The Mac Observer

iPhone 4 Launches in India on May 27

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10:51 AM, May. 25th ET, 2011
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Articles by Author Jeff Gamet on Twitter Contact Author
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Apple’s iPhone 4 will be going on sale in India on Friday, May 27, through Aircel and Bharti Airtel. India’s Airtel began offering pre-orders earlier in May, but didn’t offer up any launch date detail until today.

iPhone 4iPhone 4 hitting India this Friday

Both companies are aggressively pursuing iPhone customers with the launch. “With a robust roll out of Aircel’s 3G services in 13 circles across India, the launch of iPhone 4 will allow our consumers to truly savour the 3G experience,” commented Aircel Director Sandip Das.

Despite an Airtel spokesperson confirming the carrier would start selling the iPhone 4 this Friday, the company’s Web site still shows only the pre-order form.

Aircel and Airtel’s push for iPhone 4 customers is good news for Apple. The country is second only to China for mobile phone customers, and both countries are showing growing interest in smartphones.

Apple released the iPhone 4 almost a year ago in the U.S., and has been steadily rolling the combination iPod and smartphone out in other markets around the world ever since. The iPhone 4 is available in black or white with the company’s high resolution retina display, built-in GPS and gyroscope, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, front-facing FaceTime video chat camera, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

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8 Observer Comments

   Actions Lee Dronick said on May 25th, 2011 at 11:09 AM (Edited: 10/18/2011 6:20 PM):

Hmmmm, I wonder if this means that we will not see a new iPhone any time soon.

Hmmmm, I wonder if this means that we will not see a new iPhone any time soon.

Well, one way to look at it is, if you have a product that is in super high demand (even as a one-year-old design), you are struggling to build enough to meet said demand, and you are rolling it out to even greater demand in new countries around the world, and you are making boatloads of cash on it everywhere you sell it, then what’s the freaking rush to release the new design?  You know Apple has had a design team working the iPhone 5 ever since the release of the iPhone 4, and maybe they are close (or even ready) to release, but there are always tweaks and refinements to make, so let them continue to make them while you maximize your profits with your manufacturing sites hitting on all 8 cylinders (now that they have been building it for a year they are really good at it).

If demand were slowing down in anticipation of iPhone 5, then Apple would be motivated to release it now.  But, sales are definitely not hurting, and now with a white iPhone 4 a ton of people are like, hey, a brand new shiny white iPhone I must have it.  Release the new iPhone 5 and now you have to go through retooling, implementing changeover process, retraining, and working through all the manufacturing issues of the new design, with huge learning curve to make the new phone, etc.  Not to mention issues with switching suppliers over to the new components of the new iPhone.  It is a royal pain to build an all new design and get it where they are now with iPhone 4.  So, no rush, is there?  Other than dealing with Apple haters saying, “Duh, Apple is so lame they can’t even release every year anymore. They suck.” (which Apple really doesn’t care about) there really is no motivation right now for Apple to release iPhone 5 in my opinion.

   Actions Lee Dronick said on May 25th, 2011 at 1:32 PM (Edited: 10/18/2011 6:20 PM):

Good points Ron.

My iPhone 3Gs is getting long in the tooth and I either need to soon replace the battery or get a new iPhone. I would rather get the latest and greatest, but any port in a storm. Maybe I should just get a one of those $49 iPhone 3Gs from AT&T which is probably cheaper than having the battery replaced.

To support my comments, here’s a link to an Apr 28, 2011 article:  Q1 Sales

“The Verizon iPhone has helped the iPhone 4 maintain its lead as the single best-selling smartphone in the US in the first quarter of 2011. Meanwhile, Android saw a dip in sales for first time in two years, according to the NPD Group.”

So even with knowledge that iPhone 5 would typically follow Apple’s trend of summer release, just a few months before an iPhone 5 would most likely be released, a one-year-old design maintained its lead as the single best-selling smartphone in the US.  Add to this release in China, India, etc. it makes no sense to rush an iPhone 5 to market.

Maybe I should just get a one of those $49 iPhone 3Gs from AT&T which is probably cheaper than having the battery replaced.

But that locks you into another 2 years!!  What if you want to upgrade to android in the next few years?!?!?

wink

   Actions Lee Dronick said on May 25th, 2011 at 3:21 PM (Edited: 10/18/2011 6:20 PM):

But that locks you into another 2 years!!  What if you want to upgrade to android in the next few years?!?!?

I think AT&T has Android phones so no problem smile

Meanwhile, back to the topic… razz

The iPhone moves into the second most populated country in the world. That ought to boost sales….......

Hi, I have 2 Brand New Sealed Apple iPhone 4 32 GB for sale. Both are factory unlocked and will work with any network. Both iPhones come with a 1 year international warranty from Apple. I am selling both iPhones for much less than the market price. So grab a bargain. I am also giving a free set of protection covers. Please contact me if you are interested in buying. My contact number is 9869369216. I am located in Mumbai and can arrange for delivery if required. Thanks

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