iPhone Launch in India - Will Nokia survive the hype?
The Hindu reports, “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 private telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar from August 22, giving competitors like Nokia, Samsung and others a run for their money”.
The first part may well be true but the latter is debatable. Is India ready for an iPhone yet?
The Apple gizmo, which packs a phone, audio and video player, a 2 mega pixel camera, faster Internet capabilities, and intelligent touch screen operation onto a single device left thousands of geeks queuing for the phone hours before stores announced launch of the iPhone. Will we see similar scenes in India? Let’s compare the scenario in India with the one abroad:
1. The cost factor - Many are assuming that the iPhone should cost slightly higher than Rs. 8000 (INR equivalent of USD 199) in India. However, what most people don’t know (or forget) is that this is a subsidized price, which comes as a part of a contract with carriers like AT&T in the USA. This model cannot work out in India - operators cannot subsidize the cost of the iPhone in India as unlike the US, they cannot make up for the loss by charging higher call rates.
2. iPhone vs. other brands (something that doesn’t exist in USA) - The process of buying a phone in the US is noticeably different from India. Majority of the customers buy post-paid plans and choose to buy whatever handset the carrier is offering in the bundled package. Although buying a handset separately and using it with a carrier of your choice is possible, the process is expensive and cumbersome. Hence, most people choose not to explore this option.
3. Indian market - In India, most users buy prepaid SIM cards and welcome the ability to dump their handsets or carriers for new ones on a very regular basis. Indians look for maximum bang for the buck while choosing prepaid carriers, frequently opt-in for discounted SMS and call rate schemes and are feature conscious while deciding which cell phones to buy. Most luxury products fail to make an impact in India like they do in other countries - not that Indians have less money, just that their priorities are different.
Potential for selling handsets in India is huge but most of the handsets are not high end models. People are not as tech savvy too. Basic telephone calling and some degree of text messaging works for most people. GPRS is expensive, hence rare. Bluetooth file exchanges are popular among youngsters and the iPhone does not have that feature.
Comparing the iPhone with other cell phones
Assuming that the iPhone comes out without a contract and is priced between Rs. 15,000 and 20,000, competitors in India would mainly include high end Windows Mobile based smartphones, including O2/HTC/iMate, high end phones in the Nokia E and N series, Blackberry devices and some of the high end models from various other manufacturers.
Comparing the iPhone and Nokia N95 handsets, here are some of the key advantages of each of these cell phones:
Advantages of Nokia N95 as compared to Apple iPhone:
1. GPS: The Nokia has a fully functional GPS with which you can really navigate and marks a step forward for convergence.
2. Messaging: The N95 supports IMAP4, POP3, and SMTP e-mail accounts and comes with a full attachment viewer. The N95 does support a number of push e-mail solutions, as well as Microsoft Exchange Server synchronization. Here the main advantage is the support for Microsoft Exchange server which is missing in the iPhone.
3. Ability to view MS Office documents, using a (bundled) application called QuickOffice, which lets you view Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.
4. Digital Camera: The phone sports a 5 mega-pixel digital camera uses Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with LED flash and also supports video recording.
5. Radio: The N95 also has an FM radio, though you’ll have to use the included headset to access the radio, since it acts as the tuner.
Advantages of Apple iPhone as compared to Nokia N95:
1. iPod: iPhone is a not just a phone it is widescreen iPod with touch controls that lets you enjoy all your content — including music, audio books, videos, TV shows, and movies — on a beautiful 3.5-inch widescreen display (Nokia N95 only has a 2.6 inch screen). The N95 does have a good media player, however with all the iPod features and 4 GB / 8 GB space, it makes the iPhone the best music phone.
2. Advanced Safari browser: iPhone lets you see any web page the way it was designed to be seen, then easily zoom in by simply tapping on the multi-touch display with your finger.
3. OS X: All the power and sophistication of an advanced operating system that gives you access to true desktop-class applications and software, including rich HTML email, applications such as widgets, Safari, calendar, text messaging, Notes, and Address Book etc. iPhone is fully multi-tasking, so you can read a web page while downloading your email in the background.
4. User Interface: iPhone features the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse. It’s an entirely new interface based on a large multi-touch display and innovative new software that lets you control everything using only your fingers.
It would be interesting to watch how companies like Nokia will be tackling this hype. They can sit quietly and watch if the iPhone will really the make the kind of impact they fear or it will become yet another high-end model which consumers give equal thought before buying a high end device. If it’s the latter, Nokia should not feel any threat - Nokia controls 40% of the market share worldwide and even if Apple achieves its goal of selling 10 million iPhones, they will still capture only 1% of the market.
