iPhone 4S: Obtainable at Airtel and Aircel in INDIA !!

In India, Apple’s iPhone 4S smartphone is now on hand for buy via two of the country’s largest wireless carriers, namely Airtel and Aircel.

Airtel and Aircel announced the release of this handset device with a price tag of Rs 44,500 ($865 / 642 Euros) attached to it for the 16GB model.

The 32GB and 64GB flavors of the iconic smartphone, pricing it at Rs 50,900 ($990 / 735 Euros) and Rs 57,500 ($1,120 / 830 Euros), respectively.

The iPhone 4S, regrettably, does not land on the market in India with features that will make it a lot different when compared to the International version.

Starting with November 18, the iPhone 4S was available for pre-order in the country and will arrive on user’s hands starting today, it seems.

The device features the same hardware and capabilities as the flavor that arrived in other markets around the world, starting with:
* the 3.5-inch widescreen touch display that can deliver a 960 x 640-pixel resolution.
* packs a dual-core A5 application processor inside, along with
* an 8-megapixel photo snapper on the back, with support for 1080p HD video recording.
* a front camera for video calling, as well as
* great browsing capabilities and
* enhanced gaming features courtesy of the new iOS 5 platform loaded on it.
* voice-activated personal assistant, Siri, which can be used for getting a lot of information by voice.
Siri can be used for finding the location of a specific restaurant, for example, as well as for making calls, sending messages, or even for scheduling meetings the like.

iPhone 4 and iPhone 3S, go at the moment for Rs 37,900 (8GB) and for Rs 20,900 (8GB), respectively. Apple iPhone 4S has been released on the Indian market Next to the previously available iPhone 4 and iPhone 3S.

Airtel announces iPhone 4 8GB at Rs 37,900

Airtel has finally taken the wraps off its iPhone 4 8GB and has priced it at Rs 37,900, which will be available from November 25 along with the new iPhone 4S and the older iPhone 3GS 8GB. Ironically, users can still get hold of the iPhone 4 16GB variant, which will be discontinued from tomorrow), for Rs 35,500! Most stores have ran out of stocks but they can still be found in some places. In all likelihood, Aircel will also offer the iPhone 4 8GB for Rs 37,900. While we won’t get into the blame game of who is responsible for these absurd pricing – Apple or the carriers – there is no way they can justify the pricing of a lower capacity version of the same product on the depreciating Rupee. If you still want to go for an iPhone 4, we suggest you recce the market and get hold of the 16GB variant today. Happy hunting!

Apple iPhone 4 refurbished units will be available in India for Rs 22,500

While we are waiting for an official announcement, we can confirm that Apple iPhone 4 factory refurbished units are now available in India for Rs 22,500 for the 16GB variant. These units come with proper bill and one-year warranty. Refurbished units should not be confused with usual second-hand units – these are sent back to the assembly factory where they are cleaned, and some components changed. They come with the same support as new phones. We are also hearing there is a shortage of brand-new iPhone 4 16GB, which can be attributed to the upcoming iPhone 4S launch in India on November 25. Apple will introduce the 8GB variant of the iPhone 4 and discontinue both the 16GB and 32GB variants once the iPhone 4S is launched. If you are still looking for an affordable iPhone 4, we think the refurbished units will be your best bet. Apple retails refurbished units in other countries too.

Apple iPhone 4S price around the world

Late last week, both Airtel and Aircel announced some ridiculous prices for the iPhone 4S that goes on sale on Friday, November 25. For those living under a rock – Rs 44,500 (16GB), Rs 49,900 (32GB) and Rs 57,500 (64GB). Over the weekend I wrote I won’t be buying the iPhone 4S from India as it is not worth paying the high premium just to get after sales support. Hardly anything goes wrong with an iPhone (unless you are jinxed) and physical damage (busted display etc) are not covered under warranty anyway. Yes, there are some interesting alternatives coming up for the iPhone 4S (which were mentioned in the same article) but still I would love to have an iPhone 4S.

So I spent most of my Sunday figuring out where do you get the cheapest iPhone 4S and prepared a cheatsheet. Yes, Hong Kong offers the cheapest price (Rs 33,500 for 16GB) but it is out of stock with no indication of when it will be available. Also, it helps if you have friends or family in any of these countries who happen to be coming back soon, so you can figure out whether they can carry one for you. And to top things off, they might even be eligible for a VAT/GST refund in case they are non-residents in that country, which could sweeten the deal even more. Read on to find which country you should aim to get your iPhone 4S from.

Spoiler Alert: NOT INDIA!

