Hurray, Apple TV arrives in India, to cost Rs.8000 for the device

The Apple marketing Guru's have finally realised India's potential for their company's own success.  After publishing full page ads on major Indian dailies, now it has gone ahead and launched the Apple TV device for India.  The Indians can now get to feel the Apple TV and remote in their hands.

Apple TV was formally launched yesterday, exactly one year after its US launch.  Apple TV is essentially a media streaming device with connection to the iTunes as well as your other Apple devices and the output can be seen on your HDTV.

Apple TV is to be connected to your TV with a HDMI cable and you can stream movies from you iPhone, iPad or iPod, if you have one.  You can also purchase new movies and other content from the iTunes store which caters specifically to the Indian taste.

You can watch the content on Youtube, Vimeo and Flickr beside the contents stored by you and your friends on iCloud.  The device is self is clutterfree, take a look at the screen shot.

The remote is also very cute,  though you can use your iOS devices to control the Apple TV.  If you have a iOS enabled environment in your house this product is made for you.

The Apple web page says, "No more queueing to check out DVDs or watching stale blockbusters on cable. With Apple TV, you get instant access to the hottest Hollywood titles and new releases — often the same day they come out on DVD. Popular films are never out of stock, and you can rent as many as you want. That’s perfect for those spontaneous film nights (or afternoons or mornings). Search by top films, title or genre. Even read a quick film review, watch the trailer and check out the latest ratings from iTunes. Once you find what you’re looking for, simply press Play, and in seconds, you’re watching the opening credits with cinema-like Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.1 SD rentals start from just Rs. 80, and HD rentals start from Rs. 120. You have 30 days to start watching, and once you begin, you can watch as many times as you want in 48 hours."

You can checkout the web site here.  My own view is that the Apple TV is way ahead of India as far as TV viewing is concerned.  Indian metros have just rolled out CAS, with majority of Indian homes watching their TV's in CRT format as of today, this is way over their head.  Also the iOS penetration in India is very low with sales of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch not so enthralling ditto for Youtube and Vimeo.  Indians continue be wary of privacy concerns regarding their posts on Youtube.

iPhone in India is still a fashion statement and and a status symbol rather than a requirement.  It has created a niche group of users for itself knowingly or unknowingly. And this is bound to make an impact on its sales.  Indian society is still very closeted in context of social networking.  Facebook has worked in India because it is free and available on every device.  Apple will have to come up with a brilliant strategy for social engineering of Indian psyche.

Till such time Apple will find it impossible to enter the popular Indian market which is far different from the niche users.  These users have money to spend but the identity crisis suffered by iPhone due to its 'status symbol' tag lures them to Samsung, Sony and HTC which they believe are meant for common Indians.   

Wish Apple TV all the best but my above words are very much true.  Hope the strategists at Apple do something about it.