Apple Having Trouble Signing New Carriers Because of iPhone Subsidy and Minimum Purchase Requirements

[freejazz-man]

you can finance a porsche - doesn't mean it isn't luxury

apple is a brand that places itself over others because of the effort they put into their products that are synonymous with the care that luxury brands provide

people are really stretching to define apple as anything besides a luxury brand and it seems to serve no purpose.

 

[ALange]

apple is a brand that places itself over others because of the effort they put into their products that are synonymous with the care that luxury brands provide.

So google/microsoft/ubuntu bla bla are also luxury? they for sure put gigantic effort in their products/ecosystems and care about them no less (sometimes even much more) than apple

LOL

 

[Renzatic]

people are really stretching to define apple as anything besides a luxury brand and it seems to serve no purpose.

Seems to be the opposite to me. It's peoples obsession with believing their choice in products projects some form of class and taste on their part that's leading to this whole pointless "what's luxury and what's not debate". Your choice in using an iPhone doesn't necessarily make you somehow more informed, somehow separate, from someone who uses Android.

I'll tell you the one single reason why Apple isn't a luxury product. You see all the people who have posted in this thread? All the people who post on this forum? There are tens of thousands of us around here, and every single one of us can easily afford an Apple product.

Yes. It's quite as simple as that. True luxury products use only the most expensive components available, and are classed well beyond what the average person can afford. Apple might be more expensive than the competition, but only relatively so. The difference between paying $80 for one thing, and $100 for another.

Saying Apple makes luxury computers is like saying Tide makes luxury detergents because it sells for $3 more than Bounce at the local supermarket.

 

[chadley_chad]

It is a LUXURY brand. Like Ferrari and Tiffany.

No it's not; how can it be luxury when it costs less than an HTC One or S4 and has a lower spec?

Veruti is a luxury brand, Apple is by no means luxury, just nice design (although that really isn't the case anymore!)

 

[HenryDJP]

So google/microsoft/ubuntu bla bla are also luxury? they for sure put gigantic effort in their products/ecosystems and care about them no less (sometimes even much more) than apple

LOL

I can't speak for Ubuntu (Linux) but I will reply with my eyes rolled about Microsoft, yeah, they put in GIGANTIC efforts into making a crap OS called Windows 8 because THEY like it. They couldn't care less how their customers feel about such horrible change.
And for Google, don't get me started about how much effort they put into their always unstable and unprotected Android OS.
So yeah, I guess junk does appear as "luxury" to some people....

 

[Renzatic]

I can't speak for Ubuntu (Linux) but I will reply with my eyes rolled about Microsoft, yeah, they put in GIGANTIC efforts into making a crap OS called Windows 8 because THEY like it. They couldn't care less how their customers feel about such horrible change.

And what exactly is so crap about Windows 8?

Most everyone freaked out about it because of the huge changes that were made in it, and yes, it's true, some of the UI designs don't work out nearly as well as they should. But is it crap? Hardly. I use it just as well as I did Windows 7. Just as well as I do OSX.

I can think of a number of reasons why someone wouldn't like Win8. But I'm almost definite that 90% of the complaints you see on the internet about it are bandwagoners who want to bash it just because it's cool to bash it.

And Android? The OS is perfectly secure. I mean comeon. It's based on Linux. The biggest problem with Android is that Google doesn't police their app store AT ALL. If they were even half as diligent about it as Apple were with their app store, you'd see malware drop to about nil on Android.

 

[pirg]

1. I never said that "Google can theoretically bring petty lawsuit after petty lawsuit as much as they want and sue the crap out of everyone but it only becomes abuse when they succeed"

Which is why I asked you if that's what you meant.

2. I didn't comment on whether Apple was or was not guilty of patent abuse. You brought Apple up. And keep bringing them up as if it's relevant to discussing whether or not GOOGLE has done it. Hence my "but but but" earlier.

No I didn't bring apple up. The person I responded to, apolloa, brought apple up. How come your singling me out? Sounds familiar...

