Tags: Apple, Apple India, Apple iPhone, Apple iPhone 3G, India, Mobile Devices

Apple iPhone 3G goes on sale in India today!

Apple fans have something to cheer about today as Apple iPhone 3G goes on sale officially for the first time ever.

Airtel and Vodafone are going to start selling the device today. They have made massive preparations to make sure that customers are not left disappointed when they arrive to book their own unit.

Both the companies have priced the iPhone at the same levels. The 8GB model goes for Rs. 31000 and the 16GB model goes for Rs. 36100.

We are yet to receive information on the data packages they would give out with the iPhone.

Apple had launched the first generation iPhone last year. They updated it with a new model supporting GPS and 3G earlier this year. It has been on sale in several markets around the world since July.

There are however some disappointments for the new owners of iPhone 3G. Let’s list a few of them…

3G: India still does not have 3G. Customers would have to rely on Edge based internet connectivity which is not very fast.

Edge: Speeds are not that fast on Edge either. Unlimited internet connectivity is either expensive or not available. From what we know, Vodafone still has no unlimited GPRS plan for their regular customers.

iTunes: Apple has not launched the iTunes in India. So, customers would not be able to use it to buy songs, rent/buy movies. This situation is unlikely to change soon.

Apple would however make available the Apple App Store here in India. It is not clear whether they would let Indian customers get access to applications like NetShare which are banned in the US market. Airtel and Vodafone have not revealed on whether they plan to allow the customer to tether their iPhones or not. In fact they have not released any special plans for the iPhone customers.

Support, Service and Warranty: We are yet not sure how this would work out in India. Apple does not really have a robust service center network here in India. If there is any problem with the device, where do the customers go? Airtel/Vodafone or Apple? We bet Apple retailers in India are not going to be much helpful considering they are totally getting bypassed in the whole iPhone scene.

Customers buying the Apple iPhone 3G in India should keep in mind some basic issues with the device…

3G won’t work in India. 3G subscribers in USA are reporting massive call drop problem. Apple has already been sued for this and the plaintiff is asking for class action status on this lawsuit.

Apple iTunes won’t work in India.

Apple iPhone 3G still suffer from software glitches. Apple has promised to fix the problems through an update next month.

You cannot change the battery of the iPhone yourself.

A lot of popular features are not available on the iPhone yet. Copy/Paste is missing.

GPS support is and would be very limited here in India.

It has a 2 megapixel camera. Video recording is not possible.

No voice dialing.

No expandable memory support.

You cannot send or receive MMS.

No support for Bluetooth stereo output.

No support for Adobe Flash, Windows Media Video or Java.

YouTube would however still work! Google Maps would work. Apple Safari would work. Wi-Fi would work.