iPhones still selling like hotcakes?
Despite the notable backlash at some of Apple's questionably-nefarious corporate agendas recently, Blackfriars' Marketing blog notes that iPhones are still selling rather well - and that stock is low in a dozen or so stores. GigaOM is also reporting people are causing noticeable queues at silly hours of the day at the twenty-four hour Fifth Avenue store, just to buy handsets.Of course, the mass-buying could be purely down to people buying plenty of handsets to hack, brick, and re-lock to try and score a feature on Joy of Tech, but the reasons from Blackfriars seem to be slightly more business-orientated. Demand for the iPhone elsewhere in the world - particularly Europe, despite the fact there's now a launch date and pricing for at least some European territories - is clearly a tempting proposition for people looking to make a tidy profit from sending iPhones abroad, and plenty seem to be doing so.
Thanks, Mike.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
kapsel said 10:13AM on 9-26-2007
I've personally seen iPhones go for up to 10.000DKK here in Denmark, thats around ~1900USD. I've heard about phones going for even more, (2000+$), but thats about a month ago. Right now, they're somewhere around 4.000 and 5.000DKK here (thats 950USD). And yeah, its quite a big deal, they're everywhere and everyone wants one!
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Julian B said 10:55AM on 9-26-2007
Can one buy an iPhone in the US, and then take it to the UK & activate it with O2 after 09-NOV? Or will a US iPhone only activate with AT&T?
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Tom Boucher said 10:21AM on 9-26-2007
I'm of the personal opinion that the only people that care about the brickability of the iPhone or the evil AT&T empire are the few Mac/Gadget blogs that continue to beat that dead horse.
The rest want the latest Apple gadget phone thing that has a great experience compared to others, and who gives a hoot about the rest of it.
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Steve said 10:23AM on 9-26-2007
I am not too surprise that with the price drop the demand is still high. In fact considering that in a little bit over 70 days Apple sold more than 1 millions units is a proof that demand is still big.
What will be interesting now that some european market have their launch date is how the demand & supply will be impacted ? Are we going to see less units available when Europe launch? Or will Apple be able to scale and provide the various markets with enough units?
Steve
http://inewsonly.com
The first ZUI news aggregator for iPhone & iPod Touch
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Eric said 10:38AM on 9-26-2007
Make no doubt about it, they are selling like crazy...at least here in Ohio.
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Slevin said 10:54AM on 9-26-2007
I second the opnion that there are few and far between people who want to unlock their iPhone despite the "huge" number of downloads for the applications. I downloaded iFuntastic several times to take a look at the app each time it was updated and had no intention of modding my iPhone. I would estimate that less than 1 in 10 actually went through the hacking process.
I think TUAW is on the OMG Apple is evil, they won't let us hack our iPhones mostly because Sudan is a huge proponent of the iPhone hack and has invested considerable time in the effort.
TUAW and its readers must realize that Apple does not have to support 3rd party hacks and if their update unintentionally breaks hacked iPhones thats your fault. Just like with shapeshifter and other UI apps that tweak or SIMBL the dev's of these apps don't complain if Apple updates break their app because thats the price of the game. No one told you to tinker, you did that on your own so don't blame Apple if their update breaks your iPhone and you are left with a nice paperweight.
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Bootes said 11:12AM on 9-26-2007
Lots of people want to hack their iPhones, they just don't realize they can. Every time I talk to someone with one and show them/tell them about the NES emulator I have running on mine, I then have to help them hack their phone.
Slevin I don't think anyone really minds if Apple accidentally breaks hacks. I mean sure it would be nice if they didn't, and they should officially support third party development, but they don't so it's ok if things don't work after an update. However, I and many other would be very disappointed in Apple if they intentionally broke iPhone hacks. This means that Apple is purposefully trying to stop people from doing what they want with their phones, when there really isn't a reason to do so.
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DrWho said 11:41AM on 9-26-2007
I third that opinion, my iPhone as it is already provides a user experience way beyond anything I have experienced from any phone I have had in the past, I couldn't be happier with it. And I have no complaints about ATT even though I had to switch from T-Mobile to get it. I looked at the list of 3rd party apps that had been created and couldn't see one single one that would make me want to start hacking my phone.
@#6 - I wouldn't be surprised if it only worked with an O2 sim card, but you'll find out soon after Nov 9th!
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KeynoteKen said 12:13PM on 9-26-2007
"I downloaded iFuntastic several times to take a look at the app each time it was updated and had no intention of modding my iPhone. I would estimate that less than 1 in 10 actually went through the hacking process."
Know what? I just remembered I did, too. I just looked at the interface but didn't touch my phone. So, I guess just because someone downloaded it doesn't mean they ran it.
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OWRC said 11:41AM on 9-26-2007
Just look at the strength or lack of it of the dollar. iPhones are cheap as proverbial chips for UK and Euro based punters at the moment.
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Jesse said 12:13PM on 9-26-2007
I got mine yesterday at a store in Oregon. There were about 10 people in line in front of me and all of them were buying at least one iphone. I could see the stock they had and it was low. One guy bought five of them.
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Hawthorne2k said 12:18PM on 9-26-2007
Yeah, but to be fair, when *isn't* there a line in the 5th Avenue store? That place only slows down between 3 and 4 in the morning.
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Galley said 2:36PM on 9-26-2007
Despite what you may have heard on the season premiere of "The Simpsons", the iPhone is not selling for 20 cents!
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dolcitalia said 4:36PM on 9-26-2007
Do you say CAKE?
look here:
http://blogdolci.com/2007/09/16/apple-iphone-very-sweet/
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Reg Muffet said 8:33PM on 9-26-2007
@Tom Boucher & @Stevin & others,
The problem with that opinion is that the facts suggest otherwise.
Case in point:
Ebay is doing enormous trade in iPhones - to the point where they've put an iPhone graphic on their home page. Check it out. www.ebay.com
Now, why should someone in the US buy an iPhone from Ebay at a higher price, when they cold simply place a more secure order at the online Apple Store, pay less for it and have it delivered to them free?
(And that's ignoring the obvious: why not just walk into an AT&T store or Apple Store if there's one in their town.)
The reason is that a very large number of Ebay phones are making their way overseas.
As for the 3rd party apps. Maybe. But AppTapp / Installer.app is pretty popular amongst the cool kids. Even fairly conservative industry commentators such as Leo Laporte and friends are running it.
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