Websites like TechCrunch, GigaOm offer the latest happenings on the web. But at times, I like in-depth analysis – the kind provided by Gartner blogs, and independent analysts like those on ZDnet and Joe Wilcox.

I had an e-mail conversation with him about the state of mobile market in India and why the Apple IPhone hasn’t emulated its success in North America and Europe here. Some portions of that conversation were quoted by him yesterday in one of his posts in Betanews on the fortune of IPhone.

I am quoting the part where I am quoted:

But iPhone is different. “You cannot [swap] SIM cards,” he emphasized, “because it is locked onto [the] operator you bought the device from. An iPhone bought from Airtel will not work on Vodafone and visa versa. Phone is not subsidized as well in India.”

The perspective is about the same there in India as viewed from afar by the Gartner analyst. “Apple bungled up big time with the iPhone in India,” said Rohit Mishra, a student studying mobile technologies at VIT University in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India. “It still has a solid brand and created the touchscreen crave that has resulted in the success of Nokia [XpressMusic] 5800 and Samsung Star.” Nokia is India’s market leader, with 56.1 percent unit marketshare in second quarter, according to IDC. Samsung was No. 2 and Apple No. 22.

Rohit continued: “By pricing iPhone at Rs 31,000 ($600 approximately), Apple turned away a huge bunch of people who were waiting for the iPhone. There is another issue here – we don’t have 3G here. It’s been launched by the state carrier in select cities, but that doesn’t count for much now.”

What do you think about the future of smartphones in markets like India? Discuss it with me here or on Twitter – movingahead