It’ll be interesting to know how many of you actually go ahead and buy the iPhone when it’s launched. Please comment on this post and tell us whether or not you will be buying the iPhone and what makes you decide for/against it.
Kalpik on Aug 12, 2008
“uses Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with LCD flash”
You mean “LED”
Anyway, i for one think that the iPhone will not be as successful in india as its US counterpart.
Amit Ranjan on Aug 12, 2008
Gaurav
Excellent article … I think you must add the disclaimer that you are a Nokia fan!
Quick points about the iphone though-
I think the iphone addresses the single biggest problem with the mobile space - usability. Much of the buzz around the mobile gets negated because the form factor need dramatic improvement before it can really punch through for mass penetration.
Nokia probably played its part in improving mobile usability over the last few years and thats why it is in the dominant postion today. The iphone threatens their position becasue it takes usability to another level, though some of the entry barriers to using a iphone are significant, as your write up points out.
Gaurav Gupta on Aug 12, 2008
Thanks for pointing this out. Correcting it right away
Preetam Rai on Aug 12, 2008
The early adopters will be the existing hacked iPhone users and there are huge number of these guys already. And they payed premium for these already , do you think they will scoff at the price.
These users will provide a base for Indian developers to build localized applications and that will push the second wave of adoption.
I agree with you that Nokia’s domination is not threatened yet in India and other developing economies but give it a couple of years and they will feel the heat.
Saurabh Aggarwal on Aug 12, 2008
Nice post !!
To add some more:
There’s no Java in iPhone & as far as I know, you can’t even put your own mp3 songs in the phone, you’ve to purchase through iTunes, that would be really costly.
Buy a windows mobile, it has touchscreen + covers all these missing stuff in iPhones :).
Preetam Rai on Aug 12, 2008
“you can’t even put your own mp3 songs in the phone, you’ve to purchase through iTunes, that would be really costly.”
You can synchronize any mp3 file from you computer to iPhone via freely downloadable iTunes software. It is just like an iPod in that respect. As for Java, I don’t worry too much about it, you can build cool stuff with the free SDK.
Puneet Lakhina on Aug 12, 2008
The bundling of handset in US is made up for by the carriers by having contracts that make moving to another carrier very expensive. Its not by charging higher call rates AFAIK.
As for GPS:
“Maps on iPhone 3G combines GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell tower location technology with the Multi-Touch interface to create the best mobile map application ever”
http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/maps.html
Messaging & Media:
“Mail is a rich HTML email client on iPhone and iPod touch that works with the most popular email systems including Yahoo!, Gmail from Google, AOL, and MobileMe from Apple in addition to most industry-standard POP3, IMAP, and Microsoft Exchange email systems. Mail lets you send and receive photos and graphics, which are displayed in your message along with the text. Mail also allows you to view PDF, Microsoft Word, Excel and other attachments on iPhone or iPod touch.”
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1385
and btw, IMAP, POP is ok.. but SMTP is not a email synchronization protocol. Even if you are using IMAP and POP you will still be using SMTP to send out your mails. So a bit of terminology usage thing gone wrong there.
Overall, on the question of will the price sensitive indian market warm up to the iphone? probably yes, as hype goes a long way in India, and thats something the iphone has going for itself bigtime.
feature wise the user interface is something I am most curious about.
One additional thing that has made iphone a big hit overseas is probably the app store for which there is no equivalent in the Java/Symbian world. Although TMobile reportedly has some plans of coming up with something similar. http://blogs.zdnet.com/mobile-gadgeteer/?p=1348
Tushar Burman on Aug 12, 2008
As a long-time user of Nokia smartphones, I can say with some experience that there are many ways in which an iPhone falls short of the current crop. I can also say with some experience that none of those matter one bit once you get used to the fluid user experience.
An inaccuracy in your post: the iPhone does in fact allow full sync with Microsoft Exchange, including contacts, calendar, mail and GAL. In fact, it works better than Apple’s own MobileMe service.
As for the market in India, I have serious doubts as well. Consider the Blackberry model: all providers offer handsets at the same, obscene prices, while chuckling their way to the bank with expensive BB monthly plans. There isn’t any subsidization there, as far as I can tell. Your average BB handset costs 24,000 and above. The new HTC Touch Diamond costs near 28,000 I believe. From a brand positioning standpoint, it would be a disservice to Apple and the iPhone to price it lower.
