Dear Apple, Is India ‘Out of the World’?
Saturday October 22, 2011 , 3 min Read
I usually use the phrase ‘Out of the World’ in a good connotation – And, mostly I have associated this with good food.But some how, I got this in my mind, when I got an email from Apple, when they announced “iOS 5 Tech Talk World Tour, 2011” – They have a very exciting talks by experts who developed iOS5 (http://developer.apple.com/techtalk/) - The talks are conducted all over the world!
As Indian Developers, if you are very excited to participate, please don’t be. They are not coming to India. They have sessions in Rome, Sao Paulo, Beijing (I have nothing personal against these places) – But there is not a single place in India that they have a session!
I am personally puzzled with this decision from Apple. Despite a terribly busy day, I spent aside some time thinking why and how this was planned leaving India out. Probably they have some stats which says there are not many iOS developers in India? Even if they don’t have, may be this is a good reason to do it in India to grab developers’ attention.
India is recognized worldwide for her software prowess. I think Apple is making a HUGE mistake by not having India in its radar. I shouldn’t have been surprised in the first place though. Their attitude is quite clear when they don’t get their latest stuff to India, and whenever they bring it, they price it so beyond the reach of even a well-to-do customer.
It is not the same with all other companies – Blackberry launched their new series of phones based on their Blackberry 7 OS in India, even before they launched in US. Not just mobiles, even automobile companies launch products in India before they do a worldwide launch (e.g., Hyundai with i10, eon).
Indian consumers have been very discerning and have been extremely rewarding for the right product. Samsung Galaxy SII is selling very well in India. And, Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is difficult to buy off the shelves!
It is totally disgusting that even a power adaptor you buy for the Mac / Macbook in India, is not compatible with the sockets here. Apple assumes that the fanboys here will put up with anything they dish out.
Apple –Take India seriously. We reward guys who take us seriously, and we’ll ignore who don’t. And we are right here, in this world, and not out of it.
