Our Iphone for India posts are indeed the most popular posts on the blog ever with around 500 comments :O , anyway i was reading Techcrunch today and it seems that the new Apple Iphone 3G will be sold only with a contract. Moreover it will be activated in-store only. So unlike last time you wont be able to buy the phone without contract and unlock it. Apple and AT&T surely have learnt their lesson, but this strategy will ofcourse decrease total Apple Iphone sales while increasing AT&T customer numbers. This is because earlier people were buying the Iphone to unlock it, but now that wont be happening. Also more people will be forced to activate and stay with AT&T, meaning more customers for them and rivals will be losing customers. T-Mobile needs to think quick now 
Also cancelling it will need $175 , so Iphone 3G may not be the next big thing after all. Disappointing !
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:40 am
But that’s for the US market. I’m sure they won’t be selling a locked phone in India, there aren’t too many precedents of that. And therefore, since it’s not tied to an operator, it will also be much costlier than in the US.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:10 am
They will be selling a locked phone in India like the initial HTC Touch launch (hence the ‘exclusive deals with vodafone and airtel’, however it remains to be seen if huge postpaid plans are going to be attached or not. If they are not attached to expensive plans, then probably $199 wont be able to cover the phone’s costs.
July 12th, 2008 at 12:33 am
Bad news, Apple really is hurting its Indian prospects by limiting the launch to Vodafone and Airtel, others like Spice and Idea should be given a shot too. Also why are Vodafone and Airtel not announcing the Indian price of the phones in rupees ?