iPhone, a craze here in US, doesn’t seem to be doing well in India, one of the fastest growing cellular markets in the world. Apple did not seem to have done their homework in understanding the local tastes of the consumer before getting in to the market.

– India is a pre-paid cell phone market and there is no concept of service contracts in India. Even if the contracts are introduced the consumers will unlock the phones in no time. So first the carriers did not bother how iPhone is selling in the market. If it is not iPhone there is Nokia and there is Sony.

– $700 box price is too expensive for India. So it caught the fancy of only the high end consumers. (just 20000 units sold Vs 20 million new connections). Tata Nano the $2000 car is launched at a wrong time for Apple and it made the comparison look silly. ( A Car for the price of 3 cell phones). The cost of the manufacturing iPhone is apparently just $175 so it belies my thinking why they had to go with the box price.

– Also Indians are very tech savvy and would like to play with their phones more. They like to install new games, add new ring tones and more. iPhone gave little chance to do that.

– Spotty 3G coverage didnt help either.

It is a classic case of the fallacy that a blockbuster product in one country will sell just as well in other markets. iPhone outside US is just another Nokia or Sony.