Aircel is offering the iPhone 3GS in India for INR 9,999. This is the lowest price we have seen for the device in India. People planning to buy the phone should rejoice. However, lets take a look at all the bells and whistles the operator is claiming to offer.
The above mentioned low price is for Aircel’s postpaid customers. If you are a prepaid customer, yo have to pay INR 19,999. This is probably the first time an operator is giving an advantage to the postpaid customers over prepaid ones in India. Customers also have to pay INR 3000 which goes towards unlimited data if they are in a 3G circle, or free minutes and message if they are in a 2G circle.
Here are the postpaid plans available with the iPhone 3GS:
The free 3G data is actually not unlimited as mentioned. Its 2GB data at 3G speed and then your speed is throttled to 2G speed for the rest of the month.
The prepaid plans are as follows:
As you can see, going for the postpaid plan is a better choice, especially if you are in a 2G circle.
This is a good move by Aircel. The other operators should now buckle up and compete. We would love to see the iPhone 4 at those price points in India.
[via BGR India and Think Digit]