iTunes debuts in India; download a HD movie for Rs 490

After a long long wait, Indian iPad, iPod and iPhone users can now finally purchase their favourite Bollywood and regional music and movies and books from iTunes store in local currency, with Apple launching the service in the country.

iTunes Store was simultaneously launched in 55 other countries, including Russia, Turkey, and South Africa and users can buy local and international content.
iTunes Store, a popular service in the US, is already available in 119 countries.

Indian customers will get to choose from over 20 million songs available for purchase and download on iTunes Store, Apple said in statement. Songs are priced at about Rs 12. Latest Bollywood albums, like 'Ek Tha Tiger', is available for Rs 96. Users can also rent and downloaded movies.

Movies from major global studios, including 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, The Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros Pictures as well as local distributors would also be available for download. A high definition version of a movie like 'Ek Tha Tiger' is available for purchase for Rs 490, while the standard version is available for Rs 290. Users also get the option to rent the title for Rs 120 (HD version) or for Rs 80 (SD version).

In India, Apple iTunes store will face competition from Nokia Music Store that has a catalogue of over 4.5 million songs, and Flipkart's digital music store, Flyte.
Nokia claims that its music stores sees 1.4 million song downloads a day.

Meanwhile, global music giant Sony Music has uploaded half a million songs on iTunes music store, India, including Bollywood, International and Tamil film songs. "The experience, range and the market friendly pricing is very attractive, so we are confident that the store is going to make a big impact.

"To start with initially, we would say 5-6 lakh monthly downloads for the next 3-4 months would be a good start for us," Sony Music President (India and Middle East) Shridhar Subramaniam told PTI.

He, however, added that piracy and relatively small users base of Apple devices remains a challenge in a country like India.