Updated : Iphone 3g Out In India !

[Honest 836]

iPhone Security Flaw: Fix Coming Next Month

The infamous iPhone security flaw is set to be fixed, thanks to a security update that is expected to be out sometime in September. The flaw, which enabled others to bypass the security lock code, was discovered earlier this month.

Jennifer Bowcock, an Apple representative, in an email to Macworld, said, "The minor iPhone security issue which surfaced this week is fixed in a software update which will be released in September."

Courtesy : Techtree

[Honest 836]

iPhone triggers a smartphone deluge

Economic Times

NEW DELHI: Apple iPhone may not be a big draw yet in India because of its high cost, but Indian consumers owe it to the iconic Apple phone for a sudden rise in the number of affordable smartphones available in the market.

Mobile phone majors Nokia, Samsung, LG, Blackberry, HTC and Motorola are all looking to counter the hype of iPhone by launching smartphones, including touchscreen models, and highlighting features that the iPhone lacks.

Following the launch of iPhone 3G in India, the country has witnessed a spate of launches from players like LG, Nokia and Blackberry at highly competitive prices. With media reports highlighting the bottlenecks of the newly launched iPhone 3G, its rivals are rushing to provide “legitimate” alternatives. And while the iPhone is locked to the networks of Airtel and Vodafone, its rivals have access to many more outlets and can target customers across all operators.

Market leader Nokia launched N96 just days before the launch of iPhone, with full web browsing capabilities over Wi-Fi or high-speed data networks, and is compatible with corporate e-mail. The handset comes with a 2.8-inch screen and has a 5-megapixel camera. While Nokia is accepting bookings for the N96, the product is yet to reach the hands of customers here.

LG’s new Dare has a 3.2-megapixel camera with flash and can also be used as a 3G modem for PC. The iPhone’s camera is 2 mp and lacks flash. LG is all set to unveil LG Voyger, which will be released by Reliance Communications, priced between Rs 22,000 and 25,000. LG will also soon introduce its KC550 and LG Secret, a touch sensitive handset which will be the third model in its Black Label series.

Sony Ericsson too launched K608i 3G handset in India close on the heels of iPhone launch. Besides being a fully featured 1.3 MP camera, K608i has an FM radio that iPhone lacks. It comes with personal creativity tools that allow customers to personalise ringtones, wallpapers, still shots and video footage. The K608i is also fully featured with a suite of business programs that manages personal information and PC-synchronisation via USB or Bluetooth. Motorola too has launched Motozine in association with Kodak, armed with a 5-mp camera and in-built flash.

The negatives of iPhone include its failure to support multimedia messaging which means users can’t send or receive pictures via MMS. The device also lacks video recording and voice command and doesn’t allow Bluetooth file transfers. In contrast, all these features are seamlessly packed in LG, Nokia and Motorola phones.

The Blackberry Bold, coming with a full keyboard, supports basic features that the iPhone 3G doesn’t have like email filters on the go and remote searching. Also, lke iPhone, it can operate on 3G networks and has a built-in GPS.

Samsung and HTC offer counter products to iPhone 3G which combine both touch technology and QWERTY keyboard. HTC Touch also includes 3D user interface, a 2.8-inch display, a 3.2 mp camera and 4 GB memory. Samsung’s Ominia, a features-rich multimedia touch phone, has been rated above the iPhone in cyber space. But for its price point—it costs a cool Rs 40,000—the blogging community world over has given the Omnia a thumbs up to be a spoiler for the iPhone party.

Clearly, Apple has got a lot of competition at hand and other players might just edge out the iPhone from the market considering its high price and lack of basic features. For customers, they have never had so good.

[Honest 836]

iPhone price may fall 15%

Business Standard

A week after Apple began selling iPhone in India, experts believe that the iconic phone is ready to become cheaper by more than 15 per cent to boost sales in the world’s fastest-growing mobile phone market.

