Apple’s iPhone 4S makes India debut

The iPhone 4S, the final gadget unveiled during Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' lifetime, hit store shelves in India on Friday with a starting price of 44,500 rupees.

At about four times the U.S. retail price where customers buy mandatory data-service plans, the phone may still find buyers among affluent young professionals in India who are snapping up iconic brands and luxury items.

Unlike their western peers, Indian mobile operators do not subsidise cost of phones.

Airtel and Aircel are selling the 16 GB model for 44,500 rupees, with the 32 GB version priced at 50,900 rupees and the 64 GB model available for 57,500 rupees.

Media reports last week said Indian fans were unhappy that the smartphone will be more expensive in India than anywhere else in the world.

Both mobile operators, which started selling the iPhone 4S from midnight on Friday, are offering discounted data plans.

The final gadget unveiled during Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' lifetime is more expensive that the iPad 2 in India, with the base model of the tablet selling for 27,900 rupees. Even its top-end model, with 64 GB of memory and WiFi & 3G, costs 46,900 rupees.

The new iPhone comes with a faster processor, a better light-sensitive camera, and voice-activated software "Siri".

On Friday, the Aircel website showed that the 64 GB version, both black and white, was sold out.

AT&T iPhone 4S unlocked accidentally, no jailbreak needed

Thanks to a glitch in the latest iOS 5 version some guys over at the Macrumors forums were able to unlock the iPhone 4S. The procedure doesn't require any software to be downloaded nor does the phone need to be jailbroken. Now there is a dint in this plot, however, as the unlock seems to work only on AT&T-locked iPhones 4S, 4 and 3GS and with a data-enabled T-Mobile SIM.
The steps are simple enough to follow but continue on your own risk. You have enable the Wi-Fi, disable the Location services, then turn Airplane mode while on your active AT&T network. Remove the SIM card and get ready to enter your T-Mobile chip.
Here's a video explaining the hack.

Now try to take this news with a pinch of salt as users mileage varies. Some say it works, most say it doesn't. And so far it has only been confirmed with the AT&T and T-Mo duo of SIMs. Maybe the T-Mobile card is required because it's the only other GSM network in the USA.

One more disadvantage is that if you've been successful in unlocking your iDevice, you should avoid rebooting and resetting as those will void the unlock and you'll need to repeat the whole procedure.