India to Get iPhone 3Gs - on a 2G Network
India to Get iPhone 3Gs - on a 2G Network
by , 2:30 PM EDT, August 18th, 2008
Customers in India will be invited to invited to buy an Apple iPhone 3G later this week. However, there's some fine print: India only has a 2G network, and 3G isn't coming real soon, according to ITWire on Tuesday (in Australia).
That fine print reads: "Currently compatible only with 2G networks. Only select features and services are currently available in India."
The delay in the 3G rollout has stemmed from differences between the Indian telecommunication ministry and the carriers. This could push back 3G service until 2009 at the earliest.
In the meantime, Davey Winder at ITWire properly pointed out that the iPhone isn't just all about the network.
"But the iPhone is also about the interface, the style and the aspiration," he wrote. "As India continues to carve itself a deserved place in the high-tech economies of the world, style and aspiration should not be undervalued. Apple, of all companies, knows this. That is why the time is right for the iPhone, any iPhone, in India."
Finally, despite the somewhat slower data transfer speeds, sources say that Indian customers won't be getting a price break. The iPhone 3G is expected to sell for a healthy US$450 (INR 20,000).
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