Hefty price tag spoils iPhone's launch party

MUMBAI\DELHI: High price and lack of high-end 3G services seem to have dampened Apple’s iPhone launch party in India. Only a few buyers turned up at midnight launches done by both the operators across eight cities in India.

The snazzy gizmo failed to draw crowds to the stores of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar in sharp contrast to the international markets where iPhone lovers had queued up the whole night to buy the handset.

The mood was subdued at the midnight launch of iPhone at Mumbai’s Infiniti Mall with Friday being a working day. The stage was set for a grand launch, complete with confetti and cheerleaders, but at the stroke of midnight, there were just 10 people who actually bought the high-end device.

At a Vodafone store in Connaught Place, Central Delhi, journalists outnumbered customers by a huge margin. Only about 15 customers turned up to buy the phone. The Airtel retail store nearby wore a deserted look on Friday afternoon, with not a single customer buying the iPhone. In Gurgaon, Airtel unveiled the iPhone at Sahara Mall.

Despite the frenzy, the D-day did not quite match the expectations with just about 35-40 people lining up to buy the coveted smartphone.

Though the launch attracted hundreds of curious onlookers late at night, very few of them were convinced enough to shell out an exorbitant Rs 31,000 for the 8 GB version and Rs 36,100 for the 16 GB one. “The pricing is a little on the high side. I would have bought it if the price was around Rs 25,000. But at 31,000, it makes little sense. I’ll wait for the price to come down,” said one of the onlookers.

Rajkumar Kanojia, who landed up at the venue much ahead of the launch, was the first person from Mumbai to get his hands on the phone.

“I am buying the 16 GB version because it’s not much expensive than the 8 GB version. Since I am into business, it’ll help me combine my work and pleasure into one compact device,” he said.

Maharaja of Jaipur, Bhawani Singh, and football captain Baichung Bhutia were the first customers of Vodafone Essar in Jaipur and Kolkata respectively. In Delhi, Nishant Arya, owner of JBM Group, a Rs 2,500-crore auto components company, claimed to be the first legal buyer of iPhone 3G in India.

Over two lakh users had pre-registered with Airtel for the iPhone, but only around 5,000-5,500 may have actually bought or booked the handset across the company’s stores in 65 cities, said sources.

Bharti Airtel president (mobile services) Sanjay Kapoor brushed off the fear of iPhone turning out a damp squib because of high cost. “We are targeting the high-end user segment as well as the youth, which does not cares much about the pricing if the product is good,” he said.

Source : Economic Times