Reportedly, Vodafone was selling its phones at 11 stores across Delhi initially, while Bharti was selling it only at the Shahara Mall. But, the phone will be available shortly through 250 Vodafone stores in 50 cities across India and Bharti Airtel will ensure the availability of the iPhone in more than 65 cities. Moreover, the Apple stores will also carry the product.
The 8 GB iPhone is priced at Rs 31,000 and the 16 GB iPhone costs Rs 36,100. It appears rather expensive when compared to the US price. In the US, it costs around $199 which amounts roughly to Rs 8400. In an attempt to defend their price, Sanjay Kapoor, president of mobile services Bharti Airtel, stated that the US price is subsidised as it comes with a two-year airtime contract. Hence, it is not fair to compare these rates.
Vodafone, however has tied up with Axis Bank and Barclays to offer the phone on 6 or 12 equated monthly installments (EMIs) with a lower interest rate in order to make the product affordable for the customers. However, the customers are obligated to buy the iPhone on the credit cards of one of these banks. Bharti Airtel has not come up with any plans for an EMI scheme as yet.
The multipurpose iPhone gadget combines the extra feature of an in-built GPS system, an iPod and a web browser.
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