No! Before you get any further notions on my senility, I am not purchasing the phone on its launch here in India (in the next few minutes actually). Neither do I intend to. But for all the brouhaha over the most coveted gadget in recent times, most hardcore handset lovers wouldn’t even have given a second thought to this masterpiece of an overpriced and under-featured gadget. While Apple might have gotten away with its cake and eaten it too in the US on the iphone 3G (almost), however, I am quite disinclined to believe the same is going to repeat in India. While Apple and its operator partners must obviously have done their math in launching the product at this price point, what is interesting is their expectation that a device which, so obviously, under-serves the needs of the Indian consumers is likely to be lapped up in the droves ! With no visual voicemail (and an audience that hardly uses voicemail), no signs of a 3G network for light years, pathetic public wifi connectivity options, crawling EDGE connectivity (rather GPRS), an sms-crazy public that can’t forward all the jokes/forwards that they receive, I , for one, thought expectations will be more sober. However, the manner in which both the operators have “envisaged” huge rush, and have even started taking advance deposits is, to say the least, funny ! And to add to all this, there’s this funny news item on how people are likely to be given loans to purchase an iphone ! ’tis been a laugh riot since the pricing has been announced yesterday ! Tons of blogs/news having no clue on subsidies and contract plans claiming it to be a travesty on the face of the poor Indian consumers !
Having owned a few gadgets and handsets myself (including the mbp that I am typing this on), I can safely vouch that the iphone, in its current form in India, is something not for the gadget-data freak in me and for a lot others. Am biding my time for that MVNO operator who’s gonna offer an attractive 3G data plan in Mumbai and subsidise the handset with a decently priced contract. That’s when i(’ll get a)phone !