~TECH-BYTES~

Some anonymous source for TechTree have spilled the beans regarding the launch date and pricing for iPhone 3G in India. It may come as a shock for many people but the source reckons the phone to be priced around Rs. 12,000 range but only 8GB variant will be available. Vodafone will be the first player to get the phone here because of its global presence and has a 15 days advantage than Airtel.

> Model: Initially, the 8GB version only
> Price: Rs. 11,500 to Rs. 12,000 (note: U.S. price of the 8GB iPhone 3G is $199)
> Applications: App Store will be available
> App prices: Application prices may see a revision to suit Indian market
> 3G: No fixed date for 3G availability; expected sometime later this year
> GPS: Present on the Indian version as well

The news has definitely opened up a new discussion for everyone waiting for the mighty iPhone to come over here but we cannot trust it until we hear it from the horse’s mouth.

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i just read this really intresting post about iphone 3G and India… Didn’t got the chance to verify anything written in this post as i was eagerly waiting for 11th july - the release of iphone 3G and was really planning to buy one but after reading this post i think i really need to think again go through this,its quite intresting :-

I just got a gmail on apple iphone3g worst features in india and i just stunned with it and looked at them then i released that iphone is worst than any.

So here is the mail:

Those of you in India planning for iPhone…Think Twice Before Making a decision…The short commings of iphone are endless..

No video calling, no AD2P on the Bluetooth, can’t share any(mp3, images, videos…) files via bluetooth, can’t use as a wireless modem, (you pay ridiculous data charges to activate internet on your phone, but cannot connect it to your PC and browse when you are at home)

All even the smallest copy and paste,(cannot copy a part of a.. say… email & send it..have to type it out yourself)

No 3.2 or 5 megapixel camera,(the 2MP camera it carries is worst camera i’ve ever seen.. photos look like they have come out of a VGA camera)

No video recording with camera, no front camera, no flash.

No JAVA support

No physical keyboard (BELIEVE me! this alone is a dealbreaker…touch keyboard as good as it looks…once you use it then only you come to know about the importance of having a hard keypad)

No 3G network yet in India..so why pay for expensive 3G phone if you cant use its 3G services … so, for India, iPhone 2.0 is no better than its first version

No removable battery. (You cannot change battery. Have to send it to apple outlet.. Come on now!!!!…This is not an iPod. Its a bloody phone. You cannot live without phone for 2-3 days)

No haptic feedback and cannot send MMS, an’t use as external storage device (16 GB of utter waste..next time you go to your friend’s house & find some interesting songs, movies, etc…sorry you cannot connect your ‘16 GB’ phone and share it!!!! Apple apparently has a solution.. ” BUY MUSIC & MOVIES FROM iTUNES STORE “….. Give me a break will you APPLE!!!)

no FM radio, can’t use your mp3 files as ringtones,(This is heights man!!!)

cannot insert any other SIM card….

completely tied to iTunes… Connect to your friend’s iTunes & you risk erasing everything on your phone.

list goes on & on & on….

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Google today launched a new version of Google Talk for iPhone and iPod Touch that includes no new features but looks slightly more pleasing than the regular Flash based Google Talk gadget.

If you like to use the new iPhone version of Google Talk gadget on a desktop browser or your Firefox sidebar, just use the following links.

For Google Accounts / Gmail users: http://talkgadget.google.com/talkgadget/m

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Like many, you were probably planning on hanging back, sipping on Bacardi 151, and waiting for your new iPhone 3G to arrive in the mail following a timely pre-order. Unfortunately for your foot-kicked-onto-desk plans, Apple and AT&T have something else in mind. Word on the street is that you will not be able to purchase and / or activate a new device via any other method than in-store, thus doing a full 180 on the way the dream team was doing business last time around. So not only has Apple’s revenue sharing gone into that good night, but it appears the innovative DIY activation that was such a big deal this time last year is shuffling off as well. So what gives guys? And more importantly, why are you making us leave the house? Hear what AT&T reps had to say about it after the break.

“There is no question that many enjoyed the convenience of at-home activation, but we also found that many others wanted to complete purchase and activation in one step so they could walk out of the AT&T store with their iPhone up and running. We have decided to take the latter approach and we think customers will like it. It will be especially helpful if any questions or issues arise during activation. They can be resolved on the spot and in-person.

This is the way our wireless phones have been activated for years and customers have been very happy with it.

And, activation should take just a few minutes.”

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Sorry, we don’t have pictures but Apple took us into a dramatically lit back-room to check out the new iPhone 3G. Here’s what you need to know:

• We did a quick data test — at our location we went from 104Kbps on the EDGE iPhone to 215Kbps on the 3G model. 2x ain’t bad, yo.
• The enable/disable 3G setting is real, and buried a few menus deep. There is no automatic switching, Apple just assumes you’ll leave 3G on, and that the iPhone has the juice to support that usage.
• It’s tri-band 3G, as we reported the other day. This same phone will ship worldwide.
• WiFi is still 802.11b/g, no support for n yet.
• Yes, that GPS is A-GPS, just as we mentioned.
• Geotagging photos is a thumbs-up. We were deep indoors though, so native GPS wasn’t working and we couldn’t get a clear idea of satellite acquisition time.
• The screen looks exactly the same — maybe a tiny bit brighter, but the unit was new, so it’d be negligible.
• The camera is identical to the first — 2 megapixels. No front-facing camera (of course).
• It’s certainly thicker feeling, but they rocked it Treo-style and really tapered those edges, so it just doesn’t feel that different. But because of that curved back, it’ll dance around on your table a little more than your completely-flat original iPhone.
• The plastic back didn’t feel too cheap. In fact, it felt pretty solid. It’s very glossy, so it’ll pick up fingerprints just as well as the glass up front (yay).
• It comes with a ridiculously, absurdly small power adapter. It basically looks like a tiny square with a USB port on one side, and power prongs on the other. It will power any other iDevice (iPod touch, 1st gen iPhone, etc.), and sell separately for those that want a smaller adapter.
• The dock (now sold separately) and adapter (if you want an extra) will both go for something like $29, although that price is not yet confirmed.
• No mention was made of copy/paste, MMS, etc.
• It doesn’t look like this thing is going to fit in your old dock. The new dock does look smaller and more sculpted to the new iPhone’s curves.
• The headphone jack is flush, as mentioned. It’s still 3.5mm, so if you don’t like the out of box phones (which won’t stay in our ears), bring your own, no problem — and no adapter needed!
• Yes, original iPhones are totally gone, you won’t be seeing those made anymore. Long live the aluminum back!

It looks like they took an amazing device and made it significantly better. If the battery life is as good as they claim, we think this will steamroll the competition in the enterprise space. And even if it doesn’t, at $199 it’s going to be extremely hard for people to resist.

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