Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone
Apple is going to sell a boat load of 3G iPhones
What I admire most about Apple is the patience the company demonstrates. Nothing is rushed, either to the market or the press. Even when all parties are clamoring for what they want, the executives in Cupertino are patient enough to ignore the din and wait until the time is right to act.There's a report on MacNN today about the increasing interest in the 3G iPhone in the UK. Part of the reason is that subsidies provided by O2 will make the new phone free for some shoppers on July 11th. "Free" is a powerful motivator, but interest would have been just as high without that four-letter word.
When the iPhone was first released with its now-infamously high price tag, It was purchased (in large part) by Apple's rabid fans, who evangelized the thing to everyone they met. Many of those people thought, "Nice, but the price is high."
Which leads to my second point. Namely, pricing sends a message. When you notice the discount bin at your favorite record store, you think, "lousy music in there." The $3.99 CDs can't possibly be good. Conversely, the $19.99 new releases must be awesome. I mean, they're twenty bucks!
Next month, all the people who were swooning over the iPhone but put off by the price tag will descend upon Apple Stores in droves. Expect quarterly sales figures to exceed expectations, as Apple is going to sell a boatload of iPhones.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Neil said 1:52PM on 6-17-2008
Sorry Dave, but iPhone is still prohibitively expensive. In the USA the price has actually INCREASED and here in the UK it's still going to cost a minimum of £639 over 18 months to own one.
That £9 phone ASDA was selling a few weeks back looks mighty inviting and it's yours to own for just £9. No further payments required.
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Tony said 2:18PM on 6-17-2008
Until you want to sign up to a contract that is.
The cheapest I've found to run a phone is £15/mo SIM-only + £7.50 data package. That's £22.50 with no minutes or SMS included, and you have to pay for the phone on top of that (for a decent smart phone say another £300).
For only £7.50/mo more you get a better deal (unlimited data instead of 200mb/mo for example, plus some minutes and SMS free) and the phone is subsidised. I really don't see what the problem with the cost is any more. It's the same or better than other similar phones.
Badgerguy said 6:48PM on 6-17-2008
Well yes, when you start adding up the monthly fees as a total, then the figures can indeed look high - but then, you could do the same thing with any mobile phone contract.
My current contract cost around £500 in monthly fees and handset costs - and we're only talking a fairly basic phone and talk+text package. Is that prohibitively expensive? Well, if you were to ask me for all that money upfront, then yes, it might be a big ask - but let me spread some of it over 18 months and it's a bit more manageable.
I would also point out that you get what you pay for - I doubt that the £9 ASDA phone can double as a mobile computer in the same way the iPhone can, nor will any PAYG service you sign up for include unlimited data /and/ WiFi usage.
Mat said 1:55PM on 6-17-2008
And in other obvious news, chocolate is not good for making tea pots.
Talk about stating the obvious.
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ifoneguy said 1:55PM on 6-17-2008
So by this logic, the 3G version is crappy due to its cheaper price point and won't be bought, therefore should be a higher price, which is indicative product quality? Your logic here seems to counter the point you're trying to make with this article???
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Alva said 1:59PM on 6-17-2008
This didn't make sense to me either.
Mark said 2:25PM on 6-17-2008
Me three.
Tanya-Tanassa Watson said 4:32PM on 6-17-2008
That's the issue I'm having with the post as well. Seemed like they were all set to say "people could handle the price now." Then it switched to "now that it's so cheap, it can't be any good", then it seemed they went back to the original point. Needed a little more time proofreading before posting?
Richard said 2:13PM on 6-17-2008
This is one of the worst posts I've ever read on TUAW. I may be reading it wrong, but is there actually a point? Or is your point that the new iPhone must be shit because it's so cheap? That seems to be about all you are saying.
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Dan S. said 3:06PM on 6-17-2008
I think the point was to make some easy money by submitting a TUAW post.
Jim said 4:39PM on 6-17-2008
I have to agree. This post starts off reading like an Apple fan boy post and then seems to just get lost.
I couldn't help but laugh at the statement "What I admire most about Apple is the patience the company demonstrates. Nothing is rushed, either to the market or the press."
