iPhone was probably one of the most awaited gadget for Indian markets, with people almost desperate to get their hands on one, but the price tag has been a total letdown to the general public who had high desires to buy Apple’s baby which has generated rave as well as pretty bad reviews from people.

For those curious the iPhone would be priced at Rs. 31,000 (~$710) for the 8GB model and Rs. 36000 (~$823) for the 16 GB phone, with such a pricing strategy Apple has potentially put the handset out of the hands of the general public who were expecting a price of Rs. 20000 (~$450) or lower. Yes there will be a queue to get the iPhone, but expect most of them to be hardcore Apple lovers.

The pricing strategy is definitely questionable since many handsets in India sell for a modest Rs. 5000 (~$120), and people would not generally spend more than Rs. 15000 (~$350) to get a decent cell phone, to top it India is one of the biggest market where you will find jail broken iPhones, which is bound to grow based on this new pricing strategy. Apple definitely had a great chance to have more legal handsets than jail broken one’s, and this is definitely a missed opportunity for them.

To top it all, there won’t be any unlimited data plans to go with the iPhone, people will have to shell out Rs. 1000 (~$22) for a mere 600Mb of data usage, over and above that limit, every MB will be charged a additional Rs.5. Thanks Amit.

This would definitely hit most of the heavy Internet users, who would be left with no choice but to pay up for additional broadband usage after only a few days into their monthly plan, many would question the worth of a iPhone without having a unlimited data plan. All in all the launch threatens to be a no show for general public in India, save for the hardcore Apple fans, this is probably one mistake Apple should not have made while penetrating the third highest country with cell phone usage.

Nokia is already planning to compete in the touch phone device market late this year with the introduction of “Tube”, given the market Nokia has in India, this was definitely the best time Apple could go after those smart phone users, alas we can only wait and see how it turns out to be.

Are you planning to buy a iPhone in India? Do let us know through your comments about your feelings after you heard the iPhone prices in India.