Indian netizens least upbeat about iPhone launch

Netizens in India decided to look up news items for cricket or movie releases instead

While globally, iPhone 5 was one of the most searched item on Google,in India more people looked up for news items related to cricket or movie release, than articles on the iconic product from Apple.

According to the hot search trends by Google, iPhone 5 did not figure in the top five most searched items on the search engine in India post its global launch yesterday evening. In the US, where the device was launched formally, it was one of the top two most searched items on the web.

iphone launch was the eighth most searched items from India. Most search queries about iphone came from Delhi (12%) and Bangalore (5%).

The data could an indication, that iPhone may not register high sales volumes in India, as there are reports that suggest search volume for a firms’products is a value-relevant indicator of earnings.

According to a report titled, In Search of Earnings Predictability authored by Zhi Da, Joseph Engelberg, and Pengjie Gao, trends for
specific products on search engines, specifically Google, can be used to gauge upcoming earnings.

The report used search volume for a firm’s products to predict the earnings surprises of that  firm. We find that increases (decreases) in
the search volume index (SVI) of a firm’s most popular product predict positive (negative) revenue surprises.

At an event in San Francisco, Apple yesterday had launched the new iPhone 5. The iPhone 5 is the sixth iPhone to hit the market. Available for pre-order in the US starting September 14, iPhone 5’s US pricing for the is $199 for 16GB model, $299 for 32GB model and 64GB will retail at $399.

Though no official word on its India launch or price had been shared so far, India is not among the first set of countries where the product would be sold.