New Delhi, April 11: Indians will at last get their hands on the iPhone 4 — the not so new version of Apple’s smartphone, which has revolutionised the cellullar market with its dazzling array of features and gorgeous looks.
Bharti Airtel and Aircel today announced that they would launch the iPhone 4 in the coming months, though they were tightlipped on the launch date as well as the price.
“iPhone 4 is the most innovative phone in the world, featuring Apple’s stunning Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone, and FaceTime, which makes video calling a reality,” similar statements by Bharti and Aircel said.
Analysts said the $65-billion California-based technology giant had again stayed true to its approach of sending its gadgets to India at the tail end of their product cycles. The iPhone 4 was first released in the US and four other countries in June last year with a starting price of $199.
Tech circles are already abuzz with rumours of the new generation iPhone 5, which is likely to be released in June or July this year in the US.
Analysts said Apple was working on a “completely redesigned” iPhone for debut in summer 2011 with a four-inch display to take on the larger screens found on some of the phones running Google’s Android operating system.
Earlier, Airtel and Vodafone had said that they would launch the iPhone 4 during Diwali.
At 9.3 mm, the iPhone 4 is 24 per cent thinner than its predecessor which is nearly half-an-inch thick. It comes with multitasking features, meaning the phone will be able to run more than one program at a time.
The phone comes with 16GB and 32GB memory capacity and has a 5 megapixel camera.
Sales of smartphones such as the iPhone, which are popular for its high-speed Internet and mobile software capabilities, are expected to get a boost in India as telecom companies are rolling out 3G services that offer high-speed data transfer capabilities.
Airtel and Aircel have already rolled out 3G in select parts of the country, and the market expects some special 3G data plans for the iPhone 4.
Bharti, which already sells earlier models of the iPhone, has added 2 million users to its 3G network, which was launched in January.
The company, India’s largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, has bandwidth to offer 3G in 13 of the country’s 22 telecom service areas.
Aircel, which has more than 50 million subscribers on its second-generation network, started providing 3G in February. It has the bandwidth to offer 3G in 13 areas.
