iPhone 4 to hit India via Bharti Airtel Ltd, Aircel

The iPhone 4 may land in India in the coming months according to a report from Reuters. Both Bharti Airtel and smaller rival Aircel confirmed they would soon carry the iPhone 4. Unfortunately, residents of India who want to mark a launch date on their calendar will have to wait as neither carrier announced an exact availability date for Apple's popular smartphone.

The iPhone is not new to this country; previous versions of the iPhone are available from Bharti and Vodafone Essar. Apple's move to bring the iPhone 4 to India should help boost sales as the Indian mobile phone market is prime for growth in the upcoming years.

Carriers are rolling out high-speed 3G networks, and smartphones account for a mere 5 percent of all mobile sales. A staggering 95 percent of cell phone owner are prospective future iPhone and smartphone owners. Overall, India boasts 800 million mobile phone subscribers. Bharti alone has 159 million, while Aircel has 53.5 million.