8GB iPhone Price Drop, 4GB iPhone Discontinued

[csd32]

I bought an iPhone the first day it came out for 599. I am not at all upset about the price drop--nothing changed about my piece of hardware! It is still the phone I love to use. I've had two months to look cool on the Metro and to all my friends. They saw what I had, and they thought it was very cool, but too expensive. Now they are MUCH more willing to go out and buy what they feel like they've been missing out on. It's a brilliant plan. It was the same when the MOTO Razor came out---do you remember when it was 299? Now it's FREE with most cell plans. It was much cooler when it was 299, and now everyone's mom has it.

But I digress. The only thing that would upset me is if Apple stopped updating the iPhone along with other products. I am excited about new features for the iPhone, and I am confident that Apple will continue to add features in the future.

 

[Vapor]

You are right about the pay.

But I don't care what they make they can't talk down to customers or assume they are superior because they got a free apple tshirt when they signed up for work.

 

[homeboy]

Apple really jerked their fan base this time. I feel very sorry for all of those loyal Apple fanatics who own Macbooks and stood in line several hours for during launch day to later get smacked in the face in form of a 200 dollar price cut after barely a month. What a way to reward your most loyal customers.


Mabus51: LMAO!

 

[drnen]

I'm really interested to see what if any response Apple will have to all this. Clearly if we're still gabbing about it like this it's a big deal. I'd hate to be working in PR at apple right now and have to be the one to tap Steve on the back and tell him that all has not gone as smoothly as anticipated. In the meantime I shall be icing my butt hole like the rest of the day-1 crew and trying to hide the steve jobs size palm mark on my right ass cheek.

 

[whickey]

The 200 dollar price drop upset me greatly....but then I thought, surely they'll announce an update which includes games, flash capabilities, new icons, programs, SOMETHING.

But alas, nothing to massage my discontent.

This screwed over feeling is something I've come to expect from Microsoft...but this is Apple. WTF?!

ya know...i feel the same way. yes it effing sucks. nothing i can do about it, and i am not going to whine like a little bitch about it. but if they released a FREAKING ichat client or exchange sync so I could get one of the VP's off my back...I would feel better than i do now.

its a good phone, the UI is great..there are some things that piss me off about it, but for some reason I feel empty about having an iphone...like if it broke tomorrow and I wound up getting a blackberry instead..i wouldn't be upset.

one reason for the price drop could be because Apple has been able to negotiate much better flash prices because of the iTouch Ipod which they put into the price of the iphone...

 

[zioxide]

It already is a PR disaster. Just what exactly will Apple do to correct it is the real question.

lol no it's not.

All of the news stations I've seen are reporting "Apple has dropped the price of the iPhone by $200"

Thats going to make more people want to buy them, not less.

Only the fanboys who lined up to buy one knowing that they would drop in price in a few months are the ones who are pissed.

 

[RidleyGriff]

The Santa Monica Apple store rudely cut me off when I began asking him about the question with "14 days". That's all he said.

I understand that they're being swamped now, but seriously -- this is a first. Both in the price drop, and the utter attitude and rudeness from the Apple Store staff.

Though I suppose they're not truly to blame -- apple put them in the same position as they did us early buyers.

 

[natejohnstone@g]

Yes, we knew that they would come down in the price eventually but paid a premium to get them before the masses got them (typically at the first price drop). I for one thought that the premium would get me more than 2 months lead time, guess I was wrong.

Yes, you were wrong--no offense at all

The mobile phone market moves MUCH MUCH faster than either the computer or the personal electronics market. For example, the Sony Erickson phone that I have was BRAND NEW and expensive in November, and 3 months ago (i.e. 6 months after it came out) they GAVE ME $100 to take it. From premeire to free + refund in 6 months.

For the iPhone to get a price drop like this now is only slightly early than one might expect--and only because it's Apple and you're comparing it to iPods and iMacs that only get refreshed every 9 months.

 

[brepublican]

At the risk of offending Rutgers grads, how many spelling / grammatical / contextual mistakes are allowed in a thesis there? Or were you typing this on your iPhone with its buggy touch pad interface?

There's a lesson to be learned here I think.......

When beating people down with your Superior Education Stick, always be sure to proof read your post.

Haha, you guys beat me to it too.

 

[nagromme]

To put the (understandable) anger in perspective:

Is a big price drop EVER acceptable? Yes--and it has happened many times. Now, when would have been the earliest we might have normally expected something so major? I'd say just in time for Christmas shopping (2 months from now) or MacWorld SF in Jan 2008 (4 months from now). Let's say Jan 2008.

But no matter WHEN it happened, the numbers would be the same: people getting an iPhone $200 cheaper than you. If the drop happened in 4 months from now that would be acceptable. Instead, it happened today.

So the people who are so angry and yelling about lawsuits and petitions are angry about a 4 month window in which some OTHER people got a big discount.

I'm not saying that's not frustrating--it is.

This screwed over feeling is something I've come to expect from Microsoft...but this is Apple. WTF?!

Yes, Microsoft is ALWAYS dropping prices on best-selling products

I feel very sorry for all of those loyal Apple fanatics who own Macbooks and stood in line several hours for during launch day to later get smacked in the face in form of a 200 dollar price cut after barely a month. What a way to reward your most loyal customers.

