Jamshedpur, Aug. 20: Jharkhand’s wait for the iPhone ends in another 48 hours. As part of the nationwide launch, Bharti Airtel, one of the leading private telecom operators, will bring the iconic phone to its customers in the state on August 22.

A senior official of Bharti Airtel, Bihar telecom circle, said today’s most-talked-about gizmo would be available at Airtel Relationship outlets in Ranchi and Jamshedpur. “A decision has been taken to launch iPhone across Jharkhand and Bihar. However, it will, initially, be available in Ranchi and Jamshedpur,” he said.

The telecom major has two Relationship centres — one each in Ranchi and Jamshedpur. Both are being swamped with enquiries about the most sought-after phone. The iPhones may come with a SIM card. Officials of the company, however, refused to divulge model and price details.

Bharti Airtel had on August 6 announced that iPhone 3G would be available at its outlets from August 22. But officials of the Bihar telecom circle were sceptical about the launch of the product in Jharkhand. All they said then was that they were chalking out plans for the launch.

Though Airtel officials in the state were tight-lipped, Calcutta’s Vodafone outlets would be selling the 8GB model for Rs 31,000 and the 16GB version for Rs 36,000. In the US, the 8GB iPhone costs $199 and the 16GB is priced at $299. Buyers, however, have to commit to monthly plans of service provider AT&T for extended periods.

The iPhone 3G is an updated version of Apple’s iconic smartphone, which has an in-built iPod and a touchscreen.

After the upgrade, the iPhone allows data transfer through the 3G network, which is much faster than options available currently. Besides, it offers GPS and other value-added services, including updates on Olympics.

The tech-savvy are eagerly awaiting Friday’s iPhone launch. “I am keeping my fingers crossed. I had thought I would have to go to Calcutta to buy the iPhone. But now I am happy that the product will be available here,” said Arvind Tiwary, a technocrat with Tata Steel.

Not just Jharkhand, India’s 286.86 million cell phone subscribers are agog with anticipation for the iPhone. The cloak of secrecy surrounding its launch makes it the most sought-after gadget. This is classic Apple marketing for a classic product. Apple said that it would sell 10 million phones by 2009. But analysts predict that it will sell 12.8 million sets this year alone, reaching 45 million units by 2009. This would give Apple 17 per cent of the world market share, second only to Nokia’s 40 per cent.