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iPhone hits major Indian cities
Sandeep Joshi
NEW DELHI: The iconic touch-screen iPhone from the U.S.-technology major Apple was launched here at midnight on Thursday at glittering functions organised by the two leading mobile operators, Airtel and Vodafone Essar.
Priced at Rs. 31,000 for the 8 GB model and Rs. 36,100 for the 16 GB one, Apple has exclusively tied up with the two operators that will initially sell the latest iPhone 3G from their outlets in the four metros — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata — besides Hyderabad and Bangalore. Apart from exclusive outlets of mobile operators, iPhone will also be available at Apple stores.
Both Airtel and Vodafone Essar will be selling the iPhone with non-cancellable contract, offering its users various data and other plans. Soon the Apple smartphone will be available in over 50 cities across India.
“We are offering an attractive bolt-on data plan , offering free 500 MB a month, for the first 12 months for all iPhone users, besides giving m-check e-commerce service and access to our portal Airtel Live,” said Sanjay Kapoor, Airtel’s President (Mobile Services).
Mr. Kapoor said iPhone users would typically be high-ARPU (average revenue per user) customers who were technologically savvy and wanted a best-in-class infotainment device.
Mr. Kapoor said over 2 lakh customers had pre-registered with Airtel after it announced plans to launch the phone in India about a fortnight ago. He, however, did not reveal the number of bookings. “The numbers would be out only after two weeks. But I can say the response has been very encouraging,” he added. Airtel has kept the advance money at Rs. 5,000 and the balance is to be paid at the time of delivery of the device; Vodafone is asking a booking amount of Rs. 10,000.
Asked about the high price of the iPhone compared to developed markets such as the U.S. where the mobile gadget costs the equivalent of Rs. 8,500, Mr. Kapoor said India was primarily a pre-paid market while the U.S. was mainly a post-paid market where phone bundling was not common. “We are offering various data and other packages with the iPhone, therefore the prices are high. An iPhone without bundling would cost the same as in other developed markets,” he added.
Referring to their sales strategy and support, Mr. Kapoor said: “To deliver world class experience in Airtel stores, we have extensively trained more than 3,000 employees in 41 towns in sales and service of the device.”
Friday, August 22, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Apple's iPhone to hit Airtel outlets on August 22
Apple's iPhone, the touch screen handset that acquired a cult status in the US and other western countries, will be available to Indian mobile users through Bharti Airtel at the stroke of midnight on August 21, giving competitors like Nokia, Samsung and others a run for their money.
Millions of Airtel subscribers will be able to purchase the iPhone at Airtel's Relationship Centres from August 22, a company statement said here.
"iPhone has been an iconic technological revelation of this year and Airtel has been at the forefront of innovation and customer delight in the Indian telecom sector," Sanjay Kapoor, President, Bharti Airtel mobile services, said.
iPhone is embedded with all 3G features and is twice as fast as the existing mobile phones.
The phone also has in-built GPS system, that facilitates as a navigation and positioning tool.
US-based Apple has tied up with Airtel and Vodafone to bring iPhone in the country.
Asked at what price it will be available, Bharti Airtel officials declined to give details.
"Introducing iPhone in India further underscores Bharti's commitment to enrich the communication experience of Airtel users," Kapoor said.
Leading cell phone makers like Nokia, Motorola and Samsung have stepped up their R&D efforts to bring feature rich phones in India to compete iPhones.
Vodafone is also slated to bring Apples's iPhone this year.
Millions of Airtel subscribers will be able to purchase the iPhone at Airtel's Relationship Centres from August 22, a company statement said here.
"iPhone has been an iconic technological revelation of this year and Airtel has been at the forefront of innovation and customer delight in the Indian telecom sector," Sanjay Kapoor, President, Bharti Airtel mobile services, said.
iPhone is embedded with all 3G features and is twice as fast as the existing mobile phones.
The phone also has in-built GPS system, that facilitates as a navigation and positioning tool.
US-based Apple has tied up with Airtel and Vodafone to bring iPhone in the country.
