Get Apple apps, now@Indian rupees

Apple has added India to the list of countries with supported currencies on the company's app stores. With the addition, users in India can now view and purchase apps from the app stores in Indian rupees. Apart from India,  Russia, Turkey, Indonesian, Israel, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and United Arab Emirates (eight including India) have also been added to the list.

The fact that the company has already crossed 30 billion downloads from its app stores meant that adding new currencies was the next logical step. The introduction of Indian rupees on the store should make consumers more confident in making purchases from the store since as of now, people had to either use their cards to pay for apps in US dollars, or stick to only downloading free apps.

In comparison, Google's app store Google Play has been showing prices in Indian rupees for a long time now.

The development directly coincides with the launch of the iPhone 5 in India, which was supposed to happen today, but will now happen in the first week of November (probably November 2). While the company has not officially confirmed this date (its site still says coming soon), the 16GB version of the device is available for pre-order on the e-commerce site Infibeam.com for Rs 5,000. Note that the company has not disclosed the actual pricing of the device and instead mentions that it will be available at launch (so if you can't afford the final price, you will end up losing the pre-booking amount).

Also, while the iPhone 5 has been available in the grey market for prices upwards of Rs 70,000 and e-commerce sites for Rs 55,000 to Rs 90,000, the official starting price of the smartphone should be in the Rs 45,000-50,000 range.

Interestingly, the company has been paying attention to the Indian market in the recent times. It officially launched the last generation of the iPad within a month of its US launch and is now launching the new iPhone within two months of its official launch. So don't be surprised if you are able to get your hands on an iPad mini before the New Year.