Price no bar!

When the Apple Iphone 3g 16GB and the Nokia N96 both appeared on the market wearing price tags of Rs 36,000 (approx.), no one could have predicted that in the following weeks, Samsung Mobile, Research in Motion (RIM, the makers of BlackBerry) and Sony Ericsson would also launch highpriced handsets, economic doom and gloom be damned!

Sanjay Kapoor, Chief Marketing Officer, Airtel, admits that the price of the iPhone was not determined by Airtel: “As a service provider, we are simply providing the iPhone experience to our customers. The price of the phone has been fixed in tandem with Apple and there is no room for us to keep a profit margin.” But handset manufacturers believe that the prices of such handsets are fair. “At Nokia, the pricing of mobile devices is governed by the value that they deliver to consumers. And as far as the Nokia N96 is concerned, we believe this price is truly reflective of the great value we are delivering in terms of features, experiences and solutions that are packed in the device,” says Devinder Kishore, Director (Marketing), Nokia India. His view is echoed by RIM and Samsung Mobile.

But with consumers holding onto their purse strings tighter than ever, and previous flagship models shedding their price tags within a few months, it could be a while before you see people roaming around with such devices.