When the iPhone 5s and 5c were launched in India, the crowd swelled to 100s of people. Looking at the crowds, Apple decided to start selling the phones at 3pm rather than 5pm.
People were walking out with 2-3 phones each. Apple had exclusive carry bags made, with the letters 'I have it!', followed by 'iPhone 5s' or 'iPhone 5c', based on the model.
There was an MC, TV coverage and a live radio broadcast. It was a real event.
Having said that, the phones are still expensive, with the high-end topping out at about $1100.
App profits will be slowly disappearing over the next four years anyway according to Gartner, becoming much less attractive to developers. Of course they are Gartner. . . http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2648515
First off Apple is a luxury brand. If they sell cheap junk it will hurt their brand image and reputation (Apple brand name is worth an estimated $100B).
For the majority of places Apple sells its products, it is not a luxury brand
The iP4 design is still my favorite. Give me the iP5s internals in an iP4 gorilla glass externals and I'd be a happy camper. The aluminum is nice, but like Steve Jobs said about the iP4, it feels like a Leica.
To each his/her own. In my opinion Apple creates good looking electronics that don't feel good in your hand. The iP4 is way too square. I can feel the edges digging into my skin. The shape and weight gave the iP4 the nickname Brick. The contemporary iPod touch was smooth, curved and slippery feeling. Likewise the glossy plastic of the iP5C is also slippery. Maybe it gets better with wear, but I couldn't get past that initial "bar of soap" impression. Aluminum phones tend to be very square and suffer from the fact that aluminum is easily dented and scratched. To me they're all begging to be put into a case.
I can't see that Apple saves much money building an iP4 with 8GB of flash over an iP4s with 16GB. Some of the older electronics may not even be available anymore and 8GB of flash saves them less than $5.
My Indian friends will bite my hand off for any 3GS I can take over - more robust than the 4 and absolutely adequate for what they need including browsing their widely-available 3G
This is the stupidest thing I have heard in a long time, connected to Apple.
Even today, you cannot buy an iPhone 5S in India. There are MANY people who walk into Reliance Digital, Chroma, iStore, imagine or iPlanet, and ask for iPhone 5S - and are not able to find one. Pretty much every single store will tell you "We have the iPhone 5C in so many colors", and people just walk away, not even interested in the 5C.
Apple is a major fail in India, because Indians want value for money - the iPhone is simply not enough value for money. Many companies have learned the hard way that even though Indians want things at lower prices, they will not tolerate junk at low prices. To a very large extent, the success of LG and Samsung in India's white goods space is because they understood this early on, and they gave Indians good quality products at good prices. The market has rewarded LG and Samsung, making them #1, #2 in pretty much all consumer durables.
The Japanese had high quality, but never bothered to address value for money concerns. The American companies never bothered to address Indian market - even today Ford sells cars with Indicator and Wipers on wrong side (after 15 years in the market!). Whenever a foreign or Indian company has delivered good value for money, with good quality, they have tasted success in India.
American consumers never realize how much they get fleeced, because the network operators subsidize phones for them, and the carriers actually bear a bigger subsidy burden on iPhones, because that is the only way to retain subscribers. If Americans have to bear the full cost of the iPhone, either upfront or over the term of contract, we would see an impact on adoption. It is a testimony to Apple's clout that they can pull off these sort of deals with carriers. It is no wonder that carriers are trying to wean consumers away from a 2 year upgrade cycle, and to migrate customers to other phones.
Apple is a major fail in India, because Indians want value for money
This sums it up nicely : )
There seems to be a lot of ignorance in some posters opinion regarding Indians in this article.
Indians are one of the, If not the most, Conservative people when it comes to spending money. Additionally the Indian market is a value for money market. They aren't buying iP5 because of lack of funds but rather because they simply don't see the value in it compared to older iP4.
