Aircel teases iPhone 5 coming soon to India - Pre-Order Now

With the launch of the iPhone 5 looming close in India, mobile phone carriers have begun teasing the handset. Aircel was one of the carriers that officially launched the iPhone 4S in India. The mobile phone services operator has now put up a teaser page on its site indicating that the iPhone 5 handset is coming soon.

As of now, there is no information on prices available or specialised tariff plans available. However, this all should change closer to the date of launch, which is scheduled for November 2, 2012.

iPhone 5 gets teased on Aircel website

Mobile operators Bharti Airtel and Aircel on Monday began taking pre-orders for Apple's much-awaited iPhone 5 ahead of its retail debut in the stores on November 2.

Both operators opened preorders starting at Rs 45,000 for the 16GB variant while the 64GB model has been priced at Rs 59,500 according to the listings in their website, and have also promised to ship the product within 7-8 days. In comparison, the iPhone's direct competitors such as Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC One X are available in India for about Rs 35,000.

Here is a quick look at the highlighted features of the iPhone 5:

• 4-inch, 326ppi Retina display at 1136 x 640 pixels,
• GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, LTE and Wi-Fi
• GPS
• Bluetooth
• 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD recording, 720p front-facing camera
• 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions

For those interested in purchasing the iPhone 5, the base model, the 16GB version will be launched at Rs 45,500, the 32GB version of the iPhone 5 will be available for Rs 52,500 and the 64GB model for Rs 59,500. These prices are more or less on par with the previous generation iPhone 4S, when it was first launched in India.

Ingram Micro has recently announced that it will offer the Apple iPhone 5 at leading trade stores and retail outlets across India beginning on Friday, November 2. It was recently reported that in order to expand its user base in India, Apple will start selling the iPhone 5 through specialised distribution companies. Apple has tied up with Ingram Micro Inc, which is a large US-based distributor of technologies, as well as Redington India Ltd, a local distributor with 12,000 smaller partners across the country.

Made entirely out of aluminium and glass, the iPhone 5 weighs 112 grams, and is 20 percent lighter than the iPhone 4S, and is the thinnest iPhone yet at 7.6mm. Apple has chosen to debut iOS 6 with the iPhone 5. The new OS includes Apple's own Maps app, an updated version of Siri and lots more. Overall, the new iPhone has been upgraded in almost all respects.

Siri has also been updated and new features include support for more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings; Siri and Facebook-enabled apps like Photos, Safari and Maps; and Shared Photo Streams via iCloud.

Safari has also received a major update – the ability to go full screen on the device by touching the arrows on the corners. Another major feature of the new Safari app is the ability to sync tabs between the desktop and iOS versions of Safari. This new feature is called iCloud Tabs. The new Mail app has also received some updates, including the ability to mark people as VIPs and the ability to flag certain mails for follow-ups.

Aircel introduces postpaid plans for iPhone 5 in India

Aircel today announced a new range of tariff plans for the iPhone 5. As per an official statement by the company, the plans would save subscribers more than Rs 20,000. The plans for Aircel’s postpaid subscribers are free of monthly rentals. Additional benefits of free in-built usage (1GB data per month) bundled with voice usage (500 minutes per month), and SMS (500 per month). In other words, Aircel customers get all these benefits for free. After 12 months, the customer has to pay only Rs 399 per month to continue getting these benefits.

Aircel will also launch a series of value based prepaid plans starting at Rs 399, with bundled

data and SMS pack, specifically designed to suit the needs of its prepaid customers.

The iPhone 5 has been officially launched in India 

Aircel’s iPhone customers will receive their devices with pre-loaded settings thereby facilitating Internet access. In addition, a dedicated premium helpline will be launched to cater to all Aircel iPhone 5 customers. Priced at Rs 45,500 for the 16GB model, Rs 52,500 for the 32GB model, and Rs 59,500 for the 64GB model, Apple iPhone 5 will be available at all Aircel’s retail stores and on www.aircel.com. Aircel customers can avail the option of Easy EMI for 12 months through Aircel’s exclusive company stores.

