Second batch of iPhone 5 may come to India after 3 weeks

The iPhone 5 was launched in India earlier this month, and within days the handset was sold out across all official resellers. However, if one is interested in purchasing this handset, one would need to wait 21 days more for the it to come in stock.

According to our sources, the iPhone 5 is expected to reach Apple official resellers 21 days later. The wait is longer than what was previously expected. 

Surprisingly, the wait to buy the iPhone 5 from the grey market is even longer. Our sources in the grey market have told us that the waiting period for the iPhone 5 as of today is at least a month. The handset is available in the grey market but in extremely few numbers. As of writing, only the white variant with 16GB memory capacity is available. One would need to really search around to get one's hands on a unit. No other capacities are available, and the black model is completely sold out. This indicates that purchasing it through official resellers is a more viable option.  

The wait for the iPhone 5 continues

The Apple iPhone 5, which was launched on November 2, was sold out at official resellers' stores on the day of the launch. It was reported that those interested in purchasing the handset would have to wait for three to five weeks for the second shipment of the iPhone 5.

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.

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.