Apple India has slashed prices of the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4 as it prepares for the launch of the iPhone 5 in India. The iPhone 4S, which was earlier available for Rs 44,500 is now available for Rs 41,500. Unlike every year when Apple used to bring a 8GB variant of the previous generation model, the iPhone 4S would continue to sport 16GB storage that explains the marginal price drop. (more…)Google+

On 9th January 2007, late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at MacWorld to announce that Apple was re-inventing the phone. He showed a product that now we know as the iPhone, which was released publicly on June 29, 2007. Today, we commemorate the fifth anniversary of the original iPhone. With the original iPhone, Apple showed off many groundbreaking user interface elements that have now become ubiquitous in modern day smartphones. At the same time the original device was missing a number of k...

Aircel today announced a zero-rental plan for the iPhone 4S that offers free calling minutes, 2G data and text messages. The plan is valid for 1 year with the iPhone 4S 16GB and comes with 300 minutes of free calls (local, we assume), 2GB of 2G data, 1GB of free Wi-Fi data (Aircel’s Wi-Fi hotspots with Spectranet) and 350 free text messages. Aircel’s estimate pegs this free usage at Rs 1,315 per month or Rs 15,000 in a year. The deal does not seem all that bad considering the iPhone 4S 16GB costs ...

It seems like Siri has been facing an outage for the past couple of hours or so for iPhone 4S users in India. We just noticed the outage on our iPhone 4S but some users have been complaining about it on Twitter and have confirmed that ours is not an isolated incident. Siri needs to be connected to Apple’s servers to get answers for a user’s requests. This seems to be an Apple- server related issue. We have reached out to Apple for a statement and will update this post as soon as we hear from them....

We had exclusively reported yesterday that at least one carrier is planning to offer special deals for their high usage customers and now we have more details about the kind of deal you can expect. At the outset, it will be a “by invitation only” offer, where the carrier will identify customers it deems eligible (having high usage and not defaulting on your bill payment would be one) for the offer. Depending on the usage, the carrier will offer real, upfront subsidy on the phone. The subsidy will ...

We might have finally found a reason to explain the crazy Rs 44,500 and upwards pricing. Airtel sent out an invite for its launch event in Bangalore that features an all-together different version of the iPhone 4S and comes complete with “The iPhone 4S Concept” written in all CAPS. The invite first appeared on Facebook late last evening and we were able to confirm  the invite is legit. What about the legitimacy of the concept phone, you ask? Well, don’t get your hopes high. The iPhone 4S go...

Airtel has finally revealed its special tariff plans for the iPhone 4S on the eve of its launch in India. Aircel had announced its plans a couple of days ago. Airtel offers more choices in terms of plans that start from Rs 600 (users get a 50 percent discount that makes it Rs 300 commitment a month) and go up to Rs 2,000. Airtel offers more text messages (600 VS 350) and more 3G data (3GB Vs 650MB) and charges the user Rs 1,000 (Rs 950 on Aircel). Aircel offers double the voice calls than Airtel – 3,000...

Airtel has finally taken the wraps off its iPhone 4 8GB and has priced it at Rs 37,900, which will be available from November 25 along with the new iPhone 4S and the older iPhone 3GS 8GB. Ironically, users can still get hold of the iPhone 4 16GB variant, which will be discontinued from tomorrow), for Rs 35,500! Most stores have ran out of stocks but they can still be found in some places. In all likelihood, Aircel will also offer the iPhone 4 8GB for Rs 37,900. While we won’t get into the blame game of ...

Mark this one under rumor for the moment, but after conversations with multiple sources over the past week (after a friendly tip) we learn that at least one of the two carriers (Aircel and Airtel) is working on plans to sweeten the iPhone 4S deal for its “priority” customers. The carrier could approach its high value subscribers with special offers, which will be different from what regular users will get. The drive is highly unlikely to begin when the iPhone 4S goes on sale on November 25 but mig...

Aircel has revealed its “attractive” tariff plans for iPhone 4S and to be honest, they don’t look that attractive. Gone is the 100 percent money back over two years and all we can currently find is 50 percent money back offer. For Rs 950 (taxes extra), users will get 3,000 minutes of local and STD calls, 350 text messages, 650 MB of 3G data (2GB of 2G data in circles where there is no 3G) and 1GB of Wi-Fi data with the iPhone 4S 16GB. (The Wi-Fi data usage refers to Aircel’s Wi-Fi serv...

Late last week, both Airtel and Aircel announced some ridiculous prices for the iPhone 4S that goes on sale on Friday, November 25. For those living under a rock – Rs 44,500 (16GB), Rs 49,900 (32GB) and Rs 57,500 (64GB). Over the weekend I wrote I won’t be buying the iPhone 4S from India as it is not worth paying the high premium just to get after sales support. Hardly anything goes wrong with an iPhone (unless you are jinxed) and physical damage (busted display etc) are not covered under warranty...

Now that the ridiculous iPhone 4S prices have been made official and disappointment seems to be the common sentiment, it is time to look for alternatives to put the money you had been saving up to good use. On a personal level, I would still prefer the iPhone 4S over any of the three alternatives mentioned after the break but I just cannot justify spending Rs 44,500 for it. For a change, I would recommend people to buy a factory unlocked iPhone 4S from the US or Hong Kong (if you can find one, that is) as ask...