WSJ: Less Expensive iPhone Could Come as Soon as This Year

[KPOM]

Originally Posted by GeekLawyer

Hmmm... it's moved beyond Digitimes "reporting." Maybe there's something to the rumor?

Exactly. The WSJ is also common venue for Apple's controlled leaks. Apple hasn't ever produced a product specifically for an emerging market, so this would be a big deal.

[samcraig]

Oh no. What will some posters here be able to counter the crappy plastic Samsung, LG and other "crap" with if Apple makes a cheap version of their iPhone in PLASTIC?! Oh nozzzzzz

[Raftysworld]

I guess it'll help broaden the customer base, but its kind of frustrating to know poor people will be able to get the same phone as me

[yod]

I'm more eager to believe this than Apple keeping 3.5 inch iPhones for much longer.

Although a smaller cheaper iPhone could mean huge cannabilasation of current iPhone and may not be such a smart move - Aside from iPod nano which serves a portability purpose I can't recall when Apple had made a low end product just to sell to a wider audience (even basic MacBooks have always been pretty pricey laptops compared to high end pc laptops)

[samcraig]

Originally Posted by Raftysworld

I guess it'll help broaden the customer base, but its kind of frustrating to know poor people will be able to get the same phone as me

Why. I sincerely would love to know.

[LoloBond]

Steve Jobs would never allowed this...

[whiteyanderson]

Originally Posted by iGrip

Geez - all we need is more of the unwashed masses using Apple products. What is this world coming to? I remember when owning Apple gear made you one of the elite. So sad to see what is happening.

Wow. If owning any electronic device makes you feel elite, or special, or different, or unique in ANY WAY, maybe you should start spending your money on psychiatric evaluation?

Just a thought. A thought that I had without the aid of my Apple products.

So sad to see what is happening...

----------

Originally Posted by samcraig

Why. I sincerely would love to know.

Because he lacks the imagination or integrity to supply any contribution to the Earth. Therefore, he uses a brand name to do the heavy lifting for him.

[wonderspark]

Originally Posted by iGrip

The same thing happened to Porsche. It used to be a brand that was for those with truly great taste. They could turn heads and become the subject of conversation just by driving past. But now, anybody can buy one at some crappy used car lot.

Remember back when you could get a whole conference room full of meeting attendees to stop and redirect their attention just by pulling out an iPhone?

Nowadays every pimply faced high school loser has an iPhone. And Apple wants to make them cheaper?

Whatever.

You're not elite if you think Porsche and Apple are status symbols.

Time to show how baller you are, and step up to Bugatti for your transportation needs.

[samcraig]

Originally Posted by whiteyanderson

A thought that I had without the aid of my Apple products.

If it weren't for your Apple products - you would never have been able to type that here or anywhere.

Now bow down before Tim and kiss his feet

[hsuthard]

Originally Posted by myrtlebee

It's pretty hard to be less expensive than a $0 iPhone 4 (in the US, anyway).

That "free" phone is worth $450. Not cheap by my standards.

[whiteyanderson]

Originally Posted by Raftysworld

I guess it'll help broaden the customer base, but its kind of frustrating to know poor people will be able to get the same phone as me

Guess what!??? They already CAN. They can even get one for...FREE!

[OrangeSVTguy]

Originally Posted by myrtlebee

It's pretty hard to be less expensive than a $0 iPhone 4 (in the US, anyway).

They're trying to cut down manufacturing costs, not subsidized prices since they're trying to target a market where people will purchase the phones outright.

[Monk Edsel]

Originally Posted by yod

Aside from iPod nano which serves a portability purpose I can't recall when Apple had made a low end product just to sell to a wider audience

Behold: the Mac mini! The price has creeped up from the initial $499 offering, but the idea behind the machine was to lower the cost of entry for Windows users who were used to buying cheap beige boxes.

Ah, and I just recalled the iPod mini (which precedes the nano, of course), the eMac, and the iPod shuffle. IMO the original shuffle is the closest Apple-as-we-know-it has come to pushing out cheap plastic junk.

[iGrip]

Originally Posted by wonderspark

You're not elite if you think Porsche and Apple are status symbols.

Yep. Not anymore. So sad.

[whiteyanderson]

Originally Posted by samcraig

Now bow down before Tim and kiss his feet

Only if he increases his shoe size by .8 of an inch.

[Ryth]

Could be the T-Mobile iPhone

Or they offer both the expensive and cheaper version.

[SPNarwhal]

I don't see the point in this really, wouldn't they be competing against themselves if they did this? I doubt that many people would care the difference between plastic and metal/glass, most people put their phones into a case anyway.

I think they have a good system going here with having previous generation iPhones be a lower price to make having an iPhone still affordable and ranking on price depending on generation, rather than materials that the shell is made out of but other than that it's pretty much identical..
I think that would just hurt a lot of their sales.

[samcraig]

Originally Posted by wonderspark

You're not elite if you think Porsche and Apple are status symbols.

Time to show how baller you are, and step up to Bugatti for your transportation needs.

I personally love the Lotus Esprit - which is already more "elite" than the Porsche

Newsflash for the uninformed. You can get variants of the iPhone for 99, 49 and even free.

Your iPhone? It's just a phone. A nice phone. It's not a status symbol nor is it special.

When it first launched at it was rare - it might have been a status symbol. But that's mostly because a lot of people still needed a business phone and the original iPhone couldn't replace business functions - it was just a REALLY cool phone that early adopters could showcase.

Disclosure: I had an original iPhone. But I also didn't wave it around like it was a jesus device.

[Eric E. Schmidt]

good. nice to see apple adding a little diversity to their mobile lineup. like their macs, there's no such thing as one size fits all.

the iphone was a bi-product of ipad development, i think they are still a little startled it turned into their main revenue maker

[artpease]

Really, that soon!

[DJJAZZYJET]

Cheaper iPhones. Good Joke. The only time an iPhone gets cheaper is when the next model releases.

[Rogifan]

Hmm...I have a hard time believing Apple is going to start making a plastic phone. How many products do they currently sell that are plastic (outside of accessories). I guess anything is possible but even this report seems to be more guessing than solid rumors.

[Eidorian]

Originally Posted by OrangeSVTguy

Don't see how the replacing aluminum case with a plastic one will make it cheaper. The most expensive part I believe is still the flash memory. Wasn't Apple tinkering around with stream only iPhones with enough memory for Apps/iOS to keep costs down? Even with the 3G>4 redesign, the price still stayed the same. Guess people just want a 3G style flimsy plastic iPhone back.

It is probably the usual marketing, perceived value that the plastic body alone is what is going to lower the price.

[canucksfan88]

Originally Posted by myrtlebee

It's pretty hard to be less expensive than a $0 iPhone 4 (in the US, anyway).

on a subsidized contract. the cost of the phone still reminds roughly $450 or whatever it is.

if this is true, apple wants to capture the prepaid/payasyougo market where you pay upfront for the phone and are not locked into a contract.

[bushido]

"could" ... thats all

it could also be invisible or travel through time