Wisetechie Blog : Ctrl your Tech Life

Our international readers will find the title of the post odd, but in India the Iphone launch is delayed, some Indian bloggers to gain visitors had reported that launch will be same day as international launch, ofcourse they have been proven wrong. Anyway, both Airtel and Vodafone are allowing people to book their Iphone on their websites, ofcourse, this seems to be more of a database building exercise, Airtel’s terms are as follows :

• “Booking” means expression of interest of buying Apple iPhone3G when it is available in the market.
• “Booking” doesnt imply that the customer has to purchase the product when it is launched and available.
• “Booking” doesnot guarantee that the product shall be made available to the customer.
• Airtel reserves the right to refuse the Booking at any stage.
• Airtel reserves the right to withdraw “Booking” at any time or at any stage.
• Some of the product features are not available in India or in certain service areas. Some of the features and services are dependent on the type of network the customer is in eg 3G, EDGE, GPRS, GSM. 3G is not available presently in India.

Customer doesnt have to buy, its not necessary that you will sell to them, then whats this booking business ?

Vodafone on the other hand dont even have any terms and conditions on their site, infact looking to make a quick buck , they have asked people to SMS their intention to buy iPhone to a premium SMS number.

Both companies are however honest  about this :

Some features and services are not available in all areas.

India will not support a lot of the Iphone features. We will update you on the price and terms as soon as we hear from Airtel and/or Vodafone.

Well the Iphone 3G will soon have its worldwide launch, but India stands to miss out yet again. While the Iphone is being launched even as we speak , its interesting to note the implications of the launch on Indian Iphone 3G enthusiasts:

1. India will most probably have an August 2008 launch for the Iphone 3G, unlike the normal perception India is having a deferred launch for the new Iphone. This has been confirmed by both Airtel and Vodafone.

2. The first operator to launch the Iphone 3G would be Vodafone in India, its expected to be a soft launch with a limited number of handsets. Vodafone beat Airtel to getting to be the pioneer handset manufacturer to procure the sets. Airtel will ofcourse launch soon afterwards, or may delay the launch till Diwali in order to get better sales. It will be interesting to note how Airtel combats the advantage that Vodafone will have of launching the Iphone early on in India before anyone else.

3. The price, as you know price is THE most important factor in the Indian market. The original Iphone was infact never launched in India many say due to the pricing. Anyway, the Iphone will not be $199 in India. Most are expecting it to be anywhere from 12000 rupees to 14000 rupees.

Also, unlike last time you wont be able to import and unlock, as the Iphones will be exclusively store activated in the US,the plan desertion and leaving charges will be enormous, making importing the Iphone 3G an expensive affair.

Keep looking at this space for more Iphone infomation !

Every month your credit card statement comes with an insert with lots of offers. But do you realise that most of these so called ‘offers’ are selling you Chinese goods, smuggled grey market goods at prices greater than what the companies offer to regular customers.

You don’t! , let us take an example :

Please note we are not using any company name here, we will however be writing to a few companies to see their response.

This Credit Card company has tied up with one of the largest online retailers, but the prices quoted in exclusive offers to their customers is more than what normally one would have to pay:

We consider a 2GB quantum MP3 player, the cost for which is Rs.999 to all customers on the retailers website (shipping is free), but the exclusive offer for the credit card company’s customers is Rs.999 + Rs.200 shipping !

So the next time you feel tempted by an exclusive credit card offer that came with your statement, think again !

So i got a 419 scam email from a live.co.uk address and being a good citizen , i decide to report it so that the email account shuts off. On searching through the internet i find that abuse has to be reported to abuse@passport dot com , anyway my email is bounced back.

Reporting-MTA: dns;blu0-omc3-s18.blu0.hotmail.com
Received-From-MTA: dns;BLU126-W37
Arrival-Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 22:14:58 -0700

Final-Recipient: rfc822;abuse@passport.com
Action: failed
Status: 5.5.0
Diagnostic-Code: smtp;554 Transaction Failed (1022769381:189:-2147467259)

Microsoft is just helping these scammers if they abuse reporting tools are rejecting emails.I wonder how many people will be scammed just because Microsoft chose not to act responsibly.

Well it is an important question in the world of today, more and more Indians are purchasing stuff online and importing it into India. But the question most people ask is the same. What about the customs duty?

Well to be frank with you, anything you have bought abroad and are bringing into India is chargeable as far as custom duties go except some duty free items like IT Products (Digital Camera, LCD Monitors,RAM,Processors etc., confirm the list though).

Seasoned ebay sellers and other online stores try to ensure that loyal Indian customers aren’t forced to shed customs at all. Remember you don’t need an IEC number to import stuff for personal use.

Here is what most companies do so that you don’t have to pay customs for importing stuff into India :

1. They mark the product as a gift on the customs declaration form of the package. This is illegal by the way , but there is no way to detect whether the thing is a gift or not. Unless the other person leaves an invoice inside the so called gift

2. Even after declaring the commodity as a gift, Indian customs will still charge it if the price is above Rs.10000 , so these ebay sellers under-declare the value of goods. This is a double edged sword, as if the product is stolen it would mean that you would not get the right price from insurance, so this can lead to losses.

Now both these steps do save duty to the importer, but you should realise they are probably illegal and be ready for consequences. Also keep in mind the more expensive the courier, the more closely the customs will examine your package. They know that EMS and DHL aren’t used for low value items, hence these packages are scrutinised more than others. On the same time Airmail and Registered Airmail is more prone to theft especially in India.

Now the fact is most genuine importers don’t mind paying a little duty on the products they are importing into India, but the customs are so notorious that most try to circumvent them, because they know if their package is caught by Indian customs, there will be a lot more paying up to do! Also if you are importing in bulk and you don’t have an IEC, you are in big trouble.

Another question people have is what happens if the customs find your item chargeable, dont worry no one will send you to jail unless you are importing prohibited stuff. If your item is found chargeable, your package will be seized by customs and you will be sent a letter usually asking you for purpose of import etc. Be truthful while replying. If customs are satisfied with your reply, then they will calculate the appropriate customs duty and send the postman to your home who collects the duty and delivers your shipment. As easy as that. There is a small fine too for mis-declarations. Frequent mis-declarations will get you in trouble though. So be on the right side of the law. In case you have questions, feel free to ask via comments. Also this is not legal advice, hire a lawyer if you need legal advice.

We keep you updated on the new Iphone 3G, and as things would have it a lot of companies are making software exclusively for the Iphone 3G, many of them like Ebay, and certain GPS GIS companies are innovating hard. So what do you expect from google ?

A supercool version of Gtalk which perhaps shows your GPS location and allows you to talk with crystal clear voice clarity. Well sorry, but thats not gonna happen. The Gtalk for Iphone will only be a text chatting service, disappointed ? So are they just porting Jabber for the Iphone in fancy Google colours ?

The Indian Iphone users will also be disappointed, but dont be. Skype will answer your Iphone needs

Your friendly Iphone 3G reminder for Indians looking to buy the new Iphone

Remember when the Iphone 3G launches in India, it will only be available from Airtel and Vodafone and will probably be locked and come with a hefty plan and high termination fee. Your best bet is still to get the old Iphone for a bargain and get it unlocked, that baby still turns heads. Also other market players like HTC Diamond, Cruise etc. and Asus P320 phones may be given a thought. Personally i am addicted to Windows Mobile these days.