Sticker Shock Plus No 3G Cripples iPhone Launch In Mumbai, India

Months before the announcement of the August 22nd iPhone launch, fanatics in India were screaming for their shot at iPhone 3G mania. You would think from the crowds in the photo (above) that the Airtel iPhone launch in Mumbai, India was a raging success. Think again! One cult of iPhone follower present at Airtel's testical festival knows otherwise. Brajeshwar Oinam who was also responsible for shooting the photos reported;

"The majority of the people had no clue what was happening. They believed that some celebrity is coming for a movie preview, so they joined the crowd which had gathered there. The remainder of the crowd are security guards and Airtel people themselves." said Brajeshwar Oinam.

Unlike the iPhone 3G launch in Poland, crowds at Airtel were not hired actors, they were desperately seeking actors. Oinam went on to reveal that the remainder of warm bodies hyped up on some Bollywood fantasy sighting, did not know anything about iPhone 3G before the event, indicating that Apple fanboys decided not to buy the iPhone just yet.

"The media people had a hard time trying to find people who would buy the iPhone 3G at the launch venue. Apple, AirTel and Vodafone should have announced the price long before and keep the people ready. They made a mistake by shocking them with the high price announced on the eve of the launch." Oinam said.

The 8GB model is selling in India for Rs 31,000, or approximately $710. The larger 16GB model, will cost Rs 36,100 or around $827. And you don't even get 3G! That's correct! Because the Indian government still hasn't auctioned off the 3G spectrum, your new over priced iPhone will be limited to GPRS (EGDE) data access. Although the device may be expensive, the plans seem to be a bit cheaper than those offered by some other carriers. According to a report by Ars Technica. How's that for an iPhone 3G launch?

   

"There was in fact only one person (as far as I can remember) who bought the iPhone 3G at the launch venue. Honestly, I'm not sure even that guy is genuine or someone from the media, Airtel!" as recounted by Brajeshwar Oinam

Even with balloons, digital countdown, a custom iPhone cake, hundreds of dudes and a concert stage, sticker shock and the lack of 3G service managed to kick the legs out from under an otherwise epic event. The idea is to sell iPhones people. Didn't you fellas get the memo? At least the folks in India won't have to worry about poor 3G performance. Nice party though!

[photos by Brajeshwar Oinam]