I myself have come across several Indians who earn significantly higher than I do but live simpler lifestyles because they choose to save their money & when they do spend, It is done after research many calculations especially if it's a product that is meant to last many years.
iP5/5s is to them, according to about 8 Indians I spoke to if this may be used as consensus, Is an iP4 with upgraded hardware nothing more. iP5c to them is an iP5 which is in plastic hence inferior/Cheap product commanding same price as older iP5.
I'm almost certain the next generation iP6 if offered in a modern body style and sporting "more" should sell like hot cakes regardless of price tag in this country.
American consumers never realize how much they get fleeced, because the network operators subsidize phones for them, and the carriers actually bear a bigger subsidy burden on iPhones, because that is the only way to retain subscribers. If Americans have to bear the full cost of the iPhone, either upfront or over the term of contract, we would see an impact on adoption.
Americans already bear the full cost of the iPhone and other subsidized phones in the form of high monthly fees. That's partly why prepaid plans, where you bring your own device, are usually cheaper than the standard plans from the big three. That is also why ATT now bills you less if you bring your own device. The advertised $199 price of the iPhone is merely a downpayment. Most Americans probably just don't realize that fact and think that they are just paying $199 for an iPhone. Now that T-mobile bills you separately for the data service and the phone, you can see just how much you will end up paying over a typical two-year contract for your phone.
I’d rather hear in what way the iPhone doesn’t provide value for the money you spend on it.
After reading your reply here I think I made a mistake by quoting that particular post earlier. If you read my post you will find that my opinion is not iPhone doesn't provide value for money but rather Indians, In my opinion, find the 4 model to give more value for money Vs. higher models such as 4S, 5 & 5S. Perhaps due to the fact they find it to be too similar looking and only a faster variant/not additional enough features for far too much premium. I personally find the iPhone to be very good value for the money it costs, perhaps a bit a premium but then it is the gold standard for touch based UI phones.
Sorry for very late response here. I just read the main blog and not the forums where comments get copied onto.
Comments
Obviously though, if you remove the 2nd hand supply from your main market you get to have a higher demand for new goods.
The people whining about a cheaper iPhone aren’t the ones buying apps in the first place.
People were walking out with 2-3 phones each. Apple had exclusive carry bags made, with the letters 'I have it!', followed by 'iPhone 5s' or 'iPhone 5c', based on the model.
There was an MC, TV coverage and a live radio broadcast. It was a real event.
Having said that, the phones are still expensive, with the high-end topping out at about $1100.
App profits will be slowly disappearing over the next four years anyway according to Gartner, becoming much less attractive to developers. Of course they are Gartner. . .
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2648515
For the majority of places Apple sells its products, it is not a luxury brand
The iP4 design is still my favorite. Give me the iP5s internals in an iP4 gorilla glass externals and I'd be a happy camper. The aluminum is nice, but like Steve Jobs said about the iP4, it feels like a Leica.
To each his/her own. In my opinion Apple creates good looking electronics that don't feel good in your hand. The iP4 is way too square. I can feel the edges digging into my skin. The shape and weight gave the iP4 the nickname Brick. The contemporary iPod touch was smooth, curved and slippery feeling. Likewise the glossy plastic of the iP5C is also slippery. Maybe it gets better with wear, but I couldn't get past that initial "bar of soap" impression. Aluminum phones tend to be very square and suffer from the fact that aluminum is easily dented and scratched. To me they're all begging to be put into a case.
I can't see that Apple saves much money building an iP4 with 8GB of flash over an iP4s with 16GB. Some of the older electronics may not even be available anymore and 8GB of flash saves them less than $5.
My Indian friends will bite my hand off for any 3GS I can take over - more robust than the 4 and absolutely adequate for what they need including browsing their widely-available 3G
This is the stupidest thing I have heard in a long time, connected to Apple.
Even today, you cannot buy an iPhone 5S in India. There are MANY people who walk into Reliance Digital, Chroma, iStore, imagine or iPlanet, and ask for iPhone 5S - and are not able to find one. Pretty much every single store will tell you "We have the iPhone 5C in so many colors", and people just walk away, not even interested in the 5C.
