug 22nd.
India, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Romania, the Philippines, and Hungary are the first seven of twenty international stops announced as part of Apple's second phase iPhone 3G rollout.
Comments
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most of them are prepaid customers (aka GoPhone customers) if the price is rite it will be hit even then it will priced like (i guess) Rs 20,000 for 8Gb and Rs 25,000 for 16Gb which is kinda of steep ...
lots of mobile phone users in india than lots of PC users
there will NOT be a subsidy for the iPhone in India
in SIngapore
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it will be hit, iPod is already a hit, but out of 4 million, even if they sell 4,00,000 (10%) it will be hit, i assume there will be subsidy from SingTel on the phone
"Your hovercraft is full of eels!"
Yikes. Looks like I'm going to have to spend some time with babelfish localizing my app...
"Your hovercraft is full of eels!"
My nipples explode with delight!
in india
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most of them are prepaid customers (aka GoPhone customers) if the price is rite it will be hit even then it will priced like (i guess) Rs 20,000 for 8Gb and Rs 25,000 for 16Gb which is kinda of steep ...
lots of mobile phone users in india than lots of PC users
there will NOT be a subsidy for the iPhone in India
That price is in line with other high-end phones in the country; when I was there the N95 (pre-8GB) was 30-35k Rs. With the setup in India I think their might be a large amount of single digit unit sales, even as low as one, to many of the independent shops all over the country at wholesale prices. When I was there I did notice that most of the smallest in shops in the major cities carried a high-end phone or two.
in india
----------
most of them are prepaid customers (aka GoPhone customers) if the price is rite it will be hit even then it will priced like (i guess) Rs 20,000 for 8Gb and Rs 25,000 for 16Gb which is kinda of steep ...
lots of mobile phone users in india than lots of PC users
there will NOT be a subsidy for the iPhone in India
in SIngapore
-----------
it will be hit, iPod is already a hit, but out of 4 million, even if they sell 4,00,000 (10%) it will be hit, i assume there will be subsidy from SingTel on the phone
If they couldn't handle the volumes on launch day, imagine what would happen with a country the size of India would have on Apple's servers.
Apple might want to hold off on launching MobileMe in India. And while they're at it, maybe beef up on the number of servers too.
If they couldn't handle the volumes on launch day, imagine what would happen with a country the size of India would have on Apple's servers.
The number of servers may not have been the problem according to some sources.
have sold a million the first 3 days but I'm curious to see what the total is now.
If the mature, developed economies can't handle this, Eastern Europe, India, South East Asia, no offense, but, good bloody luck. Apple has got its work cut out, especially liaising with the telcos.
The number of servers may not have been the problem according to some sources.
Even without a subsidy the cost of the device is just plain stupid. Given the fact that 3G spectrum allocation in India is still under negotiation, this makes the iPhone 3G a ridiculous priced EDGE device.
The iPhone launched in India last week with a retail price of 31000Rs (710USD) for the 8GB and 36000Rs (825USD) for the 16GB model. It is tethered to the carrier, but not to any particular plan. Mobile plans are quite cheap over here - as low as 2 cents a minute for some plans.
Even without a subsidy the cost of the device is just plain stupid. Given the fact that 3G spectrum allocation in India is still under negotiation, this makes the iPhone 3G a ridiculous priced EDGE device.
Last year when I was there the N95 (which is 3G) w/out the 8GB built-in storage was in that ball park.
PS: Why haven't we seen a single story about the iPhone in another 20 countries since the launch last Friday? Is the interest so low at the price point that there is absolute no worthwhile news to report?
The iPhone launched in India last week with a retail price of 31000Rs (710USD) for the 8GB and 36000Rs (825USD) for the 16GB model. It is tethered to the carrier, but not to any particular plan. Mobile plans are quite cheap over here - as low as 2 cents a minute for some plans.
Even without a subsidy the cost of the device is just plain stupid. Given the fact that 3G spectrum allocation in India is still under negotiation, this makes the iPhone 3G a ridiculous priced EDGE device.
As an update I would like to point out to this story which says that iPhone sales have been quiet disappointing in India. According to a leading financial daily here, the sales numbers for both the operators (Airtel and Vodafone) combined was just around 1500 as at 9th Septmber 2008.
http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/ne...a/22/03/355368
The current price points of around 710/812 USD for 8/16 GB models are really not viable for the Indian market. Since the operators in India are yet to even roll-out 3G services ( which are expected to roll out not earlier than Mid 2009).
It should be kept in mind that India is the 2nd fastest growing telecommunications market in the world and Indians are really price sensitive. If Apple would have priced the device even around $450 to $550 range, it could have garnered a huge market in India.