Asked at what price it will be available, Bharti Airtel officials declined to give details.
"Introducing iPhone in India further underscores Bharti's commitment to enrich the communication experience of Airtel users," Kapoor said.
Leading cell phone makers like Nokia, Motorola and Samsung have stepped up their R&D efforts to bring feature rich phones in India to compete iPhones.
Vodafone is also slated to bring Apples's iPhone this year.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Harkishan Singh Surjeet passes away
The Marxist pioneer and former general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Harkishan Singh Surjeet, who passed away on Friday, was a grand old revolutionary.
The end came at the Metro Hospital in Noida at 1.35 p.m. Hospitalised on May 6 following a respiratory crisis, the 92-year-old survivor of several transformative eras and health crises gradually slipped into a coma but recovered and was discharged. He was again hospitalised on July 7 following the onset of fever and lung infection. Doctors said a massive cardiac arrest combined with septicaemia due to persistent pneumonia was the cause of death.
Tributes came from all quarters. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described him as a great political leader, a true patriot who was committed to the welfare of the downtrodden. President Pratibha Patil and Congress President Sonia Gandhi said his death was a loss not only to the Communist movement but to the entire country. BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani said that in Mr. Surjeet’s death Indian politics lost a veteran and the Marxist movement a dedicated activist.
Expressing profound grief at the passing away of Mr. Surjeet, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said the party lost an outstanding leader and the country an authoritative representative of the Left and secular tradition. Hailing him as the “most authoritative spokesman for the Left and democratic forces in the country,” the Polit Bureau said Mr. Surjeet played a remarkable role in the defence of national unity and in formulating policies to counter the threat from divisive forces.
CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said Mr. Surjeet was one of the builders of the Communist movement in the country and tirelessly worked for realising the goal of a classless society. Recalling his long association with the veteran Marxist leader, Mr. Karat said: “In his death, the Communist movement and progressive and secular forces have suffered an irreparable loss.”
The nonagenarian CPI(M) leader is survived by his wife, Pritam Kaur, their two sons and daughter. His body will be kept on Sunday morning at the party headquarters, AKG Bhavan, here. Cremation is scheduled to take place here in the evening.
The end came at the Metro Hospital in Noida at 1.35 p.m. Hospitalised on May 6 following a respiratory crisis, the 92-year-old survivor of several transformative eras and health crises gradually slipped into a coma but recovered and was discharged. He was again hospitalised on July 7 following the onset of fever and lung infection. Doctors said a massive cardiac arrest combined with septicaemia due to persistent pneumonia was the cause of death.
Tributes came from all quarters. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described him as a great political leader, a true patriot who was committed to the welfare of the downtrodden. President Pratibha Patil and Congress President Sonia Gandhi said his death was a loss not only to the Communist movement but to the entire country. BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani said that in Mr. Surjeet’s death Indian politics lost a veteran and the Marxist movement a dedicated activist.
Expressing profound grief at the passing away of Mr. Surjeet, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said the party lost an outstanding leader and the country an authoritative representative of the Left and secular tradition. Hailing him as the “most authoritative spokesman for the Left and democratic forces in the country,” the Polit Bureau said Mr. Surjeet played a remarkable role in the defence of national unity and in formulating policies to counter the threat from divisive forces.
CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said Mr. Surjeet was one of the builders of the Communist movement in the country and tirelessly worked for realising the goal of a classless society. Recalling his long association with the veteran Marxist leader, Mr. Karat said: “In his death, the Communist movement and progressive and secular forces have suffered an irreparable loss.”
The nonagenarian CPI(M) leader is survived by his wife, Pritam Kaur, their two sons and daughter. His body will be kept on Sunday morning at the party headquarters, AKG Bhavan, here. Cremation is scheduled to take place here in the evening.
IAEA board approves India safeguards agreement
With the words “It is so decided” and the bang of the chairman’s gavel, the India safeguards agreement was adopted by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday evening.