Apple is a major fail in India, because Indians want value for money - the iPhone is simply not enough value for money. Many companies have learned the hard way that even though Indians want things at lower prices, they will not tolerate junk at low prices. To a very large extent, the success of LG and Samsung in India's white goods space is because they understood this early on, and they gave Indians good quality products at good prices. The market has rewarded LG and Samsung, making them #1, #2 in pretty much all consumer durables.
The Japanese had high quality, but never bothered to address value for money concerns. The American companies never bothered to address Indian market - even today Ford sells cars with Indicator and Wipers on wrong side (after 15 years in the market!). Whenever a foreign or Indian company has delivered good value for money, with good quality, they have tasted success in India.
American consumers never realize how much they get fleeced, because the network operators subsidize phones for them, and the carriers actually bear a bigger subsidy burden on iPhones, because that is the only way to retain subscribers. If Americans have to bear the full cost of the iPhone, either upfront or over the term of contract, we would see an impact on adoption. It is a testimony to Apple's clout that they can pull off these sort of deals with carriers. It is no wonder that carriers are trying to wean consumers away from a 2 year upgrade cycle, and to migrate customers to other phones.
Apple is a major fail in India, because Indians want value for money
This sums it up nicely : )
There seems to be a lot of ignorance in some posters opinion regarding Indians in this article.
Indians are one of the, If not the most, Conservative people when it comes to spending money. Additionally the Indian market is a value for money market. They aren't buying iP5 because of lack of funds but rather because they simply don't see the value in it compared to older iP4.
I myself have come across several Indians who earn significantly higher than I do but live simpler lifestyles because they choose to save their money & when they do spend, It is done after research many calculations especially if it's a product that is meant to last many years.
iP5/5s is to them, according to about 8 Indians I spoke to if this may be used as consensus, Is an iP4 with upgraded hardware nothing more. iP5c to them is an iP5 which is in plastic hence inferior/Cheap product commanding same price as older iP5.
I'm almost certain the next generation iP6 if offered in a modern body style and sporting "more" should sell like hot cakes regardless of price tag in this country.
This sums it up nicely : )
Also completely incorrectly.
Also completely incorrectly.
I wouldn't mind to stand corrected but through a detailed response though.
I’d rather hear in what way the iPhone doesn’t provide value for the money you spend on it.
American consumers never realize how much they get fleeced, because the network operators subsidize phones for them, and the carriers actually bear a bigger subsidy burden on iPhones, because that is the only way to retain subscribers. If Americans have to bear the full cost of the iPhone, either upfront or over the term of contract, we would see an impact on adoption.
Americans already bear the full cost of the iPhone and other subsidized phones in the form of high monthly fees. That's partly why prepaid plans, where you bring your own device, are usually cheaper than the standard plans from the big three. That is also why ATT now bills you less if you bring your own device. The advertised $199 price of the iPhone is merely a downpayment. Most Americans probably just don't realize that fact and think that they are just paying $199 for an iPhone. Now that T-mobile bills you separately for the data service and the phone, you can see just how much you will end up paying over a typical two-year contract for your phone.
I’d rather hear in what way the iPhone doesn’t provide value for the money you spend on it.
After reading your reply here I think I made a mistake by quoting that particular post earlier. If you read my post you will find that my opinion is not iPhone doesn't provide value for money but rather Indians, In my opinion, find the 4 model to give more value for money Vs. higher models such as 4S, 5 & 5S. Perhaps due to the fact they find it to be too similar looking and only a faster variant/not additional enough features for far too much premium. I personally find the iPhone to be very good value for the money it costs, perhaps a bit a premium but then it is the gold standard for touch based UI phones.
Sorry for very late response here. I just read the main blog and not the forums where comments get copied onto.
Get the iphone 5s on the cheapest rates here
http://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00FXLCD38/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=