Airtel and Vodafone bring the iPhone 3G to India

Recently, Bharti Airtel announced a tie-up with Apple to launch the 3G
version of the iPhone in India later this year. The iPhone was launched at a
price of $199 in America, but certainly it would not be that cheap in India. It
is expected to cost around Rs 20,000 for the 8 GB iPhone and around Rs
24,000-26,000 for the 16 GB iPhone. Interestingly, not only Airtel, even
Vodafone has recently announced its tie-up with Apple to bring the iPhone to
India.

iPhone 3G combines all the revolutionary features of the iPhone with a much
enhanced 3G network that is twice as fast as the first generation iPhone. As the
name implies, the iPhone can access high-speed 3G mobile networks built on the
UMTS/WCDMA technology. The basic difference between the 2G GSM network and the
3G networks is that the entry-level 3G networks provide data transmission rates
of up to 360 Kbps. If HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) technology is
available, the iPhone will have HSDPA on which the maximum data transmission is
3.6 Mbps. Corporate email users who have a Microsoft Exchange system at work,
can read and send emails on the iPhone using Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync
feature. Also, with a built-in GPS receiver, maps are available for navigation.

Photographers can post their pictures on shared maps on the Internet because
GPS can save the exact location where the images were captured.

Apple ignited the PC revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and later
reinvented the PC in the 80s. Now, Apple continues to grow in the digital media
revolution with its iPods and video players and iTunes online store, and has
entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

However, Apple wants to control all software downloaded into the iPhone for
security and business reasons, and hence Java applications cannot be used on the
iPhone. If anybody is contemplating the bits, bytes, and prices of data plan one
can make full use of the iPhones Wi-Fi capability. The Wi-Fi can be used for the
Internet and email access instead of 3G or 2G mobile networks, thereby
minimizing data usage via mobile network and subscribe to a smaller data plan.

But even the much awaited legal version of the iPhone 3G comes with its own
share of flaws. One would be amazed to know that the iPhone does not have the
option to send MMS and neither does it have a video recording facility. The
iPhone also does not support Adobe's Flash that means multimedia-rich sites are
off limits even though the screen size is 3.5 inches. Another problem that comes
with the phone is that it does not have a replaceable battery so the phone goes
off with its battery. Finally, but most importantly, buying the iPhone 3G may be
cheaper but owning it won't be the same. The expensive but mandatory data plans
by service providers are sure to escalate the cost.

Sunny Sen

sunnys@cybermedia.co.in