Apple may sell iPhone 4 in India to kick-start sales

Apple reportedly is prepping to relaunch the budget-conscious 8GB iPhone 4 in India in an attempt to revive lagging smartphone sales.To reach more buyers, Apple will cut the cost of the iPhone 4 to 15,000 Indian rupees ($243) from the original price of 26,500 rupees ($431), The Economic Times said on Tuesday, citing information from Apple's top four trade partners in India. After launching in the country three years ago, the iPhone 4 was retired when the iPhone 4S, 5, 5C, and 5S debuted. However, the 5S starts at the high price of 53,500 rupees ($870), and Apple offers no phone in the sub-30,000 rupee category, according to The Times. Demand for the lower-cost 5C has failed to meet expectations."Apple's iPhone 4 8GB model used to rank amongst the top three selling models by unit sales and fight neck and neck with Samsung, but with its exit the company lost much ground," a senior executive at a top electronic retail told The Times.However, Apple faces an uphill battle competing against Samsung, to which it has lost market share in India. Apple's slice of the smartphone market hit a high of 4 percent around a year ago before sinking to 1.4 percent last October, The Times said. Over the same period, Samsung's share surged from 33 percent to 42 percent.