Update (April 27th): iPad2 is launching in India on April 29th and price of iPad2 is quite affordable:
iPad2 WiFi Price in India
- $499 (US) for the 16GB model,
- $599 (US) for the 32GB model and
- $699 (US) for the 64GB model
iPad2: WiFi + 3G Price in India
- $629 (US) for the 16GB model,
- $729 (US) for the 32GB model and
- $829 (US) for the 64GB model
Please note that these are suggested retail prices.
Apple does treat India as a dumping ground and while the freshly brewed iPad2 is available for shipping since March 11th (worldwide, though not in India), Apple earlier dropped the price of iPad in India.
And the fresh update is that Apple has discontinued iPad price in India and is launching iPad2 this month.
To give you certain context, I have spoken to all Apple retailers in NCR region (context: PowerPlug Contest winner gets an iPad and we announced our first winner!); surprisingly none of the retailers have an iPad. As I write this, I don’t even see an option to buy the device online (Flikart mentions Permanently discontinued].
Signs of iPad2 Coming to India
– The Apple homepage.
Apple doesn’t market a product in a geography unless the product is available or will be available in the near-term. While Apple is showcasing iPad2 on its India homepage ever since the product was launched, the most convincing answer came from one of the Apple retailer.
– First generation iPad Inventory
Like I said, the iPad is just not available right now (WiFi+3G/64GB is available though). I asked Apple retailers on the expected iPad2 availability and one of the iStore person informed me that iPad2 is coming to India in the month of April (or max, May) and hence, the inventory crunch for iPad (first generation).
As per the retailer, Apple has now stopped sending iPad shipments and the first generation iPad is permanently discontinued.
Can Apple Ignore The Indian Market?
Not anymore. With the launch of 3G services, India holds a lot of promise and Apple cannot afford to ignore the Indian market anymore. Expect Indian consumers and SMEs to hog on tablets and drive the data usage.
The bigger question however is the pricing part. What do you think should be the Apple iPad2 price in India? Do you expect it to be same as iPad?
Who will be the loser? Samsung Galaxy Tab? (read: Samsung slashes price of Galaxy Tab in India, matches with iPad)
Update [April 8th]: Apple India has updated the site with “Buy Now” button on iPad section (iPhone4 is still “Notify Me”).
Also see: Zune Marketplace Launched in India.
Update: Apple iPad 2 Price in India is Rs.29500 (wifi 16 GB)
