Apple iPhone 4 Launched In India

Apple's iPhone 4 has hit store shelves in India, nearly a year after the next-generation version of the popular smartphone was rolled out worldwide. Mobile phone carrier Aircel launched the iPhone 4 with a new pricing model, allowing customers to recover the upfront cost of the smartphone on select plans over 24 months, the company said in a press release.

Aircel will charge 34,500 rupees for iPhones with a 16 GB capacity and 40,900 rupees for the 32 GB model, it said. Bharti Airtel, India's top mobile phone carrier, also launched the phone.

The iPhone 4 boasts a higher-quality screen and longer battery life than the previous model. With more than 800 million mobile subscribers, India is the world's second-biggest market for mobile phone services and is also the fastest-growing. But smartphones are estimated to account for just over 5 percent of the mobile handset sales. Indian carriers have recently started rolling out high-speed third-generation (3G) mobile networks, which is expected to boost sales of smartphones.

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Image courtesy: Reuters