Big billboards with caption , “The iPhone you have been waiting for !!! ” . I saw and just murmured , “Nope … this is NOT the iPhone I have been waiting for at UAE !! “.
Etisalat brought iPhone to UAE, even though it was stated otherwise by TRA officials at the time of iPhone 3g launch. Expectations were huge , and atleast I had a thought that Etisalat must have done a good study before launching it here and they wont repeat the mistake which was done by Indian mobile operators.
The came up with the same caption “The iPhone you have been waiting for!!” as by Airtel and Vodafone in India, and came up with a same kinda plan too ( somewhat costly actually ). iPhone is now available officially on Etisalat on a 1 year post-paid contract which are as follows :
If you notice, upfront charges to get a basic plan ranges from AED 2646 to AED 3000 ( Approx USD 700 to USD 800 ) + AED 199 monthly rental , which is actually very high.
No wonder Iphone have got such a silent response in UAE. Those who wanted to buy iPhone, already bought it unlocked and those who were waiting for it to launch officially , were highly disappointed because of the high price. Etisalat should have put this into consideration, that UAE population comprises a huge portion of Indian population and hence not tried to repeat the mistake.
Even though iPhone is a trend setter, but it is not world’s most feature rich phone and hence Price vs Value ratio for iPhone is very low. Consumer is not a fool to buy a phone at double the price for features which are available in other phones for half the price.
Moreover, it so awkward that at such a economic downtime , where a consumer is much bothered about his money , how can Etisalat provide such a poor deal. I think with huge success of Nokia 5800 around the world and in India also, consumers are much bothered about innovation at value for money.
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I hate etisalat … I am happy that DU has announced so much of profit … I think within someone time everyone will be using DU .. I tht of bying Iphone ..but looking at th price i was so disaapointed .. Etisalt dont know how to do business
I my opinion Apple is doing it right. If they allow another Carrier ( why I suspect you now need to disparage) to carry the iPhone they will loose control over the item. I think cingular will be forced to offer a better deal to Apple once the market is secure. I see a rate restructure on the horizon.
Sony thought nothing could take away their PINs of portable audio market and now look iPod is a part of the lexicon. Naysayers said no one will pay that price for a player and 99 cents a song bah. But CD sales have shown the public wants control over what they hear, not a payola scam to boost record sales.