iPhone 5s offer on Reliance GSM

For quite a while now, many of us had been looking at the pricing structure of iPhones in the U.S., and wondering if the “contract” pricing will ever make it to India. The network service providers in India, have till now been reluctant to follow a similar pricing, tariff and payment structure. Despite the likes of Airtel and others being “partners” when the previous versions of the Apple iPhone arrived in India. Happily though, things have changed, with Reliance GSM offering a rather interesting phone+tariff offer on the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C. Or at least, that is what it looks like, on paper. But, does it really make sense to buy the iPhone under this offer? We look at the mathematics of it all, try to explain who this offer is really meant for, compare with what you may get with other operators and, well, in the end, let you decide. It is your money after all! For the purpose of this comparison, we are looking at the iPhone 5s.

What the Reliance GSM offer says...

The economics of the Reliance GSM plan for the new iPhones looks a bit overwhelming at first, but a little bit of persistence clears up the numbers.
The first offer, the one creating all the excitement, is called the Monthly Payment Plan. The numbers stack up something like this - you pay Rs. 2,999 per month for the next 24 months. This amount includes all taxes plus the 15% interest that the bank is charging and you will end up paying a grand total of Rs 71,980 at the end of the 24 months. The Unlimited usage extends to all local and STD calls, 3000 SMS per month, all usage during national roaming and unlimited data usage (3G/2G). ISD calls and usage on international roaming are not a part of the free usage.
For the 16GB version of the iPhone 5S, you do not have any down payment amount, while you will pay Rs. 10,992 for the 32GB version and Rs. 19,992 for the 64GB version. The EMI amount, tenure and the tariff plan remain the same throughout.
There is a second plan as well, called the upfront payment plan. For the 16GB version of the Apple iPhone 5s, you pay Rs 65,980 as a one time amount (Rs. 71980 - Rs 6000 down payment discount). For the 32GB version, you pay Rs 76,972 (Rs 82,972 - Rs 6000 down payment discount) and for the 64GB version, you pay Rs. 85,792 (Rs 91,972 - Rs 6000 down payment discount).




This is a screen grab of the offer details from Reliance's own website. 

While you may be paying up front for the iPhone 5S, the Unlimited usage will be applicable on your account as well, for 24 months.
 
The nitty-gritties of Credit Card EMI payment

The EMI scheme (Monthly Payment Plan) is available for anyone who has a Citibank, Standard Chartered or ICICI Bank credit card. And a requisite credit limit as well, because you can safely factor in the fact that Rs. 72,000 (approx.) will be blocked on your credit card, and every month, after you pay the Rs. 2,999 EMI, the paid up amount will be freed up on the card. If you do not have a credit limit as high as that, bad luck.


Comparison with the Airtel offer...

Compared to the Reliance GSM offer on the iPhone 5s, the Airtel offer just looks very boring, no disrespect to the brand or the scheme. According to the offer on Airtel’s own online store, the iPhone 5S (and also the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 4S) makes you eligible for a 5% cashback offer, but only if you use a Citibank credit card.

Is the iPhone 5S unlocked?

Yes, the iPhone 5s that Reliance GSM is offering is completely unlocked, and you can use any valid GSM SIM-Card with the phone, if the need ever arises.

Can the Reliance SIM be used in another phone?

Yes, but with severe limitations. The SIM card that Reliance will provide with the iPhone 5S will have the Unlimited calls, SMS and data offer valid only when in use in the iPhone. If you swap it out and start using it in another smartphone, you will lose out on the tariff plan benefits.

Can I switch to Reliance GSM for this scheme?
Yes. Reliance says that you can switch to Reliance’s GSM network from any other mobile service provider in the same circle, and avail this offer.

Who should buy the iPhone 5S with this scheme? And who shouldn’t...
If you are an Apple fanboy, and would not be able to live through the next week without the iPhone 5S, you will upgrade anyway. If you have no issues with the Reliance network, you will upgrade anyway.

But, there is also the important aspect of usage pattern that needs to be considered. If at the moment, your monthly mobile bill is anything less than Rs. 1500 (including the 3G data pack), then you clearly are not a power user. And in most likelihood, will not be able to utilize the unlimited calls, SMS and data usage, to the fullest. In that case, you would be better off buying the iPhone 5S at the normal retail price, and carry on with whichever service provider and bill plan you are using currently.

If however, you are currently paying above Rs. 1,500 for your monthly mobile bill, it makes the utmost sense to consider paying a bit more, getting an excellent smartphone and a no holds barred tariff plan to go with that.

Anything else I should know about?

Yes, lots actually. First, do remember that your credit card company is only focused on you purchasing the iPhone 5s at the moment. There will be an iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6s (assuming the same naming trend continues) a few months down the line. And there are chances you would want to upgrade. But, since you are buying into a 24 month deal right now, the only option at that time would be to buy the next iPhone separately. Because, nothing at the moment tells us that Reliance will offer a mid-term upgrade.

Second, you may be happy with 3G speeds at the moment, but with the 4G roll-out inevitable in the next few months, we do not know if the iPhone 5S users will get upgraded to the 4G speeds automatically. If not, that will be an additional expenditure, or a stumbling block, at that time.

With all this information, we hope you have been to understand better, the Reliance GSM offer on the iPhone 5s.

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Google: Blessing or a Curse ?

I guess everyone must have seen the Google: Reunion ad by now and for sure everyone must have loved it. After seeing the ad apart from the subtle emotion which was so eventfully potrayed through the ad raised a question in my mind..... Are we too much over- dependant on Google?


There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Google is one of the most innovative companies that ever existed. They have a array of world class products starting from Google search or their power and reach of Andriod as a Mobile OS or be it their future products like Google Glass which has already creating the buzz before its getting released even.



As once Peter Parker (or Spiderman) said "With great powers comes great responsibilities", Google is one of the powerhouses of the Internet world. The fate of a particular product or a site more or less depends on the Google Rank or SEO it fetches on the search page which is still a mystery to the majority of the population as of how google allocates a Rank to the page or site. I agree there are so many formulas or techniques which can fetch you a good page rank on Google but there is no sure shot way for that and Google being the dominant force can change the formula as it so did with its recent Search algorithm update code named "Hummingbird" and change the whole equation overnight.

Now coming to personal information, with products like Gmail, Google + and Android, Google knows more about us than our parents literally. What it does with the information is it feeds us with ad's which are the major source of google's revenue. With recent news of US Government spying on its servers raises a serious question of privacy in one's mind. So too much power is vested in Google's hand and its raises a concern of who is using it and how they are using it.


But instead of all this if you ask me personally is this all worth it... I would say definately a big YES. Personally speaking i cannot roam around the city Bangalore without using the Google Maps for a single day or cant even imagine life without it. Google changed the way we live our lifes by giving us information in our hands whenever and wherever we are. It definately has more pros than cons and their so called "Don't be evil policy" stands in way of everything else.

To sum it up i guess dependance on technology is good but overdependance is where it will spoil us.




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