Moreover, a fear of unlocking (cracking) and a likely flooding of counterfeit iPhones in the market are also likely to keep Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Essar -- the two service providers – from subsidising the handset.

According to industry sources, prices of the latest iPhone (Version 2.0) would be at least double the amount of that in the US. The 8-gb version of the gizmo is likely to be priced between Rs 16,000 and 18,000, while the 16-gb would cost around Rs 24,000 to Rs 28,000 in the country.

Prices in India would also be higher by around $25-30 (Rs 1,000-1,200) as companies are expected to levy handling and other charges.

This is in contrast with the 8-gb iPhone sold at $199 (Rs 8,000) and the 16-gb priced at $299 (Rs 11,960) by AT&T in the US. The phone is given free by O2 in the UK, while T-Mobile prices it at a meagre 1 euro (Rs 67.92) in Germany.

AT&T, O2 and T-Mobile are bundling iPhones with their services, resulting in cheaper pricing of handsets to consumers.

The companies have admitted of subsidising -- the extent of the subsdy is under wraps -- with AT&T saying that it may take a hit in revenues for the next two years.

However, industry sources said without subsides the iPhone would cost around $400, double the price offered by AT&T in the US.

According to sources, Airtel and Vodafone are unlikely to subsidise them as bundling is not a "successful formula" in the country and penalty clauses are not strictly adhered to leading to lengthy court battles.

In the US, buyers have to sign a service contract for two years with AT&T and the phone has to be activated within 30 days. To discontinue the service, either the phone has to be surrendered or a cancellation fee of $175 (Rs 7,000) has to be paid.

When contacted, a Bharti Airtel spokesperson said: "We have plans of bringing in the iPhone before the close of the year, though a specific launch date is yet to be announced. It is too premature to comment on pricing details."

While Vodafone-Essar did not respond to queries, an Apple spokesperson based out of Singapore said: "Apple does not comment on speculation."