So the internets are teeming with rumors of the impending release of a 3G Iphone in mid-June. We know a 3G version is on the way, with internet speeds seven to ten times the current EDGE network model, but further details are sparse. That being said, some leaks have been getting pretty specific lately. Case makers have leaked that the new phone will be 10% thinner (2.5mm less). AT&T reportedly recently sent a memo to its stores requesting employees limit vacation time around June 15 to support a “big summer promotion,” presumably the Iphone 2.0 launch. But the by far most interesting rumor is that for the first time since the Apple phones launch, AT&T will take $200 off the price if consumers agree to a two year contract. That would reportedly put the 8Gb 3G Iphone at $199 and the 16Gb version at an amazingly affordable $299!!!Why now? Well although the Iphone has sold very well, some unscientific estimates are that 30% of Iphones have been hacked and are being used on networks other than AT&T the exclusive carrier. As AT&T charges Iphone users a premium, it sounds like the AT&T head honchos have decided ponying up a $200 rebate is well worth it for 24 months of payments. If these rumors are true, expect Apple’s stock to soar as they will gobble up even more of the smart phone market and all on AT&T’s dime.
My advice is this, if you haven’t tried an Iphone yet or are in the market for a wireless phone or Ipod, you MUST pick one up. Not only is the Iphone the best tech gadget I have ever owned, it has forever redefined what a cell phone is to me. I believe it will be the equivelant of owning a Commodore 64 or a Sony Walkman. And seriously, at $199 for a portable internet, email, texting, audio, video Ipod, phone how can you go wrong? I’ll see you in line at AT&T on 15 June.
Posts
5 comments:
We don't actually know that a 3G iPhone is on the way. Rather, we speculate based on a questionable report in Fortune Magazine. John Gruber's comments on the matter are interesting, as his comments regarding Apple product speculation generally are.
The idea that a $300 iPhone is aimed to cutting into the hacked iPhone market ignores not only Gruber's suggestion that a $300 price tag would substantially increase demand, but it also fails to address the savings hacked iPhones provide over AT&T's rates.
As I noted when I unlocked my own iPhone, saving at least $15 per month using my iPhone on T-Mobile over AT&T (for a comparable plan), my two-year savings equal $360, which is well beyond the purported price-drop.
In other words, the price drop would have to convince future unlockers that this comparatively minor price difference is better than the unlockers having carrier-free iPhones with cheaper rates and more features, especially when factoring in the costs of third-party applications on locked iPhones.
If the rumour is indeed true, which is highly questionable at this point, I'd be more inclined to suggest that it refers not to the next generation of iPhones, but to either the remaining inventory of 1st generation iPhones, else to the rumoured "iPhone mini" which has been speculated upon in earlier months.
I'm a little confused as to how a cheaper Iphone increasing demand would have any effect on whether folks signup for AT&T? Consumers will be only able to get the $200 ebate if they signup for AT&T.
As for the cost savings of using the Iphone on T-Mobile, even if the rumors of 30% of Iphones being jailbroken (I think this number is a little high), that means 70% of users aren't jailbreaking them. At a lower cost even fewer will choose to stray from AT&T. The truth is most users don't want to deal with jailbreaking and re-jailbreaking with every firmware upgrade and a new $200 incentive will drive even more into AT&T's fold.
The good news is even with 30% of Iphone users jailbreaking, I should have plenty of folks to sell my used old phone to.
As for the rumor of the incentive not being true at all, only time will tell, but the recent shortage of EDGE Iphones tells me a switch is coming. The unlikeliest rumor in my estimation is the Iphone mini. Just because Apple put mini in front of previous products, doesn't make this one more feasible, at least in the near future. In fact, it just sounds like speculation. I'll start one, Iphone nano, so small you can't even hold it...
Sorry, my comment was meant to read, "...a $300 price tag would have to substantially increase demand..."
In other words, this price drop only makes sense if it results in significantly increased demand for it to outweigh the benefit of selling less iPhones but at a higher price, and that notion is questionable.
I'd hardly say the 30% number is high. Last I checked, the numbers regarding activations come from Apple's own earnings reports, in which iPhone sales are much higher than actual activations on AT&T.
Decreasing the price of the iPhone doesn't necessarily mean there will be less unlockers, because as I noted, the overall savings for unlockers are still greater than the $200 price drop. Not to mention, the big point of unlocking/jailbreaking is to get full access to the iPhone's foundation, which even the announced SDK does not offer.
You're right that most users don't want to deal with constantly jailbreaking, which is why 70% of iPhone buyers in the U.S. are on AT&T. The rest of us deal with a restore/re-sync cycle, which makes up the brunt of the re-unlock/jailbreak cycle. The rest is a quick run of a small application.
I agree that the refusal to replenish existing iPhone inventories is a sign of a new iPhone version, perhaps even a 3G version, but I'm still skeptical about the price drop. As for the "iPhone mini," the "mini" is a placeholder; the rumour isn't about the name, it's about the physical footprint, which started, I believe, because of some Apple patent filings suggesting that a smaller, likely less-featured iPhone could be on the way.
Honestly, I'm so amazed at the two of you. You'll spend hundreds on some gadget just because it's the newest, shiniest thing out there, yet you, Maxator, will transfer TiVo programming to save $30 and you, Wyldkard, will tolerate an ugly CO2 tank in your kitchen to save money on carbonated water. I'm still unclear WHY you want to drink unflavored, carbonated water, but to each his own.
Is this some guy thing that I just can't understand?
As I never watch live TV, transferring shows from one TiVo to another really isn't any hit to my life at all. I simply wish to avoid giving the cable company any more money than I need to. It is far more to spite them than it is to save anything.
As for being a "guy thing" to buy a $199 Iphone, nope. I know of several females who have bought one for far more than $200 and love it. No, I say Aelel = cheap. :)
Post a Comment