In an indication of how significant the decision is for the arcane and often opaque world of nuclear politics, virtually every one of the 35 countries which make up the IAEA’s apex body took the floor to make statements either endorsing India’s case or, in the case of the majority, expressing reservations and qualifications of one kind or another. Three countries — Austria, Ireland and Switzerland — could barely disguise their unhappiness.
But in the end, the hard sell indulged in by the U.S. and India —and the strong backing the agreement received from IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei — ensured that the text sailed through without a vote.
The meeting began at 10.40 a.m. and ran until lunch, by when all board members who wished to make statements prior to the adoption had spoken.
When the meeting reconvened two hours later, the BoG’s Chilean chair, Milenko E. Skoknic, summed up the discussion and suggested that the Director General be authorised to “conclude and implement” the safeguards agreement with India. He then looked around the room quickly to make sure that no delegation was raising its flag to call for a vote and reached for his gavel.
If those few seconds before the gavel sounded provided the only moments of tension for the Indian delegation during the day, the statement made by several countries at the meeting made it clear the battle to end India’s nuclear isolation has only been postponed to the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Ireland, Austria, Japan and even Brazil pointedly declared that their going along with the consensus at the IAEA did not mean they would sit quiet when the 45-nation nuclear cartel discusses India’s case next month.
New Zealand, which spoke as an observer, said it did not wish to say much about the safeguards agreement since it was not a member of the BoG. But it said it would make its stand on India clear at the NSG.
The approval of the agreement pushes the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal one step closer towards the finishing line and paves the way for as many as eight additional Indian nuclear power reactors to come under international safeguards in phases once lifetime fuel supply arrangements for them are concluded. In all, India has undertaken to place 14 reactors under safeguards, six of which are already subject to inspections.
In a statement to the press after the Board meeting, Dr. Baradei expressed the hope that the agreement “would also be certified by the Suppliers Group.”
Speaking to reporters outside the boardroom, Department of Atomic Energy chairman Anil Kakodkar said “the significant point is that the safeguards agreement has been adopted by consensus.”
He hoped the NSG would give a clean and unconditional waiver to waiver.
In an indication of how significant the decision is for the arcane and often opaque world of nuclear politics, virtually every one of the 35 countries which make up the IAEA’s apex body took the floor to make statements either endorsing India’s case or, in the case of the majority, expressing reservations and qualifications of one kind or another. Three countries — Austria, Ireland and Switzerland — could barely disguise their unhappiness.
But in the end, the hard sell indulged in by the U.S. and India —and the strong backing the agreement received from IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei — ensured that the text sailed through without a vote.
The meeting began at 10.40 a.m. and ran until lunch, by when all board members who wished to make statements prior to the adoption had spoken.
When the meeting reconvened two hours later, the BoG’s Chilean chair, Milenko E. Skoknic, summed up the discussion and suggested that the Director General be authorised to “conclude and implement” the safeguards agreement with India. He then looked around the room quickly to make sure that no delegation was raising its flag to call for a vote and reached for his gavel.
If those few seconds before the gavel sounded provided the only moments of tension for the Indian delegation during the day, the statement made by several countries at the meeting made it clear the battle to end India’s nuclear isolation has only been postponed to the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Ireland, Austria, Japan and even Brazil pointedly declared that their going along with the consensus at the IAEA did not mean they would sit quiet when the 45-nation nuclear cartel discusses India’s case next month.
New Zealand, which spoke as an observer, said it did not wish to say much about the safeguards agreement since it was not a member of the BoG. But it said it would make its stand on India clear at the NSG.
The approval of the agreement pushes the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal one step closer towards the finishing line and paves the way for as many as eight additional Indian nuclear power reactors to come under international safeguards in phases once lifetime fuel supply arrangements for them are concluded. In all, India has undertaken to place 14 reactors under safeguards, six of which are already subject to inspections.
In a statement to the press after the Board meeting, Dr. Baradei expressed the hope that the agreement “would also be certified by the Suppliers Group.”
Speaking to reporters outside the boardroom, Department of Atomic Energy chairman Anil Kakodkar said “the significant point is that the safeguards agreement has been adopted by consensus.”
He hoped the NSG would give a clean and unconditional waiver to waiver.
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