Airtel ^[1] the biggest cellular providers in India have confirmed that they will be launching the Apple iPhone 3G version in India, this news comes days after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) opened up the 3G spectrum to cellular providers.

Image Credit ^[2]

Apple PR has officially confirmed ^[3] the launch on their website. Airtel will be launching the iPhone at midnight 21st August and the pricing will be in the range of 20000 INR (~$500).

"iPhone has been an iconic technological revelation of this year and Airtel has been at the forefront of innovation and customer delight in the Indian telecom sector," Sanjay Kapoor, President, Bharti Airtel mobile services, said.

Earlier Vodafone the 3rd largest cellular provider had been rumored to release the iPhone on August 18th, but it seems that Airtel will beat them to the launch, there is no official confirmation by Apple on the Vodafone deal.

We expect the iPhone to sell like hot-cakes since it coincides with the introduction of the superior 3G network in India, though this may not be the first time people in India get their hands on a iPhone, there have been many users who already own a hacked iPhone which works on other SIM cards sold for more than 40000 (~$1000).