At last it is finally here. The iPhone 4 will be launched factory unlocked in India on May 27 at a price tag of INR 35k for 16GB and INR 41k for 32GB. However, there is a fine deal in there for heavy users. Apparently, Aircel and Airtel have introduced reverse subsidy model in which consumers can get 50% to 100% of their money back over a period of 2 years in form of discount on their monthly bills. This is exactly the kind of model that can succeed with Indian consumers.
While Airtel’s iPhone 4 page still says coming soon, Aircel has published reverse subsidy plans on their website (although with very bad HTML table coding – some columns are totally out of place!) detailing how the consumers will get their money back. Monthly rental ranges from INR 399 to INR 800 in which you get lots of local minutes and local + national SMSs.
I am not sure if everyone will be opting in for the reverse subsidy, although, I am sure that it will be successful in India and will pave the way for many other premium phones to be available within reach of much more consumers.
Nonetheless, this is good news for everyone waiting for the phone in India. Now instead of looking here and there for people coming in from abroad, you can go in and buy the phone yourself as the unsubsidized price is same as in other countries. In my opinion and experience of using the phone for the past 1 year, it is totally worth the price.
