As noted by The Next Web, the iPhone 4S appears set to launch in India on November 25th, marking yet another milestone in Apple's fast-moving rollout of the new device. Both Aircel and Airtel appear to be participating in the November 25th launch, with Aircel having already provided public confirmation of the debut.
Aircel first posted a teaser on its official Facebook page announcing that the launch details would be coming soon and then followed that up with an official announcement on Saturday that the chosen date was November 25. Impatient customers will be able to start placing preorders on the carrier’s website from November 18 onwards.
Airtel's participation appears to be unconfirmed at this time, but The Times of India reports that the iPhone 4S will indeed launch on the carrier at 12:01 AM on November 25th.
Aircel and Airtel, both GSM providers, are Apple's two official carrier partners in India.
Top Rated Comments
There are a lot of Indians in Cupertino. I mean a lot.
:p
Most of the educated people are from other countries.
The US is really falling behind quick !
Hey kids : Go "Occupy" a classroom :rolleyes:
It's about time Apple recognized the potential of selling their flagship device to a nation that already boasts more (through sheer numbers alone) potential iPhone customers than the US.
----------
Uh, how exactly is Dell "ruined" by its call centers being closed in India? From last I remember Dell has been doing quite well.
I believe you need to read up on a little statement that goes like so:
"Correlation doesn't imply Causation."
Read up on it. It'll open your mind up a bit. ;)
Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation_does_not_imply_causation
:)
India is the 4th highest in the number of billionaires (last recorded at 55), only behind the US, China, and Russia. Keep in mind, this official tally was recorded on March 2011 by Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/wealth/billionaires/list?country=&industry=-1&state). With an economy growing at 8% per quarter and per year (which is now faster than China due to the recent inflation adjustment policies in China), I would be willing to bet more than my house that the number of billionaires in India certainly went up since March.
Also, India's economy on a PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) GDP basis is the 4th richest in the world. When comparing international economies, many economists divert to official exchange rates, but the PPP GDP is much more realistic for comparing domestic value. And at $4 trillion PPP GDP, the Indian economy is actually faring better than all of Europe, and lags very closely behind Japan, and of course China and the US. (Note that these are months old statistics, and with an economy growing this fast, India's PPP GDP might already have surpassed Japan's PPP GDP).
One last thing: high inflation in India. Due to high inflation in India, everyone's wages are spiraling upwards, giving rise to one of the biggest middle class in the world by sheer numbers alone. However, what hasn't changed is the price of the iPhone, presumably due to the favorable exchange rates for Apple.
Add all these things together, and you get a nation that has one of the biggest potential customer bases. That is, if Apple plays its cards right. Of course, the predominant market in India is pre-paid, and the idea of post paid is as alien to them as the idea of pre-paid on Verizon or AT&T is to us. Still, there are tens of millions of Indians who can afford the off-contract iPhone at 40,000 INR (USD 789) due to the above reasons.
Yet you do exactly the same.
Pot calling the kettle black!