Apple in India isn't allowed to open its own retail stores or directly sell iPhones on the Web.
Apple sells in India through roughly 2, 000 mom-and-pop stores and 65 franchisee-owned "Apple shops" in malls and other high-end spots.
The Apple retail shops in India are operated by licensed franchisees and sell Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) products exclusively.
Unlike China, there are no Apple stores in India due to government regulation.
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Many of the Apple consumers in India buy their gadgets from overseas (due to higher costs of the devices in India).
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Android smartphone vendors have employed 50-60% lower price with inferior hardware highly successfully against Apple in Brazil, India and China.
Although Apple is still catching up to other smartphone makers like Samsung, analysts say Apple is finally taking India seriously.
Despite his affection for India, Apple made slow progress in the country even as it invested heavily in other emerging markets.
Apple is not able to go direct to consumer by setting up Apple retail stores in India unless at least 30% of the product sold contains content that is sourced from within the country.
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Finally, Apple gadgets are so darn expensive for India. 95% of the populace cannot afford it.
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Apple is expected to launch iPhone5 in India later this year.
At present Apple ranks 10th in smartphone sales in India.
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New Delhi (CNN) -- After a slow start, Apple's iPhone has jumped to India's second largest smartphone supplier by pushing phones to Mom-and-Pop shops in the world's fastest growing smartphone market.
Apple has historically maintained an ignore-India strategy.
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Apple still is sixth in smartphone shipments in India, behind Samsung, Sony Corp.
Yet Apple accounts for just 5% smartphone shipments to India, compared with 40% for market leader Samsung.
To date Apple has focused on China, but largely ignored India.
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It took Apple 11 months to sell the iPhone 4 in India, but the iPhone 5 arrived in Indian stores just over a month after the device's global rollout.
The result is that Apple shipped more than 252, 000 iPhones to India in the quarter through December, more than triple the number in the previous three months, according to research firm Canalys.
India's smartphone market is hypercompetitive with Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. taking a lion's share of the sales.
Apple has tweaked its retail strategy for the iPhone in India.
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The South Korean company surged ahead by making India a high-priority market earlier than Apple did and offering a range of phones based on Google Inc.
Apple sells older versions of the iPhone at a discount in India and elsewhere, but still at a hefty premium to local rivals.
Prior to Apple's change in strategy an i-Phone in India cost nearly 30% more than in the U.S., and customers has to wait as long as a year for delivery.
On a more related side note, a few days ago Bloomberg Television spoke with ex Apple CEO John Sculley in Singapore, who predicted that Apple will increasingly depend on growth in emerging markets, including India.
Apple is sidestepping wireless carriers to seize greater control over marketing in India and offering no-interest loans to lure lower-income consumers.
Apple's success has been attributed to its ability to adapt to India's smartphone distribution market, where most electronics are sold through small, family-owned shops.
The Senate panel's report focuses on Apple units in Cork, Ireland, where Apple has long based its operations for Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
WSJ: Apple Pays No Tax on Much of Its Overseas Income, Senate Panel Finds
The Senate panel's new report focuses on Apple units in Cork, Ireland, where Apple has long based its operations for Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
WSJ: Apple Pays No Tax on Much of Its Overseas Income, Senate Panel Finds
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