Mac OS X will launch this July in India, according to an Indiatimes Infotech article. The Indian price hasn’t been determined, the story said.
As we reported last fall, Apple Computer International Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, doesn’t want to miss the “home PC revolution” that is erupting in India and China and is working out a strategy to tap the consumer PC market in India and other SAARC (South Asian Free Trade Areas) countries, according to a siliconindia Bangalore Bureau article.
“We have major plans for the segments like home PC, education, entertainment and creative market,” Naren. S. Ayyar, Apple’s managing director for India and the SAARC countries, told siliconindia. It is the right time for Apple to tap these areas in a big way.”
Apple Computer International was set up in Bangalore in 1996 to oversee Apple’s sales and channel network, according to siliconindia. It currently has offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and plans to open another office in Chennai. As part of the initiative the company will double its channel network in India by the end of 2001. Apple currently has two distributors and 35 dealers in India.
Domestic IT spending in India is likely to touch $4.66 billion this year. Apple plans to partner with major and premier educational institutions in the Indian education market. The company recently signed two such agreements in Delhi and one in Chennai.
In February, Apple held a one-day seminar at the Institute of Psychological and Educational Measurement (IPEM) to help clear up misperceptions about computers and education. Also, Shahid Khan, an Apple expert, demoed some of Apple’s products, including the Cube, Titanium PowerBook G4, the iMac, and Power Mac. Khan said that the ease of use of Apple hardware and the Mac OS’ user-friendly interface offered unlimited opportunity for anyone “with or without computer knowledge for live creativity and education.”