Vodafone prices iPhone at Rs 31K
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 11:28 am posted by Admin (149 views)
NEW DELHI: In what would be a sure dampener for the potential buyers of Apple’s iconic iPhone, Vodafone on Wednesday confirmed that the 8GB model would be priced at Rs 31,000.
In a surprise price-revealing move, Vodafone sent out a SMS to all those who had pre-registered with it during the past few weeks confirming the iPhone would be available at the price that was being floated for past few days. Indiatimes Infotech had first reported this pricing on August 12.
The operator also confirmed that the 16GB model will cost Rs 36,100.
However, Vodafone, one of the two operators in India which will start selling iPhone from Friday, did not spell out if the price tags were for unlocked iPhones, or those with bundled plans.
If this pricing has been finalized for unlocked iPhones which the users can use with any 3G networks (as and when available next year in India), the price is a tad more than the US price tag of $550 for similar handsets.
But if it comes with the bundled plans — wherein the operator also gives stipulated usage as part of the package — it will be prohibitively expensive compared to the $199 tag that a similar 8GB sale from AT&T carries.
It is also not clear yet if Bharti Airtel would keep the price exactly the same, but the probability is quite high as both operators tend to follow each other on pricing. Besides, Apple would have gone out of its way to ensure a near-similar pricing in each region, point out industry insiders.
Vodafone has advised its prospective customers to visit the nearest Vodafone stores to confirm their booking by paying an advance of Rs 10,000 on August 20 and 21. The company has not specified, however, when it will start giving out the handsets. It has simply said it will intimate the buyers to collect the iPhone after paying the balance amount at a pre-appointed time.
Last week, Bharti had said that millions of Airtel subscribers will be able to purchase the iPhone at Airtel’s Relationship Centres from August 22.
Source: infotech.indiatimes.com