That's a pretty large load of crap there. Did he just completely forget about the iphone intro itself? It was about as rushed as you can get. Leopard can't be left out as well. Just like Vista, Leopard was out well before it should have been released.
I'm sure many will disagree but you've had to have had an Apple blood transfusion to think that Apple doesn't rush anything...especially in the last year.
jared said 2:18PM on 6-17-2008
I am confused as to why everyone is lumping in the data and voice charges as if it was part of the phones price. I understand it is a factor but if you are not willing to spend money for a service like unlimited data then maybe the iPhone is not for you.
iPhone = lots of technology some ahead of its time (Don't even start talking about its missing features, The worl will still be here even with our MMS and whatever else people are crying about) = Money.
Since when has new technology or services ever been on par with the price of current tech?
I for one bought it at the 600 on June 29th and have used it everyday and I feel it has paid for it self many times over.
Ok I am ready to be yelled at for my ignorance and apple loving.
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L8on said 2:45PM on 6-17-2008
I agree with Jared. People are bitching about the increase of TEN dollars a month for 3G rates. You are going to be downloading MUCH more data at faster speeds. Is all that bandwidth supposed to be handed out freely to iPhone 3G users?
I can't wait for the report that shows how much data is used per month from i3G users compared to ones with the i2.5G. I think that will more than justify the $10 month.
ps. the data plan is OPTIONAL.
L8on said 2:46PM on 6-17-2008
I agree with Jared. People are bitching about the increase of TEN dollars a month for 3G rates. You are going to be downloading MUCH more data at faster speeds. Is all that bandwidth supposed to be handed out freely to iPhone 3G users?
I can't wait for the report that shows how much data is used per month from i3G users compared to ones with the i2.5G. I think that will more than justify the $10 month.
ps. the data plan is OPTIONAL.
Tony said 2:47PM on 6-17-2008
With the old phone you paid full price *and* some fairly hefty fees to run it. It worked out considerably more expensive than competing smartphones.
Now by dropping the upfront price and lowering the price of the entry level contracts it's now competing quite well. The TCO has dropped 25% on the minimum contracts - and that's making people take notice who've previously written the phone off as too expensive.
The wildcard is the pay as you talk version that is still to be priced - people generally hate long contracts and 18 months is too long IMO.
I think Europe will do quite well out of this as a whole - we're well used to this sales model and much prefer it. From the sounds of it the US is struggling with it.. your price has actually gone up!
L8on said 2:49PM on 6-17-2008
sorry for the double [triple] post. my replies were supposed to go under Jared's. it seems my replies to one below the person's post that i hit reply to...
tevetorbes said 3:43PM on 6-17-2008
MMS is only 1 feature that people are "crying about."
How about:
Flash support
Cut-and-paste
Video recording
Better camera
A2DP
Tethering
and of course
MMS
I love Apple too and I have a current gen iPhone. The only reason I WON'T be getting a new phone is because it's only a marginal upgrade from my current phone: I like my 2.5G too much!
HOWEVER, just because you love something doesn't mean you can't criticize it meaningfully (see art, music, etc) nor does someone who is critical of a product not also like the product.
I, for one, will not be picking up a new iPhone (I think alot of current iPhone users are in my boat as well) because of the lack of features that I mentioned above. And as far as commenters like you who have the attitude of "Hey, that's what you get, quit your whining," since when was settling for something acceptable for any geek, Apple or otherwise?
Playstation 3 said 2:18PM on 6-17-2008
One thing people are overlooking are the droves of current ATT customers who won't qualify for the "upgrade" pricing! I was really stoked before I found out that I'll likely have to pay "full" price for the phone because I had replace my broken handset three months ago. Thus using my "upgrade" privileges.
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L8on said 2:48PM on 6-17-2008
sorry for the double [triple] post. my replies were supposed to go under Jared's
ALan said 2:22PM on 6-17-2008
I think the new plan is a major step backwards; all the innovation from the activation process that we had is gone, and the pricing structure seems to be the same old crap that we all hate about mobile phone plans. Seems like Apple really kowtowed to AT&T on this one--very disappointing.
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