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.