In the meanwhile, here is a quick look at the highlighted features of the iPhone 5:

• 4-inch, 326ppi Retina display at 1136 x 640 pixels
• GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, LTE and Wi-Fi
• GPS
• Bluetooth
• 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD recording, 720p front-facing camera
• 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions

Anupam Vasudev, Head Marketing, Aircel, said, “Firstly, I would like to congratulate the Apple team on the launch of the new iPhone 5. Aircel has always positioned itself as a data led telecom player and has addressed the multi-functionality of a mobile phone. Our long standing partnership with Apple only reiterates the fact that introduction of best handset devices in the market automatically leads to best consumer experience therefore resulting in high data usage”.

The most anticipated Apple handset after the iPhone 4, the new iPhone 5, is the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever, completely redesigned to feature a 4-inch Retina display, an Apple-designed A6 chip, and ultrafast wireless technology.

With the launch of iPhone 5, also came the launch of iOS 6, the latest version of the iOS operating system with over 200 new features including the new Maps app with Apple-designed cartography, Facebook integration, and Passbook organisation.

Made entirely out of aluminium and glass, the iPhone 5 weighs 112 grams, and is 20 percent lighter than the iPhone 4S, and is the thinnest iPhone yet at 7.6mm. Apple has chosen to debut iOS 6 with the iPhone 5. The new OS includes Apple's own Maps app, an updated version of Siri and lots more. Overall, the new iPhone has been upgraded in almost all respects.

Aircel, Airtel announce iPhone 5 tariff plans ahead of the official launch

While the iPhone 5 is scheduled to be officially introduced in India today, telecom operators Airtel and Aircel have announced their exclusive data plans for the new iOS device. The official India pricing for the iPhone 5 has also been revealed, which is Rs. 45,500 for 16GB model, Rs. 52,500 for 32GB model and Rs. 59,500 for 64GB model.

Bharti Airtel is offering four new voice and data tariff plans for the postpaid users of the iPhone 5. Airtel is giving a 50 percent discount on all its plans. The cheapest Airtel plan starts at Rs. 300 (after a discount of 50 percent) and includes 500 local minutes, 300 local and national SMS and 200MB of 3G data. The Rs. 500 plan includes 900 local minutes, 400 local and national SMS and 500MB of 3G data.

The Rs. 800 plan offers users 1,400 minutes of call 500 local and national SMS and time,1.2GB of 3G data, while the most expensive Rs. 1,000 plan has 1,500 minutes local time, 600 local and national SMS, and 3GB 3G data. Airtel is offering similar data plans for the prepaid customers as well.

Check out Airtel's iPhone 5 tariff plans for your circle here.

Airtel's tariff plans for the iPhone 5

Aircel has also announced its exclusive data plans for the iPhone 5. The telecom operator claims to offer a range of usage plans giving a benefit of more than Rs. 20,000 annually with the iPhone 5.

Postpaid users of Aircel are offered a special plan which includes benefits such as no monthly rental and free 1GB data usage, 500 minutes of voice calls, and 500 SMS per month. After going past the free data and voice limits, users will be charged as per regular tariff rates. There is no rental fee on these plans.

After 12 months, the customer has to pay only Rs. 399 per month month to continue getting these benefits.

Aircel will soon launch a series of value-based prepaid plans, starting at just Rs. 399, with bundled data and SMS pack, aimed its prepaid customers. Aircel’s iPhone customers will receive their devices with pre-loaded settings for the unlimited Internet access. There's also an option of a EMI for 12 months through the company's stores.

Why iPhone 3GS is a better buy than Rs. 10K Android smartphones

Aircel has lowered the price on the iPhone 3GS to Rs 9,999, making it a really attractive option. Even when you add the Rs. 3,000 advance rental it's probably the cheapest iPhone in the world.

The iPhone 3GS is a pretty capable phone, even if it may feel two, soon to be three, generations old. The hardware specs are in line with what most current-generation Android smartphones at the price point offer, though some do beat the 3GS on RAM and camera megapixel count.

The best part about the iPhone 3GS is that it will run the latest version of iOS the day iOS 6 releases. Contrast that with the scenario in the Android world, where even smartphones costing Rs. 30,000 or more had to wait for months before they got Android 4.0. And just as some of them were finally getting ready to receive Ice Cream Sandwich, Google went ahead and released Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The wait begins all over again.

It's true that iOS 5 on iPhone 3GS feels a little bit sluggish. However reports indicate that Apple has made performance improvements in iOS 6 and it actually runs faster on iPhone 3GS than iOS 5.

