iPhone 3G: Post-launch

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?

iPhone 3G India Pricing Confirmed

As I expected, both Indian iPhone carriers have announced their pricing. As a subscriber of both networks, it was uncanny to me how the two communicated their plans to prospective customers. All website content, newsletter text and images have been identical. Apple must have their jewels in a very tight vice.

All in all, I’m left with a bad taste in my mouth. They’re trying to drum up some hype with midnight availability, early bookings with part payment and availability in tony areas of town, but it just isn’t the same. You can’t wish a long line of eager customers into existence with a Rs 31,000 base price. Without 3G or GPS routing.

India iPhone 3G pricing

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?

• There are no subsidy models in India (or if there are, they don’t amount to much)
• There are no alternative revenue streams for mobile providers that could potentially offset a handset subsidy (VAS revenue-sharing is cream, not bread). Apple doesn’t give carriers a cut in the App Store/iTunes.
• High-end handsets launched by carriers have traditionally carried insane price tags.
• The most recent high-end launch by Airtel—the HTC Touch Diamond—retails for Rs 27,500.
• BlackBerry devices, despite requiring relatively expensive data plans, retail for a minimum of Rs 24,000.

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.

iPhone 3G Thoughts

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.

iPhone 2 Predictions

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.