Globally the 3G iPhone has sold over a million units, but the sales in India are believed to have crossed just 5,000 pieces. The picture remains unclear since Vodafone and Airtel have fallen silent after the high-decibel launch.

Apple may drop iPhone’s price by at least Rs 5,000, says Anshul Gupta, principal analyst with Gartner. “At current prices, we expect iPhone to sell primarily among those who cannot wait for Apple or the operators to cut prices,” he said. “It will be a volumes game then for the operators to clear out their stocks before Apple announces a new version of iPhone.”

The 3G, or third generation, iPhone sells for more than triple its US price tag in India. The eight-gigabyte model of the phone, which includes a built-in iPod and a desktop-class web browser, sells for Rs 31,000, while the 16GB version goes for Rs 36,100. Amid the confetti and cheerleaders at its launch on August 22, the price was perceived to be a discordant note.

There are an estimated 30,000 users of iPhone (first generation devices) in India, and the operators are hoping to get past this number with iPhone 3G. However, the price tag has limited Apple to an extremely small portion of the 260 million mobile subscribers in India. Airtel and Vodafone can between them theoretically carry iPhone to almost 105.2 million subscribers. However, iPhone falls in the smart phone category, whose market is estimated at 10 million by 2010.

Meanwhile, the grey market (for both the first generation and 3G iPhone), has turned bleak. “Earlier in July, I had delivered 15 iPhone 2G handsets (priced at Rs 22,000) to my customers from all over Maharashtra and in August I had bookings for almost 20 iPhone 3G of which 10 customers have already cancelled their bookings,” said a dealer in Mumbai’s Heera Panna market. The customers, he says, are looking to buy from Airtel and Vodafone since the grey market price is only slightly lower.

Analysts feel that both the operators are hoping to strike a stronger relation with their customers, by offering exclusive data plans. The industry’s average revenue per user (ARPU) has been on a decline each quarter. “As service providers penetrate deeper into the country, getting new customers who don’t spend more than $8-10 a month on their phone bills, they will rely on devices like iPhone to cushion their ARPUs in the urban areas,” says Girish Trivedi, deputy director (ICT Practice), Frost & Sullivan.

[Honest 836]

Apple 3G iPhone brightens up grey market

1 Sep, 2008, 0600 hrs IST, ET

MUMBAI: The launch of Apple iPhone by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar seems to have revived the dwindling sales of the gizmo in grey markets.

The reason: the price tag announced by the two GSM giants is too high and all those who had been waiting to buy it officially, are now rushing to the grey markets to get the 16GB iPhone for as low as Rs 20,000-Rs 22,000.

“Sales had dipped after it was announced in May that Airtel and Vodafone will bring iPhone to India. Many postponed buying the phone from us. However, since the prices announced are almost 50-60% more than at what we sell, we are getting back business,” said a dealer at Heera Panna, Mumbai’s best known grey market for all high-end phones.

The two companies are selling the 8GB version for Rs 31,000 and the 16 GB model for Rs 36,100. However, at Vodafone stores, the gadget is now available at Rs 29,640 for 8GB and Rs 34,580 for 16 GB version. This is because Vodafone is not keeping the Rs 1,500 margin in the sales made through its own stores.

According to another dealer, “We were selling the 16GB version for Rs 28,000 till July. But then sales dipped anticipating the operators would have similar price tags. So we reduced prices, which has improved offtake.”

Both these dealers have sold over around 40 units each since the iPhone was launched almost 10 days ago. Accendia Consulting principal analyst Alok Shende said, “Experience across product categories in India is that high prices create a grey market that eventually cannabalises legitimate sales of products.”

The same was true of laptops, computers and video games until prices were brought down to an extent that grey market sales became ineffective, he added.

Foreign travellers who come to India bring iPhones, which are locked to networks. They are then unlocked by the dealers. “It takes not more than 15 minutes now. Most people can unlock it on their own using softwares available in the market,” said one of the dealers, who began with charging Rs 3,000 for unlocking the iPhone last year and now takes only Rs 500.

