The mobile market in India and outside are very different due to the inherent nature of the users and the population. Premium services are slow to pick up in India and operators are focused only on increasing their subscriber base.
Iphone is all set to change all that. Targeting a premium set of users and focusing on the data usage rather than calls or sms, and then with their cool interface and PR stunts they have taken the control from the operator.
Iphone, for the first time in the history of handsets is choosing which operator to partner with. Till now it was the other way round. Operators sqeezed money out of handset manufacturers. Reliance is the best example. There are even rumors that Reliance caused an insurance company to go bankrupt with their handset insurance schemes.
Iphone makes money not only by selling the phone. Apple gets a share of the data revenues from Iphone users. Now that explains the applications that come pre installed with the Iphone. They all are data hungry.
The Iphone phenomena caused the change of power from operator to handset manufacturer and the consumer. Iphone is coming to India soon and it will really upset the existing handset market.
I had a chance to use the I Phone last month. I dont know how successful it will be. I found it to be too heavy and very delicate. Though it comes with a cool touch screen, it is actually difficult to get used to it. The one that I saw was a hacked one that could run on any network – but you loose warranty if you hack the phone.
But to tell you the truth – how many of us use all the features of our phones – many of us dont even know some of the advanced features. The good old days of 1100 are over….
Comment by John — January 22, 2008 @ 6:40 pm