Vodafone, Airtel pre-registering for Apple's iPhone 3G
Leading Indian telecom operators Vodafone and Airtel have begun pre-registering for Apple's iPhone 3G, the most anxiously awaited handsets. Though the two companies are not saying anything as to when the iPhones will be available in India, but sources say that September may be the launch time.
This is a great news for any gizmo lover. The iPhone launched last year in the US and most of Europe is being eagerly awaited in India.
Nokia in the meantime is worried that iPhone's arrival in the country will dent its high-end market. Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo recently said iPhone's launch in India would have an impact on the company in the country. He added, "when iPhone comes to India, it adds to our competitors here. The entry of a new product in the market creates customer interest and it, therefore, impacts us in India," Mr Kallasvuo said.
Pre-registration for iPhone is already under progress. Two leading mobile telephony providers in India Airtel and Vodafone have started registering orders for Apple's masterpiece.
Though the service providers are not saying for sure that when it will be launched in the country, but September launch is the most probable as insiders reveal.
In the meantime it is not clear as to whether the Indian government has issued final guidelines on the auction of 3G (third generation telephony) spectrum and licenses in India or not.
Apple has already sold around four million iPhones since its US launch on June 29 last year, and its chief Steve Jobs has targeted sales of 10 million units by December 2008.