Apart from this, those travelling from India to the US or other countries where iPhone is available, get the devices for their friends and relatives. “On my last trip to the US, I got six iPhones for my family. I unlocked them on my own and they are all working fine. I paid just $200 (around Rs 8,600) per handset,” said an analyst working with a research firm in Bangalore.

[AmanJ 1]

do any of u guys know place to get the 3g iphone unlocked in delhi, and how much is it costing?

i have a spare 16gb to sell, how much can i expect?

[mgdelhi 192]

Hi !

So far, iPhone 3G has not been unlocked. Then how come u have 16GB iPhone 3G unlocked? Please tell me exact details and I might be interested to buy. Sent u a PM also.

Regards,

MG

do any of u guys know place to get the 3g iphone unlocked in delhi, and how much is it costing?

i have a spare 16gb to sell, how much can i expect?

[AmanJ 1]

Hi !

So far, iPhone 3G has not been unlocked. Then how come u have 16GB iPhone 3G unlocked? Please tell me exact details and I might be interested to buy. Sent u a PM also.

Regards,

MG

do any of u guys know place to get the 3g iphone unlocked in delhi, and how much is it costing?

i have a spare 16gb to sell, how much can i expect?

no where i hv mentioned its unlockes.

i m asking where can i get it done?

[mgdelhi 192]

iPhone 3G can not be unlocked so far. Please see various specialist unlocking websites like "http://iphone.unlock.no/" which clearly says "The new iPhone 3G is not possible to unlock at the moment." You can check that also on iPhone communities on Orkut.

However, there is thing called "Rebel Sim" which sits under ur sim card and acts as an unlock for 3g iphone. For more information and buy it online please visit http://rebelsimcard.com/virtu/

As in my PM, I can offer you 20k for locked iPhone 3G and 22.5k for unlocked one.

Regards

MG

Hi !

So far, iPhone 3G has not been unlocked. Then how come u have 16GB iPhone 3G unlocked? Please tell me exact details and I might be interested to buy. Sent u a PM also.

Regards,

MG

do any of u guys know place to get the 3g iphone unlocked in delhi, and how much is it costing?

i have a spare 16gb to sell, how much can i expect?

no where i hv mentioned its unlockes.

i m asking where can i get it done?

[HetalDP 947]

diamond is 27k

U can get for 23500 Just do little Hunting

[Ramchi 0]

Finally the iPhone hype dusted down in India!

Thanks to Vodafone & Airtel for making iPhone unreachable for common man in India which is a underdeveloped country but pricings are way beyond developed Western economies where the same were offered 4 times cheaper!

Let us not bull**** ourselves by saying in Western world they pay premium for monthly plans etc….In India if you were to use phone for average 5000 national minutes, unlimited SMS, unlimited data plan, it would come close to Rs 1000-1200 PM (cheapest one).

Indians would have paid Rs 1200 PM as fixed monthly rental (5000 National Minutes, Unlimited SMS and Unlimited Data) for two years if they were to offer iPhone 3G for Rs 10,000 – Rs 12,000 as a onetime fee.

Now bringing them back to iPhone after their disappointment will be a difficult task since people would have already committed for other handsets already like HTC, Samsung, Nokia etc…

iPhone can never be projected as niche market through mindless pricing alone! Indians are already using much better and capable phones by paying almost half of the price (Sony Ericsson P1i for example)

[Honest 836]

Eklavya, The Great Yudhistra soon on your iPhone

Press Trust of India

NEW DELHI: Mobile gaming company Nazara Technologies is in talks with Apple Computers, maker of smartphone iPhone, and its two Indian retailers Airtel and Vodafone Essar to develop a couple of mythology-based games which would be available in the next 4-6 months.

"Nazara has set up a dedicated team for 3G and iPhone, and is currently researching on Apple's basic format (Application Programme Interface-API) for development of games for the iPhone. The company already has active relationship with all the carriers and will be supplying iPhone and 3G content," Nazara Technologies CEO Nitish Mittersain told media.