 

[apolloa]

Considering samsung was caught and admitted to paying people to do just that I'd say it's not that far fetched. Maybe you live in cloud denial land?

Proof? Or is it fact less talk from you?

Yep and so is Google if we apply your same principles.

I'm glad you agree with me on Apple in that case.

 

[marksman]

I believe Apple has good reason for this. Here is why:

My girlfriend works at Planet Cellular which is phone store mostly located in the southern US. They sell phones for the AT&T network. The corporate company has told their sales people not to sell over 30% iPhones. Corporate doesn't want them to sell too many iPhones because of the large subsidy of the device compared to Android devices.

Also, the individual sales people, aka my girlfriend, work on a partial commission. When they sell other phones, aside from iPhones, they earn more GP which is the total amount of sales that their commission is based on.

Basically I believe that the minimum requirement may be Apples way of fighting back against major incentive for carriers and sales people to sell less of the iPhone and promote other brands.

People have to understand that the average consumer doesn't know what most people on these forums knows about cell phones. Everyone here may go into a store and know exactly what they want. The old women and men going into my girlfriends store can be sold on almost anything. Planet Cellular is just my own personal example of a store that I know is leading people away from iPhones.

It is 100% this. Otherwise carriers just use Apple's name to get people in the store and then switch them to a device with a higher commission and/or lower subsidy.

It is amazing how well apple has done in the us market given that since AT&T lost exclusivity the entire wireless sales machine is stacked against iPhones being sold.

Every carrier salesperson, store manager, regional sales manager and vp of sales are incentivized to not sell the iPhone.

 

[pirg]

Proof? Or is it fact less talk from you?

A simple google search would have found your proof but I can do the work for you:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en-US&ie=UTF-8&source=boatbrowser&q=samsung+caught+posting

http://blog.clove.co.uk/2013/04/18/samsung-admits-to-hiring-students-to-post-fake-htc-reviews/

You can do more research on your own.

I'm glad you agree with me on Apple in that case.

And I'm glad you agree with me on Google in that case

 

[mazz0]

You are obviously not a gear head. Quality (build quality) and Ferrari do not belong in the same sentence. Ferrari is a luxury brand because of history, exclusivity, and cost of entry.

That's kinda disappointing to hear. What about Aston Martins?

 

[apolloa]

A simple google search would have found your proof but I can do the work for you:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en-US&ie=UTF-8&source=boatbrowser&q=samsung+caught+posting

http://blog.clove.co.uk/2013/04/18/samsung-admits-to-hiring-students-to-post-fake-htc-reviews/

You can do more research on your own.

Actually, if you make a claim like you did, YOU should be the one providing the proof, and speaking of that it all seems to relate to HTC only, so again no proof of Samsung paid students coming onto here and posting negative things.

Let me know when you can provide the proof though won't you? Until then it's just opinion and conjecture.

 

[Rossatron]

So people in evolving markets, who probably can't even afford mid-range devices cant afford an iPhone? I don't get these so called "analysts". Any toddler could have told them that :| maybe I should use it as a way to buy a Bentley: you see, I can't afford a Masarati

 

[FirstNTenderbit]

That's kinda disappointing to hear. What about Aston Martins?

It's British (that's not a compliment). But the look. Oh sweet Jesus. The DB9, along with Ferrari's 458 Italia... two of the most beautiful modern machines ever built. IMO, of course. Would I ever own one? Shallow pocket depth precludes flights of fancy.

Make no mistake though, both brands epitomize luxury. Neither are practical by any stretch. Both are are highly coveted by many, but available to few. Build quality be damned. I would sell my mother-in-law to gypsy pirates for either. Truth be told, I would sell her for Motorola Dyna-Tac and a Sony Walkman Cassette player.

way off topic. apologies.

 

[Born Again]

I dont' think so. It's a blackberry from another company. I don't think anyone considers them to be luxury. I would say this phone is expensive at best but luxury? NO. Again I will say it... just because people can and are willing to afford the luxury doens't mean the item in question is not luxury.

