The company is betting the new phone’s third generation (3G) capabilities, such as faster Internet access and file transfer, will make the phone a hit. Like the first version, the new model also has an iPod built in.

Many analysts are upbeat about its prospects, seeing Apple as a brand with a strong cachet in tech-savvy Asia.

Mancy Li wants to get her hands on Apple’s newest version of the iPhone, but she won’t bother to queue up in Hong Kong when it is released in Asia this week.

“I want to get one because it is trendy. It has a touch screen, it looks pretty and it’s made by Apple,” the 22-year-old visual arts student says.

But she’s prepared to wait and see what happens to the price of running the new version of the phone, which Apple hopes will become as big a global hit as its iconic iPod music player.

“It is going to do well,” Aloysius Choong, of Singapore-based industry research group IDC, told AFP.

“Apple is a strong brand in Asia and this is their maiden mobile phone offering in Asia. Just the Apple aura or the Apple halo means that there will be non-Apple users who will look at the product.”

But in a region where having the latest gadget is almost an obsession, black market debut-version iPhones are already widely available, serviced by countless shops that “unlock” the software to allow them to operate.

With the phone already in circulation, the novelty factor will be less, which could emphasise the importance of pricing for the new model.

And that could prove to be an obstacle. Like elsewhere, Apple is only allowing the iPhone for sale through a limited number of operators — whose pricing plans are not always particularly inexpensive.

Hong Kong users could pay the equivalent of up to 65 US dollars a month under a two-year contract, a steep price in a market where monthly mobile packages often cost one-fifth of that.

In Australia, Telstra says customers who sign up for packages around 30 dollars a month will be able to buy the cheapest iPhone 3G for around 270 dollars.

Pricing has not been announced in New Zealand by Vodafone, the country’s largest mobile communications carrier, but is likely to be crucial in deciding the iPhone’s success.

“If Vodafone can get close to Telstra’s pricing in Australia, I think they will be on to a winner,” says Scott Bartley, reviews editor of PC World New Zealand.

The iPhone could also face an uphill battle in Japan, where handsets allow users to watch television and pay for goods like a credit card — neither of which the Apple phone can do.

“I can foresee the iPhone storming the rest of Asia but not Japan,” said Yusuke Tsunoda, a telecom analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre.

“Compared with Japanese cellphones, it is not technologically superior.”

In the Philippines, meanwhile, where text-messaging is now a routine way to communicate, the phone’s on-screen keyboard — instead of the regular buttons of a traditional cell phone — may be a turn-off.

“This could limit its appeal to the Filipinos, who love to text,” said tech journalist Kendrick Go of the Manila Times.

He said pricing could also be a factor in the Philippines, where much of the population lives on two dollars a day or less.

“The iPhone’s popularity in the Philippines will likely be confined to the high-end market,” Go said. “It is just too expensive for the average consumer.”

Finally, some consumers could be turned off if the iPhone becomes too much of a success — and loses its cachet as a status symbol.

“Apple wants to make a big impact but it does not want to make too big an impact in the sense you want to create an image of scarcity and exclusivity,” said the IDC’s Choong.

Mancy Li, in Hong Kong, says the iPhone would lose its appeal for her if everyone had one.

“I won’t get one if I see too many people using it,” Li says. “It won’t be special anymore.”

OSScamp Bengaluru Mobile! 2008 is the first unconference from the OSScamp series that focusses on emerging mobile technologies and issues. It is a platform for promoting open source and mobile technologies in India. Obviously like other unconferences, it is free but you are expected to participate. If you are in the camp, you are expected to share, speak, volunteer, blog, help or participate in some form.

Topics may include but are not limited to OS development, social mobile, mobile commerce, open standards, protocols, platform, databases, Linux-based devices, Android, Open Moko, Symbian, iPhone, green phone, etc.

OSScamp Bengaluru Mobile 2008 attempts to bring together hackers and designers and play together. If you do stuff with small screens, voice, or something in between, come and share your experiences at the open source unconference.

If you want to be a part of OSScamp Bengaluru Mobile 2008, register yourself at the camp wiki.

The iPhone is for a target group who believe in being different and innovative. And keeping this TA (target audience) in mind, Apple has designed the product. It is also said that people who were planning to buy the i-pods will now rather buy the iPhones as this gadget is so much more advance! Hence the trend for the phone will only continue.

The craze for iPhone can be justified because of its trendy sleek, stylish look. At the same time, the features that the Apple iPhone possesses are also new which includes the third-generation (3G) wireless networks on which the phone runs. It loads internet pages so fast that waiting for the net pages to load will be a thing of the past. The iPhone has new improved email features as well.

With all the hype and hoopla that Apple has created about the iPhone, one is sure to see the sale of iPhones going up in the country. Another feature that the phone boasts of is that it includes the satellite navigation capability and comes with an inbuilt 8GB memory which means so much more storage!

