I have been yearning to get an iPhone 4 from the time it has been announced. I couldn't get it from the US too. The main problem was Apple did not sell the phone without an AT & T contract. So, there was no way you could get a phone even if you could unlock it here.

Then, I somehow got to know that factory-unlocked iPhone 4s were being sold by Apple in some countries like Hong Kong. My cousin Nisha was travelling to Hong Kong in November and I asked her to buy one for me from there. She went to the Apple store in Hong Kong when she was there. There was a waiting period of 4 to 6 weeks! They asked her to leave her credit card details and her phone number and they would call her when the phone arrived. My cousin did that despite having to leave Hong Kong in a few days. The plan was to get a friend to pick it up and send it to India whenever it arrived.

Four to six weeks became two months. But finally the phone arrived at the Hong Kong store. My cousin got a call and she requested a friend to pick it up. Now the next step was to bring it to India! We waited and waited for someone to make plans to come to India from Hong Kong. My cousin, by now, was as anxious as I was to get the phone. Shipping it wasn't an option. Who wants to risk shipping an iPhone and have it come through Indian customs?!

A few misses (people coming but we not knowing) later, finally the lady who picked up the phone herself arrived at Mumbai a couple of days back. Nisha has yet to lay her hands on the phone but confirmed reports say the phone has indeed arrived.

I am off to Mumbai this Saturday to pick it up.