Is the sky blue?

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As much as I'd love to have one I'm downright scared to see what these are going to sell for in Canada. A $500 price point in the USA points to a ~$1K price point here after our monopolistic cellphone carriers gouge the heck out of us consumers.

What the data plans will be priced at is another major issue to be terrified of. Ugh.

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"iPhone price too high?"

Does the pope shit in the woods?

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People that rave about the iPhone always forget about the price. I don't really give a crap if it can travel through time, if I can't afford it, it does nothing for me.

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It's not particularly the iPhone that's too high it's going to be the required Cingular data plan of a minimum $20 extra on top of their cheapest $40 voice plan. iPhone cachet is going to make people pay $60 a month for it.

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Nothing new here, heck the RAZR was $499 when it first came out on Cingular.

This works out great, I can get the widescreen iPod when it comes out this summer (and it will) & then get the iPhone when the price drops to $299 in the fall.

Sweet!

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is $60 a month really that bad... £25 (about $50)is average in the uk

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Apple will have to make the phone a lot less expensive for the UK market - Thankfully within a year, like any phone, it should hit the PAYG market, or sold SIM free :).

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People should try and remember you aren't buying a phone. You aren't buying an iPod either. You are buying BOTH. And like some of the other commentators noted, new phones do get launched with $499 price tags. Now, what remains to be seen is if Apple/ATT adjusts the price over time like others mobile phones or if they will remain constant like most of the iPod line.

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I'm just astonished at the continuing harping on price -- it seems to be the same phenomenon that swirls around the perceived "premium price" on Apple's computers; in fact, when one compares the feature set of Apple's computers with similarly configured computers from their competitors, the prices are comparable. The same goes for the iPhone.
I've purchased Blackberrys that cost $600 or more WITH CONTRACT; as previously commented, even the RAZR was $500 WITH CONTRACT when it debuted. Frankly, the iPhone seems to be priced appropriately, even rather cheaply when the high-end features are factored in.
It's patently unfair, but the media and pundits are constantly comparing the iPhone with a $30 Nokia phone instead of, say, the Treo, which goes for $649 ($499 with 2 year contract).
We all know that there are plenty of customers out there who will buy an iPhone at the $600 price point; so what is the point of the continued rehashing of this subject if not to bash Apple for the sake of bashing Apple? Ugh, can we please just stop it?

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From looking at the Cingular site, unlimited data appears to be $40/month, not $20. For $20 you only get 5MB of data transfer per month.

So it's going to be at least $80 a month, which is pretty steep.

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no one will buy the ipod, it's too expensive at $499 and doesn't have the features of the archos. (90 million units later)

the imac is too expensive, it only comes with a 33.6K modem, there are no USB devices available and NO floppy!!! (3 model revisions, several million units and dozens of imitators later)

the shuffle is too expensive and has no screen! (current most popular ipod and millions of units later)

the ipod mini is too expensive, for $50 more i can get a 15gig regular ipod, it'll never sell! (formerly most popular ipod and millions of units later)

$0.99 for a DRM, 128kbps song? that's too expensive for that quality (2 billion songs later)

face it there's a reason steve jobs is a billionaire & apple stock is $85 share, and you lot are whining on the internet. steve and his team know what people want and know what people will pay. the iphone will be released at the current price, early adopters will buy it and force component costs down. apple will then lower the price and/or introduce additional budget versions of the phone. all the while they, unlike microsoft's offerings, will be making money on each unit sold.

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dunk is right, it's futile. We can't resist Steve Jobs et al, so we should just give in to any and all requests and/or demands. There's just no point in arguing about it anymore, give us the iPhone and we will buy it at any price no matter how exhorbitant or out-of-personal-budget it may be. End of story.

Might as well just lay down in the street and die while listening to your iPod.

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hmm, i'd have never guessed. doesn't everyone have $500 just lying around?!

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Does that headline really need a question mark?

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The Question Mark in News Headlines
By Jon Stewart

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1232251620809275724&q=daily+show+question+mark

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#12: "[ipod/imac/etc. are expensive with limited features, but still sell]...face it there's a reason steve jobs is a billionaire & apple stock is $85 share..."

Yes, and that reason is, "Consumers are idiots."

I don't care how popular the Razor is, paying $500 for a phone is insane.

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My first iPod cost $500, and all it did was play music. Now, I wouldn't be stupid enough to buy another one at that price (I made a lot more money back then), but the people are out there.

The early adopters will pay, work out all the kinks, and the price will drop as more and more people pick up on it. That's just the way things are.

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no... really?

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At this stage it should be expensive because that will make it more desireable. There will be cheaper models down the line.
The first iPods were really expensive too.The high-end model used to cost $499. A friend of mine works at a top investment bank and all his co-workers went iPod crazy when the first Windows version came out. My guess is that the fact that it was expensive added greatly to that.

I do think they should sell the iPhone without a contract, but I guess they have their reasons. I don't think they felt compelled to team up with Cingular just for visual voicemail. It's neat, but not that neat.

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