Analysts said that Apple’s iPhone launch in India was one of the most successful brand launches. The credit goes to the great marketing strategy along with the importance of product innovation that Apple always believes in. It is also said that Apple has used a lot of word-of-mouth publicity for iPhone which has helped the brand to be successful to a great extent.

Moreover, it is telecom operator Vodafone that is offering the iPhone in India. This has also helped Apple to strengthen its base in the country. It is said that the prices of the iPhone are going to be slashed further. No wonder, the rage will continue…

You can also check out for the latest in technology on laptop India

http://www.apple.com/iphone/gallery/360/index_white.html

To register in vodofone : http://www.vodafone.in/existingusers/iphone/pages/preregister-iPhone.aspx

To register in Airtel : http://airtel.in/wps/wcm/connect/airtel.in/airtel.in/home

1. Purchase iPhone 3G from an Apple Store or from a carrier. For more info, choose your country then click on where to buy.

In the US, iPhone 3G includes a SIM and your original iPhone’s SIM is not needed. Your original iPhone account information will be transferred to iPhone 3G’s included SIM when you purchase iPhone 3G. To dispose of your original iPhone SIM, contact your carrier.

In other countries where the original iPhone was sold1, you can use your original iPhone’s SIM with iPhone 3G. Contact your carrier for additional information.

2. Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes and iPhone OS. Click to download the latest version of iTunes.
Note that when you start using iPhone 3G, you will need iTunes 7.7 or later.

3. Connect your original iPhone to iTunes and sync it. Verify that your original iPhone is backed up. For more information on how to do this, see iPhone: About backups.

4. Connect iPhone 3G to iTunes (on the same computer you used to back up your original iPhone), and then iTunes will ask you if you want to restore from a backup or set up iPhone 3G as a new phone. When prompted, select the backup of your original iPhone2.

5. After iTunes finishes restoring the backup you selected to iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G will restart. When iPhone 3G appears again in the iTunes window, select it. Then click the tabs (Music, Photos, and so on) and verify or change the items you want to sync. Then click Apply to sync iPhone 3G with iTunes.

6. Verify that your saved SMS messages, email accounts and passwords, photos, notes, and other personal settings are present on your iPhone 3G.

If saved SMS messages, email accounts and passwords, photos, notes, or other personal settings are not present on your new iPhone 3G, the restore from backup may not have been successful. In that case, verify your original iPhone is properly backed up (see step 3), then use iTunes to restore iPhone OS on iPhone 3G and continue following these instructions at step 4.

To erase your original iPhone so someone else can use it, tap Setting > General > Reset > Erase all contents and settings on your original iPhone.

1Requires an original iPhone used with O2 UK, O2 IRL, T-Mobile Germany, T-Mobile Austria, or Orange France. Original iPhone was not sold in other countries, except for the US.
2 If iTunes does not prompt you to select a backup to restore when you connect iPhone 3G, use iTunes to restore iPhone OS on your iPhone 3G and try this step again.

Additional Information

If you are using original iPhone and want to upgrade to iPhone 3G using a different carrier, you can use these steps as well. In addition:

* Purchase iPhone 3G from the new carrier which you intend to use.
* Contact your carrier for information on how to port your original iPhone’s mobile phone number from your existing carrier to your new account with the new carrier.

[source : apple.com]

There are some differences from using Google Talk on your computer. For instance, in order to receive instant messages with Google Talk on your iPhone, the application needs to be open in your Safari browser. When you navigate away to another browser window or application, your status will be changed to “unavailable” and your Google Talk session will be restarted when you return.

Other than that, we’ve tried to keep the design as faithful to the desktop experience as possible, so it should be familiar to you. You can select from a quicklist of the people you contact most, search your contacts, and manage multiple conversations. You’ll never have to miss out on the latest gossip or updates from friends just because you’re away from a computer.

The bad: The Apple iPhone has variable call quality and lacks some basic features found in many cell phones, including stereo Bluetooth support and 3G compatibility. Integrated memory is stingy for an iPod, and you have to sync the iPhone to manage music content.

The bottom line: Despite some important missing features, a slow data network, and call quality that doesn’t always deliver, the Apple iPhone sets a new benchmark for an integrated cell phone and MP3 player.

Vodafone and Apple will bring iPhone 3G first to Australia, Italy, New Zealand, and Portugal on July 11. In these markets, Vodafone will make available iPhone 3G on both prepaid and contract price plans that will include value data bundles. Vodafone will then, later this year, make iPhone 3G available in other markets including the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, South Africa, Turkey, and most importantly — India. Details of specific launch dates and price plans will be made available in the respective countries by individual Vodafone operating companies. Vodafone customers in all of these markets including India can pre-register online and in retail stores in the next few days. 
Meanwhile, Airtel customers who wish to receive more information on the Apple iPhone can send an SMS with keyword “iPhone” to 54321 (toll-free number).

Airtel will announce details regarding pricing and availability at a later date, the company said.