Now that the much speculated, discussed and deliberated upon CDMA iPhone has landed on Verizon we were wondering about the possibility of the device arriving in India sometime soon. In the not too distant past there were reports about the largest CDMA operators in India mulling over a CDMA version of the iPhone in the country. At that time, the idea sounded preposterous because there were doubts over the possibility of Apple even coming up with a CDMA device.
Fast forward a few months; Apple has launched the CDMA iPhone 4 in the US on Verizon. The important thing to note here is the fact that the tie up with Verizon is a no-exclusive contract. This also throws the roads open for say Sprint to jump on to the CDMA iPhone bandwagon in the not too distant future.
With Verizon confirming that the CDMA iPhone has been under testing for over a year, there is also speculation that Apple might already have had long talks with various CDMA operators across the globe for a CDMA iPhone. Think of it. A company developing a new device for a platform – just to cater to one operator doesn’t make much sense and isn’t very economically viable either. So, the CDMA iPhone is most likely heading to other markets as well.
With India being a top player when it comes to the sheer number of CDMA users, India should be ideally high on the list where the CDMA iPhone could be launched soon. That said, let us also not forget that iPhone sales have traditionally known to be very dismal here – mainly owing to the prohibitive (and ridiculous pricing). If that wasn’t all, the iPhone 4 GSM version– even this long after its launch, is yet to see the light of the day in India.
Maybe Apple wanted to launch both the devices in India together? Speculate, speculate!
given that blackberry has sold at good prices on CDMA network here, iPhone has a better chance than every before!