Apple has successfully released the iPhone 5 – its sixth generation smartphone in several markets across the world from September 21 to September 28 and it has also marked scoring sales by achieving 5 million units in the first weekend itself.

Since then, there were several reports regarding the iPhone 5 India release date and about the way Apple will retail in the country this time.

According to a recent BGR India report, Apple partners have officially announced that the iPhone 5 will be released in the country on November 2, 2012 at an unconfirmed price of Rs 45,000 for 16GB.

Earlier reports suggested that iPhone 5 will be released on October 26 and it will be on pre-order from October 19, however, since past couple of days, the handset is available on Infibeam for pre-order for an advance price of Rs 5,000.

Meanwhile, to promote the sales of its sixth generation handset, Apple has also slashed the prices of iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S in the Indian market recently to Rs 26,500 and Rs 38,500 as a preparatory step of iPhone 5 release.

When it comes to specifications of the iPhone 5, it houses a 4 inch display with a resolution of 1136 x 640 pixels, a new Apple A6 chipset, 1GB RAM, 16GB/32GB/64GB internal memory, 8MP rear camera with iSight technology and 1.2MP front camera.

Powered by the iOS 6 platform with new features, iPhone 5 comes packed with connectivity features such as Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, 4G LTE, 3G and micro USB 2.0 support. As per Apple, the battery in the smartphone offers 8 hours talk time and 225 hours standby.

The Cupertino-based giant till now doesn't own an exclusive store in India, thanks to the unfavourable regulatory requirements and high cost of distribution. However, to generate sales in the growing market, Apple followed a different sales strategy and entered the shores via Indian retailers including Reliance and others. On the telecom carrier front, Apple released iPhone 4S in India through carrier partners including Airtel and Aircel.

However, when it comes to iPhone 5, it seems the tech giant will follow a complete different retail strategy. This can be said, as Apple has reportedly appointed for iPhone 5 two of the largest IT distributors Redington and Ingram Micro through whom the iPhone 5 stock will be routed, including the retail operations of the two existing carrier partners. It already has a relationship with the two for distribution of iPads and iPods, besides HCL Infosystems.

Moreover, Ingram Micro today published a release stating that the phone will be available at several retail outlets around the country starting November 2.

When it comes to the service providers in the country who will support the nano SIM cards for iPhone 5, reports are almost confirmed that all the major telecom operators of the nation have readied there nano-SIM cards.

An earlier report from TelecomTalk also claimed that major carriers including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and MTNL Mumbai are quite busy in testing the Nano SIM cards for the iPhone 5. The subscribers can exchange their old SIM cards and replace with the new nano SIM card at no extra cost via SIMEX (SIM exchange).

Update: First noticed by BGR.in, iPhone 5 is now available for pre-order on the online retailer Saholic starting at Rs 45,500 for the 16GB model. Also, the handset is available for booking on Tradus and Naaptol through goProbo.com at price range of approximately Rs 58,900 and Rs 61,199 respectively.

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