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.

Aircel iPhone 4S Zero Rental Plans

Aircel now offers zero rental plans for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB iPhone 4S. This would offer Rs 18,000 worth free usage on 3G and Rs 15,000 worth free usage on 2G for 1 year. The free usage include, free voice calling, 3G / 2G data , Wi-Fi data and SMS. They announced the price for the iPhone 4S on 18th November and it went on sale on 25th November.  They also offer 0% EMI for ICICI and HDFC bank credit card holders.
Aircel iPhone 4S zero rental 3G plans

  

Aircel iPhone 4S zero rental 2G plans

 

After free usage all the local and STD calls would be charged at 1p/sec, SMS would be charged at Rs. 1, Rs.1.50 for local and national SMS. Data charges at 10p/10kb. The free Wi-Fi data could be accessed via Aircel Wi-Fi zones in select cities across India.
Will you get the iPhone 4S from Aircel with the Zero rental plans?

 

Aircel - Innovating to Grow

Aircel proves to be the most sought after and unbeatable telecom operator when it comes to offering innovative and customer driven schemes for subscribers; and the fastest pan-India launch of GSM services.

Aircel has fast moved from a mere spoke in the wheel to a company to watch out for in the telecom arena and retained the 8th position in the annual V&D100 survey. Aircel has grown to `5,392 crore in terms of revenue in FY11 (from `3,743 crore in FY10) showing a remarkable growth of 44.1%. It captured a market share of 2.9%.

On the subscribers front, Aircel added over 48 mn subscribers in FY11 as compared to 36.86 mn in FY10.

Aircel, last fiscal, aggressively launched its GSM operations in all its circles and completed its pan-India footprint. Aircel currently operates in all 23 telecom circles. With a subscriber base of over 48 mn, Aircel extended its services across Rajasthan, its 23rd circle.

Aircel acquired 3G licenses for 13 telecom circles and plans to launch 3G services in other circles through strategic alliances. The operators expects 30% of their subscribers to shift to 3G platform in the next 3-4 years.

In terms of investment, Aircel's commitment to the market is underlined by the investment of over $8 bn that it has already been made and plans to spend a further $3 bn in the next 3 years' time frame. The operator is already following planned promotion model for its 3G services in India. Aircel launched a 3G experience zone in Chennai for consumers to get a first-hand feel of 3G mobile telephony and its wonders.

Aircel tied up with INQ Mobile last year and launched social mobile INQ CHAT 3G and INQ MINI 3G which offers social experience of being connected with friends, family and loved ones 24x7. INQ on Aircel offers Facebook and Twitter experience as it is deeply integrated in the handset. It's not Facebook 'ON' your phone , but its Facebook 'IN' your phone, the application is always on and always connected. INQ CHAT 3G and INQ MINI 3G is now available in 55 cities and is sold from Aircel retail outlets.

Aircel positioned itself as the company which connects with the youth in innovative ways such as offering INQ-the first social mobile in the country, Aircel unlimited dialer tunes, etc. Aircel smartly targeted this community which comprises 51% of the total population, increasing its market share significantly in a short span.

Apps Store

Operators commercially launched the mobile application store dubbed as 'Pocket Apps Store' for its postpaid and prepaid subscribers across India in the last fiscal. The apps store is a centralized hub for mobile applications developed specifically for mobile phones.

Aircel also tied up with Blyk, a UK based organization and launched 'Blyk on Aircel' in India. Blyk sends the content by way of messages (SMS and MMS) across categories like entertainment, sports, lifestyle comprising travel, fashion, wellness, gadgets etc, and other activities such as city specific events, dating and relationship tips, comics and career advice.

Strengthening its hold on data services, Aircel introduced the first telehealthcare delivery on mobile in association with Apollo Hospitals Group. This service is providing a structured medical advice and a disposition based on the symptoms and is available round-the-clock from qualified Apollo Clinicians.

Among new applicatons, the company launched a detective mobile series-Kriminal Kaun-introduced by New Media,the digital entity of Balaji telefilms Ltd. This series or 'audiosodes' are available in both, Hindi and Tamil language.

Aircel, Huawei complete LTE field trial in India

NEW DELHI: Telecom operator Aircel and telecom equipment maker Huawei announced to complete field trial of LTE-TDD technology in combination with two existing wireless technology namely GSM and UMTS using chipset from Qualcomm.

"Aircel is pleased to be the first telecom service provider to have successfully experienced LTE-TDD functionality using multimode devices based on Qualcomm chipset in our GSM,UMTS, LTE-TDD network provided by Huawei at Hyderabad," Mallikarjun Rao, CTO of Aircel said.

Aircel is a pan India operator. It has 3G spectrum in 13 circles and BWA spectrum in eight circles.

GSM, UMTS and TDD LTE come under category of 2G, 3G and 4G technology, respectively.

Huawei spokesperson told PTI that during trial peak data transfer speed of 245 megabyte per second during was achieved.

"The peak rate was achieved both in fixed and mobile condition of device moving at speed between 3 to 5 kilometer per hour," Suresh Vaidyanathan, spokesperson, Huawei India said.

This means that a person moving at speed of 3 to 5 km per hour can download content of compact disc like a bollywood movie in 3 seconds. A compact disc can generally store 700 to 800 megabyte of data.

After completion of this trial, Huawei said it is now ready to deploy commercial LTE-TDD network for GSM and UMTS mobile operators for mobile broadband in India.

"This first inter operability test on an existing UMTS network will stimulate the mobile broadband market in India, and show the way forward for the LTE industry," Deng Taihua, the president of Huawei's WiMAX, TD-SCDMA and LTE-TDD product line.

In India, most telecom operators have indicated to adopt Long Term Evaluation (LTE) Technology for rolling out Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) services.

Though FDD version of LTE is available in some countries, Indian telecom operators for some technical reason can only deploy Time Division Duplex (TDD) version of LTE.

However, non-availability of TDD LTE chipsets and equipments commercially had kept roll-out of BWA services by private telecom companies on hold in the country, even though BWA spectrum was allocated to companies in October, 2010.

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.

Aircel launches iPhone-4 in Hyderabad

GSM mobile network operator Aircel, a 74:26 JV between Maxis Berhad of Malaysia and the Apollo Hospitals Group, launched the much-awaited iPhone 4 from the Apple’s stable in Hyderabad today.

Speaking to mediapersons after the launch at Technovision multi-branded mobile store here, Hamir Bakshi, regional business head (south), Aircel, said the company’s tie-up with Apple offered an important combination of Aircel’s 3G network and iPhone 4’s video calling features.

“Our association with Apple has just started. We have not set any specific targets in terms of sales numbers but are looking at the tie-up as an access point to a new profile of customers,” he said.

The 16GB Apple iPhone 4 will retail for Rs 34,500, and the 32GB version for Rs 40,900. It has two cameras – on the front which focuses on the user, and one on the back, which focuses on everything else.

Bakshi said 3G services could give PCOs a facelift with its owners offering features like video calling at cheap rates. “Video calling at PCOs offers a real value preposition. We, however, are not looking at it (PCOs) right now but are expecting the entrepreneurs to take a cue from our 3G networks and go for it,” he added.