Shortly we will be launching mythological games such as Eklavya and The Great Yudhistra for iPhones. We will also be launching Vishwanathan Anand multiplayer chess," he added.

Mittersain said to develop content for iPhones one has to use only Apple's platform to make the games fully customised for iPhone users.

Nazara has completed basic research for the iPhone games. If subscribers want Eklavya and The Great Yudhistra on iPhone, then the user, whether a Vodafone Essar or an Airtel user, would have to download it from the retailer's site.

The cost of each download would be between Rs 30-50 for the subscribers. Nazara has a revenue-share arrangement with operators.

Nazara specialises in high-end 3D graphics, fast multiplayer services and localised content that is relevant in India. Gaming is one of the key applications for 3G since higher speeds would allow games that are larger in size and also enable realtime multiplayer gaming.

The company would be developing games, and a multiplayer platform to cater to the growing demand.

The company would also launch cross platform gaming that integrates with Internet and DTH. 3G games would also be of high quality and would compare in graphics and video with console games.

[Honest 836]

Bharti Airtel launches EMI scheme for iPhone customers

7 Sep, 2008, 1656 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, one of the two licenced sellers of Apple iPhone, has tied-up with VISA to introduce finance scheme to help consumers buy the high-priced cellphone.

As per the partnership, Airtel would offer financing options for all VISA cardholders of ICICI, HDFC, SBI and Citibank, the company said in a statement.

The consumers in this scheme will have an easy monthly installment option with a varing tenure of between three and 12 months.

"Our partnership with VISA will provide a new opportunity for consumers who aspire to own the 3G iPhone...we are confident that the initiative will further widen the market for the product in India," Bharti Airtel Chief Marketing Officer (Mobile services) Sanjay Gupta said.

Spurred by the overwhelming response from subscribers, cellular service provider Vodafone, which is the other licensee had already joined hands with three private banks for a finance scheme to help consumers buy the multimedia device.

The three banks, ICICI, Barclays and Axis, would offer two monthly payment schemes of six months and 12 months respectively to Vodafone subscribers.

In India, iPhone is priced at Rs 31,000 for 8 GB and Rs 36,100 for 16 GB of memory space.

[srk006 21]

..............

Spurred by the overwhelming response from subscribers, ...............

Lol .. I read some where that only about 5000 IPhones were sold together by both of them.

[Dj 25]

-- ditto --

[manishag 17]

..............

Spurred by the overwhelming response from subscribers, ...............

Lol .. I read some where that only about 5000 IPhones were sold together by both of them.

no i they have sold total 3000 iphones all together and that to after discount of rs 1400-1500

Thats how the great chaps are talking big and doing small.

And thats how iphone lost the market because they signed the agreement with the cheaters.

[Honest 836]

^^^

Very correct my dear Manish.

[Honest 836]

Expect the Great Apple Update this Friday

iPhone update to fix flaws

Many of us were hoping that the new iPhone would be everything one could hope for, and then some... but only if wishes were horses. Nevertheless, there is always the hope that Apple will introduce software upgrades that'll slowly fade away the iPhone negatives.

This coming Friday is expected to be the day when Apple will offer one of such update. The iPhone 2.1 update is meant to fix a bunch of bugs that prevail in the current version of the phone.

After installing the update, users can expect to anticipate less call drops, crashes, better battery life, and also a faster sync. However, the iPhone 2.1 update will not bring along the much yearned for features such as copy and paste.

As for the iPod Touch users, they'll need to shell $10 to get this new software, unless they've purchased version 2.0. if you've recently purchased an iPhone or an iPod Touch, then this update is free for you.

Courtesy : Techtree

[P. K. Daga 3]

Check the link below for update on new release 2.1 of Iphone

http://www.apple.com/iphone/softwareupdate/

[kshah 452]

I am shocked to know that no copy paste on iphone and 10 bucks for update.

[Honest 836]

^^^

Thats really a complete loot my dear Kalpak.

Regards.

