Why buying an iPhone in India sucks

Considering buying an iPhone? Do yourself a favour: Don’t! Instead, read about my nightmare.

Getting the iPhone maybe as simple as going to your provider and paying $199 in the US and other countries. But do these devices really cost $199? The cost is low because the carrier subsidizes the cost of the device. The phone provider makes you sign a contract, that generally lasts for two years, or till the time the cost of the device is recovered.

In India, because the ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is abysmally low, service providers do not subsidize the price of the phone at all. You are charged the full price. Back in 2008, I had to shell out a little over INR 38,000 to Airtel for an iPhone 3G, a little shy of US $850.00 in dollar terms. Whoa! Isn’t that a bit too much?

Yes, it is, if you just want the latest tech toy that is. However, the prospect of automatic Calendar and Address Book syncs tilted me towards it. Soon, I was seamlessly syncing my todo lists, bookmarks, notes, passwords, music and even the books that I read. And then it happened: I was put on an extensive travel circuit.

I soon realized, global roaming from the official iPhone providers (Airtel & Vodafone) in India is nothing but highway robbery. I trusted that a simple SIM card change to a pre-paid number would work. Well, it didn’t. All the functionality of the iPhone went out of the window. The device got reduced to a brick. No calendars, no Address Book syncs, and most importantly, no phone calls.

When I came back to India, I found that the contract I had with Airtel is kind of permanent. Wait a minute, no legal system should allow for a permanent contract you say, but this is what it boils down to in India:

1. Airtel says, you are free to use any other company’s mobile services; but, they won’t unlock your iPhone. You’ve got to get it done elsewhere. Once you do it, the warranty is void. This same company went on record to say that the iPhones they sell are unhackable in 2008.
2. Apple says it is illegal to unlock the iPhone, since it opens the iPhone to all sorts of pirated applications. There have been security incidents with such unlocked iPhones. Further, future software updates from Apple become a big question mark.

The Indian consumer is left stranded between a rock and a hard place. In spite of the fact that I’ve bought the iPhone from an official channel and paid the full price for the device, I cannot choose and pick my provider. If one wants to be legally right, it is Airtel or nobody. But, it doesn’t have to be this way. In Hong Kong, Apple sells the device unlocked, thus enabling the user to choose a provider. Apple has a sales and service network in India. But they don’t sell unlocked iPhones here.

Like me, if you’ve bought the iPhone from an official channel in India (Airtel or Vodafone), you really can’t make much use of the phone internationally. Even if you have to change providers inside India, because of bad network coverage or a stupid billing plan, there is little you can do. Apple, Airtel and Vodafone collude to make slaves and bonded laborers out of you.

Now I like the iPhone. The new 4th generation iPhone is even better. Would I like to own and use one? Yes indeed. Will I be buying one? No. Why? Because I don’t like doing business with arm-twisters, cheats and robbers.