Some disclaimers: Apple won’t provide any after-sales service or support in India for iPhones bought outside India. In case there is some manufacturing defect/other fault, you won’t be able to get it serviced at any Apple authorized service center. We have rounded off the figures for ease of use and are indicative prices that might vary with the actual cost. All prices mentioned below include local taxes. You can check at the Apple Store whether you are eligible for a tax refund. If eligible, the store will offer a tax refund certificate that can be refunded at the airport while leaving that country. All the prices mentioned below are for iPhone 4S 16GB

Aircel’s iPhone 4S 64GB sold out within hours

Aircel’s iPhone 4S 64GB sold out within hours

Aircel’s iPhone 4S pre-order started much later than Airtel’s yesterday. While both carriers had the same price for the iPhone 4S, it was only Aircel that offered the iPhone 4S 64GB variant for a princely Rs 57,500! However, if Aircel’s pre-order site is to be believed, the highest-end version of the iPhone 4S was sold out within hours of the pre-orders going live. We had readers pinging us within five hours, telling us about it being sold out! We do not know how many units Aircel had of the iPhone 4S 64GB but we know for a fact both carriers have very limited stocks of all the three variants, something the carriers were not really happy about. We are also yet to come across anyone who pre-ordered the 64GB variant

New iPad due in March, aluminum iPhone 5 may launch this summer

Apple reportedly plans to launch a slightly thicker (0.7mm) iPad in March with a dual-backlit display and a new high-resolution screen. It may be shown off in January if it’s ready in time, iLounge reports. In addition, iLounge cites its “most reliable source” in stating that Apple will likely launch the iPhone 5 next summer. In contrast to a number of rumors, the site says that the iPhone 5 does not have a tear-drop design. Instead, it will be 8mm longer than the current model and will sport a metal case as well as a 4-inch display. Lastly, Apple’s MacBook Pro line will be updated in 2012 and the new models will be thinner than the current generation notebooks, the report claims.

Official Prices of iPhone in India

Official Prices of iPhone in India

Airtel & Aircel are about to sell iPhone 4S in India starting from November 25th. also they have revised the prices of iPhone 3GS & iPhone 4.


the price of their current 3 model range of iPhones are :

iPhone 3GS (8GB) : Rs 20,900
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iPhone 4 (8GB) : Rs 37,900
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iPhone 4S (16GB) : Rs 44,500
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iPhone 4S (32GB) : Rs 50,900
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iPhone 4S (64GB) : Rs 57,500-
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Refurbished iPhone 4 (16GB) starts from Rs 22,500
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Carrier stores leak iPhone 4S price in India

While we still wait for the iPhone 4S pre-orders to go live on Aircel, we are hearing whispers of iPhone 4S pricing in India courtesy Aircel and Airtel stores in the city. According to them (mind you, it is not an official announcement) the iPhone 4S will be available for Rs 44,500 (16GB), Rs 50,900 (32GB) and Rs 57,500 (64GB). The iPhone 4 8GB will be available for Rs 37,900, which would be more expensive than what its 16GB version was introduced in India. The iPhone 3GS 8GB has also received a price hike and will now cost Rs 20,900, according to an Airtel Store. There is no word on tariff plans and we are not sure how any tariff plan. We are not sure why anyone would buy an iPhone 4S from India and not simply ask friends or relatives to pick up factory unlocked ones from the US, instead.

Aircel starts pre-booking iPhone 4S from Nov 18 plus some exclusive details

Aircel today announced it will start pre-booking for the iPhone 4S from November 18, with the launch happening on November 25. This is line with what we have been exclusively reporting for over a fortnight now. Both Airtel and Aircel will initiate the fanfare that usually happens with any iPhone launch on November 24, with sales starting from midnight in select stores in major cities.

Apart from the online pre-booking, we are also hearing at least one carrier might also have some online booking post the launch. Our sources are indicating the carriers have received lower number of units than what they would have liked. Apple is reportedly diverting a big chunk of its iPhone 4S inventory to Europe and the US, where the demand remains high despite reports of battery woes that have not been fully resolved with the recent iOS 5.0.1 update. The shortage of iPhone 4S inventory is expected to continue till January, once the holiday season shopping frenzy in the west subsides.

Siri Finally Gets Cracked! Can Now Be Ported To Android, Mac, iPhone 4, iPad 2!

You read it right, folks! You’ll be able to soon to run Siri on any device you just wish. Applidium, a French engineering firm, has managed to crack Siri’s security protocol that made Siri limited to the iPhone 4S. In other words, you’ll be able to run Siri on any device including Android, Mac and Windows.

This also includes any model of the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Siri is now not limited to the iPhone 4S, it can run on any iOS device and even on non-iOS devices.

What’s more amazing? Well, the awesome thing about this is that developers can now integrate Siri inside their apps too.

The iPhone 4S really sends raw audio data. It’s compressed using the Speex audio codec, which makes sense as it’s a codec specifically tailored for VoIP.The iPhone 4S sends identifiers everywhere. So if you want to use Siri on another device, you still need the identfier of at least one iPhone 4S. Of course we’re not publishing ours, but it’s very easy to retrieve one using the tools we’ve written. Of course Apple could blacklist an identifier, but as long as you’re keeping it for personal use, that should be alright!

The developers also found that Apple uses a lot of information when it communicates with its servers when it comes to Siri:


The protocol is actually very, very chatty. Your iPhone sends a tons of things to Apple’s servers. And those servers reply an incredible amount of informations. For example, when you’re using text-to-speech, Apple’s server even reply a confidence score and the timestamp of each word.


There’s only one bad thing; you’ll need a UDID of an iPhone 4S to get this cracking working on your device so at any time Apple could block the UDID you used. This means tat Apple could push a fix once it’s released, another cat and mouse game!

Siri was successfully ported to the iPhone 4 and iPod touch couple of weeks back. It has been also connected to Apple’s servers successfully.