Official Apple resellers sold out of iPhone 5 units in India

For all the naysayers and the doubters of the success of the iPhone 5 in India, here is a noteworthy bit of information. The Apple iPhone 5, which launched on Friday, November 2, has already been sold out at official resellers' stores, and those interested in purchasing the handset would have to wait for three to five weeks to get their hands on the device.

Many had predicted that the iPhone 5 would not succeed in India due to its extremely high price tag, but it appears that even if one walks into an official Apple reseller store with a pocketful of cash, the chances of getting a unit are next to none.

Those trying to get their hands on the handset can buy it through the grey market at the same cost as the official channels, but potential buyers would also need to wait. The wait, however, is not as long, and they can get it within a day or two of placing the order.

Apple iPhone 5 pre-order stock over in India

Here is a quick look at some of the highlighted features of the iPhone 5:

• 4-inch, 326ppi Retina display at 1136 x 640 pixels,
• GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, LTE and Wi-Fi
• GPS
• Bluetooth
• 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD recording, 720p front-facing camera
• 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions

Apple has teamed up with a couple of distribution channels, namely Redington and Ingram Micro to sell the iPhone 5 in India. Redington, one of the distributors of the iPhone 5 in India, revealed the prices of the handset with the base model (16GB) being launched for Rs 45,500. The 32GB version of the iPhone 5 will be available for Rs 52,500, and the 64GB model for Rs 59,500. These prices are more or less on par with the iPhone 4S from the previous generation, when it was first launched in India.

Apple has also tied up with Ingram Micro Inc, which is a large US-based distributor of technologies, as well as Redington India Ltd, a local distributor with 12,000 smaller partners across the country.

The iPhone 5 is made entirely out of aluminium and glass, weighs 112 grams and is 20 percent lighter than the iPhone 4S, and is the thinnest iPhone yet at 7.6mm. Apple has chosen to debut iOS 6 with the iPhone 5. The new OS includes Apple's own Maps app, an updated version of Siri and lots more. Overall, the new iPhone has been upgraded in almost all respects.

Siri has also been updated and new features include support for more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings; Siri and Facebook-enabled apps such as Photos, Safari and Maps; and Shared Photo Streams via iCloud.

Safari has also received a major update – the ability to go full screen on the device by touching the arrows on the corners. Another major feature of the new Safari app is the ability to sync tabs between the desktop and iOS versions of Safari. This new feature is called iCloud Tabs. The new Mail app has also received some updates, including the ability to mark people as VIPs and the ability to flag certain mails for follow-ups.