Define luxury

 

[AppleScruff1]

Considering samsung was caught and admitted to paying people to do just that I'd say it's not that far fetched. Maybe you live in cloud denial land?

Why not post some sources that proves that Samsung paid people to post on MacRumors?

 

[hexonxonx]

About "luxury" brand, if anyone can buy it at store (yes, almost all stores got iphones) then its not luxury. If they cant provide state-of-the-art support for customers, then again - its not luxury.

There is now nothing special in iphone, really, i don't even think that it should be called a high-end device (maybe in apple ecosystem it is). Take a look around, there are devices (smarphones) that are considered high-end and makes iphone 5 look like a toy. Better screen (retina is just a crap word now), much more advanced features, nfc, wireless charging, touch-to-send, cloud services bla bla bla.

I have an iphone 5 and Nexus 4 , and nexus 4 with stock raw android beats up iphone 5 ass all the time in all aspect of every day use of IT guy, and Nexus 4 is not even considered as a "high end" anymore.

(fanboys army activating in 1 ... 2.....3....)

Even Walmart sells the iPhone.

 

[pirg]

Why not post some sources that proves that Samsung paid people to post on MacRumors?

I was simply saying that it happens not specifically on macrumors.

Since were on the topic of posting proof, why not post an example of someone on macrumors who flip flops?

 

[AppleScruff1]

I was simply saying that it happens not specifically on macrumors.

Since were on the topic of posting proof, why not post an example of someone on macrumors who flip flops?

Quote:
Originally Posted by apolloa
Well if you think paid people from Apple's competitors come on here then I think you live in cloud cookoo land.

Your reply:

Considering samsung was caught and admitted to paying people to do just that I'd say it's not that far fetched. Maybe you live in cloud denial land?



That sure sounds like you meant it happens on MacRumors to me. Since you made the claim it would be usual protocol for you to post a source.

 

[pirg]

Quote:
Originally Posted by apolloa
Well if you think paid people from Apple's competitors come on here then I think you live in cloud cookoo land.

Your reply:

Considering samsung was caught and admitted to paying people to do just that I'd say it's not that far fetched. Maybe you live in cloud denial land?



That sure sounds like you meant it happens on MacRumors to me. Since you made the claim it would be usual protocol for you to post a source.

You remember how you clarified after you incorrectly said people on macrumors flip flopped? I'm doing that now. Is there a problem?

 

[AppleScruff1]

You remember how you clarified after you incorrectly said people on macrumors flip flopped? I'm doing that now. Is there a problem?

I'm sticking with the statement that you made in this thread and I'm not going to revert to the type of discussions I had with you a year or two ago.

 

[pirg]

I'm sticking with the statement that you made in this thread and I'm not going to revert to the type of discussions I had with you a year or two ago.

Like I said, I clarified what I meant just like you did. So I'll ask again is there a problem with doing that?

 

[LagunaSol]

Well if you think paid people from Apple's competitors come on here then I think you live in cloud cookoo land.

Where there's smoke, there's fire. And the Apple haters on this forum blow plenty of smoke. Day after day after day.

So what's their motivation?

 

[Renzatic]

Where there's smoke, there's fire. And the Apple haters on this forum blow plenty of smoke. Day after day after day.

So what's their motivation?

You're right. It's all that cash Samsung is paying us. Well...paying me. I've got everyone else convinced I get paid in Hot Pockets so they don't expect too much.

IPHONE SUCKS! GET AN GALAXY S4 AND DEAL WITH IT! SAN DIMAS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RULES!

 

[CShort]

Aside from getting royally, and correctly, slaughtered for my stupid statement, the cost of the Vertu phone keeps going up every time I get hit.

First poster to properly smack me for my dopiness said $5,000 - $10,000. Now it's $20,000!!

If I wait long enough, that damn phone will cost more than a Rolls Royce!!

They have a broad range. The $5-10k phones are newer and AFAIK are the cheapest they've ever had (they recently went a business structure change), they also go up very high also and good luck finding out some prices. Unless you are a buyer it's hard to find out exactly what they have (traditionally anyway, I haven't been looking lately).