Apple Launches iPad in India; 3G Plans With BSNL

Apple has, at long last, launched its revolutionary tablet the iPad in India. The company sold 14.8 million units of the tablet PC over the past year.

At a markedly affordable price of Rs 27,900 for the basic version (16GB, in built Wi-Fi but no 3G), the tablet is also available in its 3G avatar for Rs 34,900. It is available in three models - 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacity hard disks, and can now be bought from Apple's retail outlets.

The iPad comes with a 9.7 inch multitouch screen and weighs under a kilo. It has a micro SIM card tray for 3G SIM cards. 3G data plans are available from BSNL. Under prepaid, there is a daily plan for Rs 99 which allows the user unlimited data usage for 24 hours. A similar prepaid monthly plan costs Rs 999 and there is a limited monthly plan too for Rs 599. The only post paid plan being offered is priced at Rs 999. Other telcos such as Vodafone, Airtel and Idea Cellular are also ready with micro SIM cards but have not announced data plans yet.

Rumours about Apple dumping iPad inventory in India to make way for its next version iPad 2 in other countries are doing the rounds. iPad 2 is set to launch in April, 2011.

Competition to the iPad include Samsung's Galaxy Tab, OlivePad, Blackberry's Playbook, Notion Ink's Adam, etc. Recently, Samsung dropped the Galaxy Tab's price from Rs 38,000 to Rs 29,299.