Monday,  

As the clock rang in Friday, the race between Apple and Samsung in India entered a new phase: both companies held midnight sales to launch their latest products in the country, the iPhone 6 and the Galaxy Note 4 respectively. Apple sold more than 35,000 units of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, while Korean competitor Samung sold more than 40,000 units of the Galaxy Note 4 in the country on the first day. Officials of both companies refused to reveal actual sales figures, but sources said the devices were disappearing fast, and Apple for one expects the iPhone 6 variants to be sold out over the weekend. Apple had shipped 55,000 units of the six variants of the phone into the country. The next lot of iPhone 6 is expected to take a few days to arrive, which has fuelled attempts by buyers to resell the phones at a premium on e-commerce websites. “It is a festival period and Indians are known to be lenient with their budget,” said NK Goyal, telecom consultant with CMIE. “Further the easy EMIs (easy monthly installments) that credit card companies offer also make people pick up such products without hesitation.” The two phones are in the high premium category, costing in excess of Rs 50,000. The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is priced at Rs 58,300 and the iPhone6 range starts at Rs 53,500, going all the way up to Rs 80,500. In view of the festival season, price has not been a deterrent. Samsung was equally upbeat about the showing. “I cannot share the sales number, but can assure that we are way ahead of our competitors,” said Rajiv Mishra, vice-president (media), Samsung India told HT on Friday. “Our products are very competitive in price and quality.” View Source Link

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