[Sadikk 301]

Haha people support Apple, deserve this.

[P. K. Daga 3]

10 dollars for update is for IPod, not for Iphone

[@ksh@T 20]

JuiceCaster Brings MMS to the iPhone with Flutter

For a good while JuiceCaster has allowed users to share photos and videos with friends via the Web and through third-party services like MySpace, Facebok, Blogger, Xanga, and others. And it’s made a decent share of news with releases associated with these functions. It’s been featured in AT&T’s MEdia Mall. It was updated in May to include geo-tagging. It’s even got an application custom-built for use with BlackBerry devices. And just days ago it was added to the Nokia Download store. The next device on the list: the iPhone.

Sharing photos and videos with friends via the iPhone of course already possible, through both standard applications provided by Apple and third-party solutions. But the function that has generally eluded iPhone users, often to their irritation, given the power that is packed into the slim, multi-touch device, is the very basic and nearly universal MMS, or multimedia messaging. Pictures sent directly to other mobile phones. This is what the JuiceCaster Flutter application, a free offering in the App Store, promises to accomplish.

You may have seen with many other App Store downloads the features delivered through Flutter things like basic text input, photo capture and uploading, and location-spotting. Much more than this, in fact. What’s more, iPhone users, even equipped with Flutter, can’t exercise the full potential of the JuiceCaster service for the fact that video recording is not possible through Apple-approved means. Still, the ability for Flutter to send text and images and location together to mobile phone numbers in one’s address book in what JuiceCaster’s engineers dub a “virtual multimedia message” is something that will likely appeal to many.

[via:mashable.com]

[Honest 836]

iPhone 3G is the Gadget of the Year

17 Sep, 2008, 1658 hrs IST, ET

Apple's iPhone 3G has won a public vote to find the year's best gadget, beating strong competition from three games consoles, a budget laptop and a balloon-shaped iPod speaker system.

The latest version of the mobile that combines a phone with a music and video player was chosen by readers of Stuff magazine in its annual Gadget of the Year awards.

The magazine described the iPhone 3G as "a faster, cleverer version of an already remarkable phone". The phone's first incarnation, launched in Britain last year, won the coolest gadget prize at last year's ceremony.

Other nominees included Sony's PlayStation 3, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii Fit and the B&W Zeppelin iPod speakers.

Stuff's Editor Fraser Macdonald said the nominated products were judged on their performance, design and value, as well as "that elusive cool factor".

"Having our readers vote for a number of the awards has been fascinating," he said. "They are the ones out there on the street buying gadgets and so they are a great barometer."

The magazine's own gadget of the year prize, chosen by its editorial staff, went to the Asus Eee Pc, a no-frills laptop that costs less than 300 pounds.

The judges said it had made more of an impact than any other device and marked the start of a "laptop for everyone" era.

Here are the other main winners, announced at a ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel in London on Tuesday

- International brand: Nokia

- Innovation: Sony Reader

- Design: Apple MacBook Air

- Game: Grand Theft Auto IV

- Green gadget: Ego Electric Street Scoota

- Retailer: Firebox.com, an online gadget and toy shop

[Mufaddal 678]

well guys howmuch ever u dislike iphonE its a wonderful gadget

i myself agree the pricing is too steep for iphone 3g but then its not only for us indians but for everyone all over the world

i wud suggest tO buy iphone 2g as it has d same features except 3g( dont think will b fully availiable b4 late 2009) and gps( still no turn by turn navigation which is d actual purpose of any gps device) rest is pretty much d same

i have iphone 2g all i cud say after upgrading to 2.1 i m in love with it once again

the hardware is so powerful...jus yesterday i loaded it with few games from app store all cracked (ASPHALT 4 AND REAL SOCCER 2009)n i was so impreseed with d graphics they were comparable to my psp. and uhave a lot of features for power use as well ( in iphone nothing comes out of box u have to sit n crack ur device and then the true power of macos will engulf you)

Edited September 26, 2008 by Honest
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