Airtel has put up its reverse subsidy plans for the iPhone 4. These plans are remarkably different from Aircel’s and it offers a maximum of Rs 24,000 money back over 24 months and a minimum of Rs 7,200. Check out their plans in detail here. You can compare it with Aircel’s offering here.

File this one under rumor for the moment, but we are hearing that Aircel and Airtel are geared up to launch the iPhone 4 in India and May 27 is the date that is being tossed around by multiple sources. We are trying to get a confirmation on the date, though we know for sure we are very close to D-Day. Stay tuned for more on this.

Just like we reported that the iPhone 4 will be launched in India towards the end of May, both Aircel and Airtel have put up their registration pages for the elusive smartphone. Both the carriers will sell factory unlocked iPhone 4 and are expected to follow a reverse subsidy model like we had suggested earlier. Finally, the iPhone 4 will be available across retail stores and won’t be limited to Airtel and Aircel outlets. So hang in tight there, while we countdown to the launch.

Let the flood gates open! We have been able to confirm that both Aircel and Airtel are indeed working on a reverse subsidy model and now, we can also confirm that the iPhone 4 will be sold across retailers like any other smartphone! This is a departure from Apple’s (and the carrier’s practice) of selling the iPhone only from carrier stores. A few retailers have started receiving packages like the one above, warming them to sell the iPhone 4 from their counters. Considering the iPhone 4 will be unlocked, Apple seems determined to get its India story right this time. Yeah, naysayers would complain it is too late in the day to launch the iPhone 4, but we still believe it would make a dent in Nokia’s and Samsung’s high-end smartphone sales. Finally, we are also hearing May 27 to be the launch date, but we won’t be marking our calendars just yet.

This one should please all those who keep bashing Apple for its ‘step-motherly’ treatment towards Indian consumers. We can now confirm that both Airtel and Aircel will launch factory unlocked iPhone 4 in India. We do not have the exact date of launch, yet, but we have been informed that it could happen towards the end of May. Finally, we hear that a version of the iPhone 3GS (probably 16 GB) will also be available sub-Rs 30,000, followed by the two iPhone 4 variants (16 GB and 32 GB) both priced upwards of Rs 30,000. This should make things a bit uncomfortable for the likes of HTC and Samsung, which are relying heavily on their Android smartphones.

Earlier this month, Aircel and Airtel announced their plans to launch the iPhone 4 in India in the coming months. Both carriers had their lips zipped when asked what ‘coming months’ meant. But now we have a fair idea of the timeline. One of our connects has tipped us that we should expect the iPhone 4 to launch in the May-end-early-June time frame. We were also hearing word from the street that carriers would subsidize the phone, something our connect immediately rubbished. We believe the launch will happen before Apple’s WWDC event in June, where it typically announces the next gen iPhone. However, word on streets in Cupertino indicates that there will be no iPhone 5 announcement this time around and would rather happen in September. Well, there is only one way to find out – watch this space!

Aircel and Airtel today announced the imminent launch of the iPhone 4 on their networks in India. Both the carriers are in the process of rolling out their 3G networks in the country and will be hoping to rope in more 3G users with the Godphone. Airtel already has over 2 million 3g subscribers and both the carriers have spectrum to roll out 3G services in 13 circles.We had earlier reported that Apple might launch the iPhone 4 in India and why it might still make sense to buy one. However, neither carrier is telling when they would launch it and would only say “coming months” in their respective press release. Well, that is typical of Apple, but what’s shocking is the absence of Vodafone, which has launched the previous two versions of the iPhone in India and had sent out a press release when the iPhone 4 was announced last year that it would launch it in India. We have not heard from them yet and it would be very unlikely for Vodafone to miss out on the iPhone 4.

Common sense says that Aircel and Airtel would be better served the sooner they launch the iPhone 4, though “coming months” does not really sound encouraging. Also, it remains to be seen how they price the device, considering there are no carrier subsidies and the launch price of the iPhone 3GS was higher than the iPhone 3G. Somehow, a price tag of over Rs 40,000 for a carrier locked iPhone 4 does not appeal to us.