A note of caution though. Performance in beta versions is just an indication of how things are going to turn out to be. The final iOS 6 version may end up performing worse (or better) than the beta, so you may be well advised to wait until iOS 6 comes to get a real idea as far as iOS 6 performance on iPhone 3GS is concerned. Still, the early signs are good if you are an existing iPhone 3GS user or looking to buy one.

iPhone 3GS users on iOS 6 will enjoy new features like updated Maps, Shared Photo Streams and Passbook. Also included is ability to decline incoming calls calls with text messages or a "remind me later" option, that will remind you to call back the person later. Pretty handy.

iOS 6 also includes improvements to the mail and browsing experience, which will be extended to iPhone 3GS.

However, there are some iOS 6 features that iPhone 3GS will not receive. These are flyover and turn-by-turn navigation in Maps, the improved Siri (which iPhone 4 will not get either) and FaceTime (the 3GS has no front-camera).

While on Maps, we would love to be surprised, but we doubt India will get turn-by-turn navigation (at least initially), so that isn't much of a loss in itself. In any case, there are plenty of third-party apps that you can use to fill that gap.

Other features that the iPhone 3GS will not get are Offline Reading List, and accessibility features that require Made for iPhone hearing aids, which are supported only by iPhone 4 and above.

Overall, there are more hits than misses as far as iOS 6 on iPhone 3GS is concerned, and it boast of running the latest OS version for another year. A claim that can be made by only a handful devices in the Android world.

Aircel selling the iPhone 3GS for Rs. 9,999

People who have wanted an iPhone but could never afford it can now rejoice. Telecom company Aircel is now offering the iPhone 3GS for a reasonable price of Rs. 9,999.

To avail of the deal, customers have to pay an advance rental of Rs. 3,000 apart from the cost of the phone, which will offer them unlimited 3G connectivity for 12 months within 3G circles. The fair usage policy applies here, which downgrades the internet speed to 128 kbps after using up 2 GB of data. In places where only 2G network is available, users will get 1,000 minutes of local and STD calls, 2,500 local and national SMS, and an unlimited 2G data plan for 6 months.

The plan is available for only postpaid users. The plan seems more attractive for people living in Aircel’s 3G circles. The 2G offer seems to be a decent deal.

Aircel selling the iPhone 3GS at Rs. 9,999

If you are interested in buying a smartphone on a tight budget, this offer seems like a great deal. The unlimited 2G and 3G plans would interest many people who use the Internet on their phones a lot. Aircel has some of the cheapest 3G plans in the country. So even after the duration for which the benefits of the offer are avaialble is over, you can still get a decent internet plan for your phone. Though the iPhone 3GS may be more or less obsolete, after the release of the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and the upcoming release of the iPhone 5, the phone is still one of the best phones one can get at this price.

Here are the specs for the iPhone 3GS:

• 3.5-inch capacitive TFT touch screen, with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP only for headsets
• GPS with A-GPS support
• 3.15 megapixel camera with video recording at 30 fps
• 8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB internal memory, depending on the model
• 256 MB of RAM

The iPhone 3GS runs on the Cortex A8 processor clocked at 600 MHz. It is upgradeable to iOS 5.1 officially, and on the list of supported devices for the upcoming iOS 6. Developers who have tried out the beta builds of the latest version of iOS report that the phone works smoothly with it.

Earlier, the iPhone 3GS was available from Airtel and Aircel for Rs. 19,990.

Last July Aircel and Airtel launched the 8GB version of the iPhone 3GS with money back offers for Rs. 19,999 before it went on sale from retailers across India.

Aircel iPhone 3GS Postpaid Advance rental Plan

Benefits	3G circles	2G Circles
Free minutes/month (Local+National)	NA	1000 mins (Local+STD)
Free data/month	Unlimited	Unlimited
Free SMS/month	NA	2500 (L+N)
Validity	12 months	6 months
Device cost	Rs. 9999	Rs. 9999
Advance rental	Rs. 3000	Rs. 3000
Total Cost	Rs. 12,999	Rs. 12,999

In 3G (speeds up to 3.6 Mbps) circles, after 2GB speed would be throttled to 128 kbps. The iPhone 3GS is available from Aircel Stores. They have not announced any prepaid plans yet.