Diwash Gahatraj
Biting the first apple resulted in the fall of man, would you care to repeat the sin by buying the new Apple iPhone 4S?
Man has always fallen prey to his own greed. Why not with this new gadget then?
Apart from the adrenaline rushing through your veins when you first touch it, you will also feel the gasoline burning through your pockets. Go for it if you are a tech freak or Apple worshipper but make sure that you have enough money to pay your credit card bills afterwards.
The ‘cool thing’ was officially unveiled in India on November 25 by its Indian carriers, Aircel and Airtel. A 16GB Apple iPhone 4S will cost you Rs 44, 500 apiece while the 32 GB model is priced at Rs 50,900 and the 64GB version at Rs 57,500.
The day when Apple announced the date of iPhone’s India launch, netizens in the country stood up against the price of the phone almost like they had supported Anna Hazare in his India against corruption campaign.
Twitter and Facebook are loaded with comments crying foul against the phone’s prices and even coming out with list of things cheaper than the Apple iPhone 4S. The best one being a half Tata Nano car!
Market experts too have shared similar views. The phone manufacturers might have a tough time to market the phone in India due to its hefty price, few industry insiders said.
Late Steve Jobs, the master of the world’s finest products starting with an ‘i’ (except the pills!), was an excellent market observer. He knew the trend and also knew when to launch his products.
Apparently, his retirement, which got the whole world to talk about this visionary and the immediate launch of the iPhone 4S was also touted to be an exceptionally planned out marketing strategy. But Jobs might have just missed the Indian sentiments.
Thanks to the Chinese downpour of cheap cellphones in the country, Indians would hardly buy a phone at Rs 50K when we can get phones with almost any mobile feature imaginable within Rs 5K.
Not just Chinese phone manufacturers, global names like Samsung, Nokia and many home-grown brands like Micromax and Lava have introduced smartphones in competitive prices.
According to a recent survey report, there are around 625.41 million GSM users in the country. Hence, cellphone makers are fighting with each other to provide phones with better features at slashed prices, while Apple seems to be adding big bucks to the already big price tag for every new additional feature.
Though we cannot deny the fact that few features in the new Apple phone are just too good...my personal favourite being Siri. Preview of the phone claims it to be an ultimate object for game-lovers but again, thinking about the global recession and the Indian inflation, you might just start thinking about Snake as the ‘best’ mobile game whatsoever.
However, a true Apple fan will do whatever it takes to be a member of the Apple family even if one has to dispose off a car or buy it on an easy monthly instalment scheme.
As India lives on jugaad and a true Indian will definitely find a way to get the desired gadget. I am sure many Apple enthusiasts in India have already purchased their piece from Hong Kong, Singapore, UK or Uncle Sam’s nation where the price is less than half the Indian price.
We Indians also know to catch the fish in shallow waters. You could just ask your uncle settled in California to get you this power-packed phone for Thanksgiving.
Or the best deal would be to wait for the great Chinese minds to come out with its cheap imitation.
To conclude this, Apple might make you wise but surely not wealthy.
The price quoted for the Indian market is not an advisable buy. However, an Apple freak would be an Apple freak!
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