The iPhone 5 was revealed (officially at least) to the world on September 12, and the first batch of the new phone from the fruity company starts shipping on September 21. However, following the existing trend of rolling out devices to various countries, India is definitely not on the list of countries to get it first.
The second phase of iPhone 5 rollout, which begins on September 28, includes the following 22 countries – Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Officially, Indian fanboys will have to wait till the third phase of the roll-out, which we hope would be around Diwali.
However, all hope is not lost. A Bangalore-based seller on eBay India is offering the iPhone 5 16GB model (factory unlocked) for a whopping Rs. 74,000. To make the dent smaller, the seller is offering to take payments in EMI form, provided you have the credit cards the seller accepts.
For the price, you not only get the newest phone, but also the guarantee that the phone will be dispatched within one business day from the 24th. The item is brand new, but its most likely that the phone is being bought in one of the 9 countries to receive the phone before anyone else, meaning the warranty might be an issue.
The 16GB unlocked model of the new iPhone is pegged at $649, which comes out to roughly Rs. 37,000, which is being sold on eBay for a little more than double the official price tag.