Will you pay Rs 1.2 lakh to own an iPhone 5 within days of its US release?
Many
Apple aficionados in India are willing to shell out as much as Rs 1.21 lakh to
own the iPhone 5 within days of its initial release in the US and seven other
countries.
DNA reports that four Ahmedabad
citizens paid Rs 1 lakh in advance for the phone and will pay an additional Rs
21,000 at the time of delivery.
Bharat Bhagnani in a Forbes blog says
the "the grey market is throbbing with 'pre-orders' for iPhone 5, with prices
skyrocketing up to almost Rs 80,000 to Rs 1,00,000 for delivery by September
end." Bhagnani spoke to grey market dealers in Delhi and Mumbai, who were also
willing to offer up to Rs 26,000 for a used iPhone 4S depending on its
condition.
But the early iPhone 5 birds in India
may encounter a technical hitch. The iPhone 5 comes with a nano-SIM tray and
Indian mobile service providers do not currently offer nano-SIMs.
Also unlike micro-SIMs that are used
in the iPhone 4S, they cannot be easily cut from regular SIMs using a SIM
cutter.
This could mean that the iPhone 5s
that eager Indian buyers with deep pockets lap up at premium prices may be as
functional as the iPod Touch, though the DNA report quotes an unnamed official
from a telecom operator in Gujarat saying that they have placed orders for
nano-SIMs.
- Umesh Shanmugam
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