Click on image to enlarge. Taken from Google trends on the iPhone for India. Lets try to read the story this graph shows.

Until late June, not much was being about the iPhone in India (on Google, I mean). Suddenly, PR kicks in, news channels and TV is flooded with talk about the iPhone, blogs start writing about the steep 31k price tag, Airtel starts its holistic marketing campaigns, and finally it also reflects in search requests, with Google spiking in July and still showing high queries in August. Similar buzz can also be noted when the iPhone 3G was launched world-wide, and India has already started searching for tidbits in early June.

Even more reason why pre-seeding works well in technology, blogs and WOM. Apple would want Engadget, CNet and all other gadget reviewers to go ga-ga, early. And sustain the search volume to reach critical mass in awareness first; then with the actual launch, people are already camping outside the stores, blogs have hyped up the functionalities; Steve Jobs is smiling his way to the bank.

Another interesting observation from the Trends link: Mangalore beats all other cities (even Mumbai and Bangalore) and Gujarat tops the searches for both iPhone and iPhone 3G (Surat and Ahmedabad being the main contributors). Unlikely candidate for the geekiest state, beating Karnataka and AP, don’t you think? Or is it just a reflection of buying propensity?

[Try Google Trends. Pretty darn interesting.]

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