The iPad isn’t launching in India on 28th Jan, At least not for Rs 26000!

Categories: Apple, Opinion, eReaders & Tablets

Apple iPad India

Apple has sold 7.3 million iPad’s last quarter alone and there is a healthy list of people around me who own an iPad already. I resisted for months after my initial review of the iPad WiFi, but even I ended up buying my 2nd iPad (a 3G one this time) last week. A tablet sure has a huge appeal and people on the streets identify it (including the local ‘paan wala’ referring to it as ‘woh bada wala phone’). Yes, perhaps The Galaxy Tab has added some taste to the tablet market locally in India. So is the iPad finally coming to India?

Apple is known to bring all its latest releases to India, shortly after the international launch. This inclues the iPods, Macbooks and even the latest Macbook Airs. But the only exception to this has been the iPhone! It has always taken its own sweet little time to arrive in India and I wonder why has it been so? Tim Cook made it clear in the last earnings call that amongst the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) they have chosen China and invested heavily there. Its clear that they do not see a huge market for smartphones in India.

The iPhone 4 is yet to make its way to India and I am sure that the iPad is clubbed with the iPhone here and not the Macbooks. Samsung launched its Galaxy Tab last year, price Rs 38000! And given the fact that they have slashed the rates to as low as Rs 27999 now, it shows how well the market has responded to the Tab.

Another simple reason (and a very strong one) I feel that the iPad won’t make it to India is the pricing that the recent rumors carry along with it. Rs 26000 for an iPad? Thats WAY too close to the iPad’s price in US (it comes to $530 with taxes for the base model). The customs & octroi in India won’t permit that rate. Mobile phones carry a comparatively lower duty and yet the iPhone costs a hefty sum here, in all probability the iPad would be charged as a computer and not a mobile phone, shooting its price over Rs 30000.

My twitter feed and RSS feed are filled with posts on iPad launching in India on 28th January (thats 3 days from now). And I am sorry to bring the bad new to iPad lovers in India. The Apple iPad isn’t coming to India this week and if at all it does, forget owning own for Rs 26000! Sorry.

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