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.

How costly is iPhone 4 overseas?

Apple's iPhone 4, which was released by Airtel and Aircel in India 11 months after its international launch, is more expensive here than anywhere else on earth.

There was a time when handset giants used to launch their products in international markets first and then bring the products to India after one or two years, but now things are changing, with companies increasingly launching their handsets in India simultaneously or within a couple of months of the product's international launch.

Users in India would have loved to see the iPhone 4 launched in India at the same time as abroad, but better late than never: Apple iPhone 4 was released here courtesy Airtel and Aircel on May 27, almost a year after it was launched in international markets.

Aircel and Airtel are following an interesting strategy to market the phone, which amounts to a reverse subsidy. The iPhone 4 is priced at Rs 34,500 for the 16 GB model and nearly Rs 40,900 for the 32 GB model. You will have to pay the full price of the phone upfront; but can recover its cost if you stick to the same carrier (Aircel or Airtel) for two years.

You can, however, choose another carrier if you so desire. You can insert a micro-SIM card from carriers who provide it, such as Airtel and Aircel in India. At the same time, only GSM cards are supported by iPhone 4.

USA

The iPhone 4 was launched by AT&T in the USA in June 2010. New users could get the iPhone without a contract for about $600 (Rs 27,000) or $700 (about Rs 31,500), for the 16 GB and 32 GB versions, respectively.

However, existing customers of AT&T can get the 16 GB version of the iPhone 4 for just $200 (Rs 9,000), or 32 GB for $300 (about Rs 13,500). This offer is also available for those users who already have an iPhone but want to upgrade to iPhone 4. Upgraders will have to pay more than $400 (about Rs 18,000) or $500 (about Rs 22,500), and will be bound by a two year contract with AT&T.

Users can also buy their iPhone 4 through Verizon at similar price points. Verizon's network is CDMA(Code Division Multiple Access) based, hence data and voice cannot be used on the phone simultaneously.

Europe

In European countries such as the UK, France and Germany, the 16 GB version of the iPhone 4 is priced at 500 pounds (about Rs 37,000); whereas the 32 GB version costs 600 pounds (about Rs 44,500). These prices are for unbundled iPhone 4 devices, which means users can pick the carrier of their choice and choose their data plan accordingly. There are some bundled plans as well.

Australia and Japan

Just like in the rest of the world, iPhone 4 has become quite a rage in Australia as well. Users there have to pay Australian $860 (about Rs 41,500) for a 16 GB iPhone 4, and Australian $1,000 (about Rs 48,000) for 32 GB.

But here the iPhone 4 is not only available unlocked; it is also the telecos that are offering it without any contract, thus making it more expensive in India than anywhere else in the world. The major companies offering iPhone 4 in Australia are Vodafone, 3 and Telstra.

Japanese users have the option of paying 57,600 Yen (about Rs 32,000) for the 32 GB model or 46,080 Yen (about Rs 25,600) for the 16 GB model. The carriers offering iPhone 4 in Japan include NTT Docomo, Softbank and eAccess.