Apple iPhone, the touchscreen handset that seems to have acquired a cult status in the US and other western countries, is finally hitting Indian shores this month.
While Bharti Airtel has announced that it will launch iPhone on August 22, Vodafone may steal its arch rival’s thunder by launching the eagerly-awaited phone a few days earlier on August 18. In fact, Indiatimes Infotech was the first to report that Vodafone will launch iPhone in India in August.
Both the companies remain tight lipped on pricing and other details.
In a statement, Bharti said that millions of Airtel subscribers will be able to purchase the iPhone at Airtel's Relationship Centres from August 22.
"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, which facilitates as navigation and positioning tool.
"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 iPhone.
Apple Inc's iPhone 3G is ready to serve business customers as an alternative to the BlackBerry email phone, so long as users are willing to compromise on security and battery life, Gartner Inc said.
Software released last month adds support for Microsoft Corp's Exchange corporate email system and offers the ability to erase data if the device is lost, making Apple's handset ‘acceptable’ for business use, analyst Ken Dulaney said in a report released by Gartner, a research firm.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs began selling the iPhone last year to consumers, seeking to expand beyond the iPod media player and Macintosh computer. The company has added business features to step up competition with Research In Motion Ltd's BlackBerry and Palm Inc's Treo.
About a third of Fortune 500 companies are testing the new iPhone software, Apple said.
Employees at Kraft Foods Inc, the world's second-largest foodmaker, will be able to use the iPhone to access email and calendars, said Mark Dajani, the company's senior vice president of information systems.
“Our employees need easy access to key business applications -- everywhere our consumers live around the globe,'' he said.
Kraft, based in Northfield, Illinois, already lets workers access their email from the Treo or Samsung Electronics Co's BlackJack. Genentech Inc and Oracle Corp also are starting to support the iPhone, said Cupertino, California-based Apple.
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