Shiv Bakshi, Director-Mobility Research, IDC, feels the new 3G iPhone 2.0 is going to be very popular. "This is because of slashing price, and better network technology."

Excerpts from CNBC-TV18 Abhimanyu Radhakrishnan's exclusive with Shiv Bakshi:

Q: The new big thing of course is that the software platform is now open. Third party developers can build applications for it. We saw some interesting ones demonstrated today. Unlike Windows on the PC, the mobile phone hasn't had a dominating platform as such, like a separate application for Nokia, or Sony Ericsson. Do you think Apple has it to take the iPhone all the way?

A: Then, you will be building a separate application for Apple too. But Apple has one advantage over a lot many others as it captures the imagination. So, Apple folks create that mystique and hoopla around it, which capture mindshare. So, you will see a lot of developers flocking to it.

The other appealing thing is the ease of use. The user interface is so superior that there will be a lot of users who will be hooked on by the ease of use. A lot of application developers will flock to this because they know that more and more people will be using it. So, it will do very well. Will it be the sole platform? Time will tell.

Q: Unlike the PC world, in the mobile world you have the operator who has the bigger stranglehold over it. India is one country where Apple has to go with two-operators - Bharti and Vodafone. Why do you think that is so and what role will the operators play in countries like India and China?

A: Apple had signed up with Vodafone, which would have taken it to India. But then they are looking at India and saying the largest operator is Bharti. So, if you are with Vodafone and don't play Bharti, you are actually limiting your own score. It is good decision to go with both. But in some other countries there is also a regulatory demand that you cannot have this exclusive relationship. Like in Europe, you get exclusivity for a small period of time and after that you have to sort of open it up to other operators. It is a mix of reasons why they would have gone with two-operators in India.