Filed under: Odds and ends, Steve Jobs, Apple, iPhone
Apple employees to get free iPhones
Steve giveth, and Steve taketh away. Luckily, for Apple employees who have been employed by the fruit company a year or longer, Steve was in a giving mood. Our sister site Engadget reported that Apple was holding an all hands meeting helmed by Steve Jobs today. It would seem Steve wanted to talk iPhone (and who doesn't). Imagine the gleeful reaction he was given when he announced that all Apple employees (our source says both part time and full-time employees) that have been with Apple for over a year will receive a free 8 gig iPhone by the end of July.Well done, Steve. What does this mean to you? I take this as a good sign that Apple was able to make lots of these phones, and they aren't worried about meeting demand, hence they can give them away in 4 weeks.
[via Daring Fireball]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
TD said 3:14PM on 6-28-2007
You would be a bit irritated if you had worked there for 11 months.
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Fred said 3:19PM on 6-28-2007
That tells us how cheap these things are to make and how much Apple is raking in on these. Still getting one, just an observation
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Baron Collins-Hill said 3:19PM on 6-28-2007
do they have to pay for the service though? if not it means they are still out $1500. or do they get the service too? (super sweet deal)
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P said 3:23PM on 6-28-2007
No service included, unless Apple already pays your bill because you are on call, etc. Pretty sweet deal either way.
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Mark (UK) said 3:29PM on 6-28-2007
And those outside the USA? Do they just carry around a plastic brick for 6 months?
http://www.Metphoto.net Mark
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dave said 3:32PM on 6-28-2007
nooooo =( started in november
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Joe Smith said 3:34PM on 6-28-2007
is this for apple store employees or just apple campus employees in cupertino?
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Paul Bulus said 3:42PM on 6-28-2007
Another report said that this even extends to Apple store employees. (Ars Technica)
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halfeatenfish said 3:43PM on 6-28-2007
I guess now we know now why there were going to be no employee discounts...
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punkassjim said 3:44PM on 6-28-2007
@ 7:
I can almost guarantee you it means ALL Apple employees, even the little twirp who sold your grandmother an iPod shuffle, even though she doesn't own a computer. However, the condition of having to be a 1+ year employee kinda knocks most Apple Store employees off the list. I started at the Apple store in December, and quit in May. I'm kinda bummed that I didn't start earlier and stay longer, but oh well...with the job I have now, the iPhone is about 3 days' pay.
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Jim said 3:45PM on 6-28-2007
#3
iPhone service costs $20/month, $240/year. Cellphone service (which most people already have) costs extra. Please, please, please won't someone post on this gross mischaracterization? It has been repeated over and over since the rate plans were announced.
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YodaMac said 3:45PM on 6-28-2007
Or does this mean iPhone 2.0 is already so close to release (remember the 3 month window before AppleTV was upgraded) that he just wants to get rid of as many iPhone 1.0s as possible... :)
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ybalx said 3:51PM on 6-28-2007
can you say "Ebay?"
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Johnny Thrash said 4:03PM on 6-28-2007
He also stated the NEXT GENERATION iPod... yes there will be another iPod (for those that were naysayin (yesterday?)). And it will run an embedded version of OS X, like the iPhone.
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Dan said 4:29PM on 6-28-2007
#1. I'm sure the 11 month employees will get the standard once-per-year 25% off Apple gives to employees for macs and iPods.
#13. I hear the Apple, Inc secret police are good at checking eBay and Craiglist to make sure employees don't use their employee discounts to turn a profit on the merch. Selling that stuff on eBay is grounds for immediate dissmisal. Do you make a quick buck or keep your job?
Having an iPhone will be status symbol for them anyway.
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rottenappley said 4:33PM on 6-28-2007
this is more of an obvious stunt to make sure no apple employee is walking around with another brand of phone. How bad does it look when you go into an apple store and the ultra-hip twentysomething behind the counter gets ringed up on a nokia or samsung phone. I will tell you, it looks terrible.
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Frank said 4:43PM on 6-28-2007
"I take this as a good sign that Apple was able to make lots of these phones"
One could read this the opposite way, of course: perhaps Apple IS concerned about supply, and they don't want employees taking any from the first shipments. Hence the decision to wait 4 weeks for the supply chain to stabilize before the employees get theirs.
It's not unlike a strategy well-known to anyone who's worked in a big box store: save the parking spots up front for the customers, and make the employees park in the back.
But we're all just wildly speculatin' now, aren't we? It sure is fun, though!
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Buckingham said 4:50PM on 6-28-2007
rottenappley, interesting and logical view. I wonder if Apple will eventually ban (or frown upon) non-iPhones in its work places.
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PeiPei said 4:54PM on 6-28-2007
@18 - That's just plain dumb, everyone can't afford a SmartPhone. So untill Apple releases iPhone Nano, not likely, not likely at all in fact.
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Billy K said 5:34PM on 6-28-2007
@16 - Yes. Just like all Apple employees get an iPod.
Also keeps them from buying up all the available phones tomorrow and upsetting customers (Like what happens with Best Buy employees when consoles launch). How mad would you be if half the stock was bought by Apple Store employees and you got shafted?
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