Indian providers—Airtel or Vodafone—don’t have their back-ends sorted to take advantage of the revenue-generating potential of the iPhone, unless they offer some unlimited data plans, or put artificial restrictions in place against what you can/cannot do with the iPhone. They’re likely not going to get a cut from the App Store. I will be most interested in the details of the relationship they do have with Apple.
My conclusion—and I sincerely hope I’m wrong about this—is that the iPhone will be sold as just another expensive handset, severely limiting market potential. I hope that tech-savvy users will use the handset to its maximum potential and out indirect pressure on the whole ecosystem for smarter, better services.
PS: What you’ve read in the press is mostly regurgitated, uninformed rubbish.
Disclaimer: I am a member of the tech press and may or may not have bias based on my information. Opinions expressed are my own and in no way reflect fact or knowledge thereof.
Hari Swaminathan on Aug 12, 2008
Gaurav,
Two quick points about the Nokia advantages over the iphone that you have mentioned - # 2 and 3.
Exchange Server integration - IPhone does integrate with Exchange. I’m assuming the IPhone version will be the 3G version. If this is the case, then this integration exists.
Ability to view office documents - This has been available from the basic version of IPhone, and certainly expect it to continue in the 3G version as well.
Hari -
Samay Shah on Aug 12, 2008
Nokia has always been an expensive phone. exact features like Nokia has been provided by other companies at a lower rate and Nokia has taken the advantage to its brand name.
The after sales service of Nokia is pathetic.
I will surely buy an Iphone.
Samay.
Saurabh Aggarwal on Aug 14, 2008
Previously, price was speculated to be Rs20,000 ($475) and latest reports point new high price point. According to Indiatimes iPhone beauty will cost real big on your pocket, here goes:
* 8GB version will cost Rs31,000 ($738)
* 16GB version will cost between Rs36,000 – Rs37,000 ($857)
MCSE Training Pune on Aug 14, 2008
Nokia has a strong foot hold in the market from the basic models right up to the high end ones. Although the iPhone may disrupt it’s business(only one segment), Nokia is here to stay.
Manoj G. on Aug 14, 2008
The iPhone is a superior phone in the consumer space than whatever Nokia has. Price it below Rs. 20K and I will buy it without hesitation.
In the enterprise space, Blackberry may have some advantage based on its push technology.
Gautam Kshatriya on Aug 15, 2008
@Saurabh - your numbers sound reasonable, as Gaurav pointed out the $199 price is what you get when you sign up on contract… and these contracts tie you into the network operator for *at least* 2 years and often 3 years.
Gautam Kshatriya
gautam.kshatriya@moneyvidya.com
http://www.moneyvidya.com
Ravi on Aug 16, 2008
Yeah!
That’s quite a good pre-launch analysis of iPhone. It’s true that Majority of Indians go for low end models rather than high end models. But anyone who is looking for a good music, camera and go for high end models will definitely choose iPhone over Nokia or Sony Ericsson because of the style statement, hype and the richness factors attached to iPhone.
Though the sales of low and mid-end products of these majors will not affect by entry of iPhone, at high end it does get a huge competition.
http://mobile.ravisblognet.com/2008/06/book-your-apple-iphone-in-india-with.html
aroon on Aug 20, 2008
Sure I will try to buy the Iphone if it is in the 12K to 15K range………i will dump my N81 with one of my friends(already negotiated)!
Gaurav Gupta on Aug 20, 2008
Vodafone has finally made the prices official:
Rs. 31,000 for 8GB model
Rs. 36,100 for 16GB model
Perhaps the Nokia E90 communicator or the upcoming N96 is the right contender for comparing it with iPhone now
Dheeraj on Aug 20, 2008
iPhone 3G will be available in 2 exciting options:
1. 8 GB (Black) for Rs 31000
2. 16GB (White & Black) for Rs 36100
To celebrate the launch of the iPhone 3G in India, we will be opening three of our Airtel stores, one each in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore at the stroke of midnight 12.00am (Friday Morning) on August 22nd.
Manu on Aug 22, 2008
Hi all,
Though am a bit late to this, the price of IPhone in India has made me write this. 31 K !!! what exactly is apple smoking??
What I am wondering is why no one is talking about Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic phone, which am sure will Kick ass of IPhone in India.I just hope those dumbasses at nokia get it here quickly enough bfor everyone turns to the Hype-Phone