It's POSSIBLE--just possible, mind you--that people did not line up to buy a phone out of "loyalty" and a wish to give money to Apple, but rather because:

a) They know a lot about the phone and its features before launch

b) They wanted one

c) They found it to be worth the price being asked

d) They expected (wisely, from past experience) that Apple wouldn't be able to make enough, and so wanted to be sure of getting one (an incorrect guess, wasting a few hours of time at worst)

 

[~Shard~]

Wow, I'm surprised how many people here do not grasp the simple concept of capitalism. No one forced anyone to open their wallets and buy anything. Those who bought an iPhone bought it of their own free will and obviously thought the initial price was fair - otherwise, why would they buy it? The market dictated the price of the inital iPhone and consumers bought them in droves, thereby valildating the price point.

Also, the iPhone is a different animal than the rest of Apple's products, so saying that Apple has never done this before is not applicable in this case. When talking about the iPhone you are stepping into the mobile phone universe in which there is always a premium for early adoption.

Yeah, the timing sucks for some, but it is what it is. Welcome to the world of fast-paced technology.

 

[drnen]

Why is everyone referring to "fanboys who lined up knowing it was going to drop in a few months"

Isn't it clear by now that none of us really expected a 200$ drop in 2 months? Stop using that as your argument to make yourselves sound like you lucked out by waiting to buy the phone.

 

[snook911]

I think part of the reason we are all so pissed off is we expected this whole I own a iphone club it be a bit more exclusive for a bit longer. At these prices owing an iphone is not going to be special anymore. Everyone will have them owning them will be no big deal.

 

[jsnyd05]

Wrong, it just happened.

Two months one week is not within two months.

In the mobile phone market six months is an age, new market new rules.

What's really gonna nark the yanks is knowing it'll be launched in the UK post price drop, probably 3G, and at a time when the exchange rates means it'll feel like $200

First, apple doesn't do price drops like this. Today was the first and is atypical of them, so i'm not wrong, they don't historically do this.

Second, 2 months and 1 week is damn close to 2 months. I rarely am that literal and I'm glad you don't live near because I can't stand people like you.

Third, I don't care about 3 G and I don't care about the Europe launch.

 

[irun5k]

This is really overshadowing the new iPods.

Apple is a different company with different customers. Not many companies have a loyal fanbase that will line up days ahead of time to buy their products. Sure, it happens on occasion with a game console or something. But in large part Apple customers do it over and over, when a new version of OS X comes out, a new iPhone, etc.

There is a goodwill issue that everyone seems to be missing. Many of us feel like the iPhone 8GB has probably always been priced internally at $399 from day one, but Apple decided to tax their most loyal fans at a premium of $200.

On the other hand, some serious shake ups must have happened. Why did they even bother producing and packaging 4GB iPhones? It had to be a last minute decision to cancel them? maybe? The 4GB actually WERE underproduced, making one think that they knew they would be in
very low demand. So why did they bother in the first place?

 

[Vapor]

All this talk of capitalism and economics......these guys who say that will be the first in line for the mortgage bail out.

 

[vi2867]

Jobs has figured it out...

After going to the online Apple Store and seeing the line of iPods. Jobs has found the way to make people not only buy an iPod, but buy multiple iPods.

There is an iPod with phone capabilities...
There is miniture iPod...
There is a high capacity iPod...
There is a compact iPod...
There is a sleek new touch iPod...

Way to go Steve, now people will not only own one iPod, but many iPods....

Oh, I forgot about the ring tones. Now you can buy a song for .99 and then buy the ring tone for .99...

 

[Shanesan]

I feel really sorry for you guys, but I must say that I don't think Apple will leave you in the cold over 200 bucks.

...And then I must say...

 

[mongoos150]

I said from the beginning that we will see a phone less iPhone for 299 dollars and today Steve gave it to us.

Further more I told many people that they iPhone is overpriced. Apple is a successful company and Steve is very very smart. They generated a huge iPhone hype which made millions of people buy one during the first weeks. YOU are the ones who paid for a big portion of the R&D.

I knew that the price would be decreased but not this fast and not this steep either. I feel you guys on this one. Steve ****ed you guys in the ass.

We paid the price of being early adopters. It was a good, 2 month long **** - and worth the $200 premium

 

[The General]

I don't understand why everyone is complaining. You like your iPhone, it was worth $599 to you when you bought it, otherwise you wouldn't have bought it. What is the problem? You paid $599 for something that was worth $599 to you.

 

[drnen]

PS: someone is finally picking up on the negative side of the press announcement today

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200709051654DOWJONESDJONLINE000989_FORTUNE5.htm

 

[MacPhilosopher]

That is what happened to alot of people that bought Powerbooks right before the Macbook Pro intro.

I agree with everything you said except this one line. For many it may be true, but for those of us who wanted this small form factor with the ability to use Final Cut Pro it was our last chance. I purchased my PB G4 12" just before the updates and have been blessed with the best laptop Apple has every made. I have just upgraded to Final Cut Studio 2 and FCP/Compressor/Soundtrack still run on my 12" G4. (Color and Motion require 128MB of video ram so will not run on PG G4) I also continue to use all of the Adobe design products with little notice in CPU drag. That is why Apple is the best tech company out there. Legacy. I will be upgrading to Leopard and expect not problems. BTW, I am running the entire FCP suite on my new iMac. When they upgrade the iMac in the future, I will not cry about its improvements. I will be happy with what I bought because I am a well informed and thoughtful consumer. I base my decisions on everything but what I believe the company owes me in the future. Always buy in the present.

 

[kironin]

To all the early adopters that are whining about the price drop,
I have zero sympathy.

You had the cash, you liked what you saw, you ran out and bought it. If you didn't feel it was worth the price, no one was putting a gun to your head. You had your festival of fanboy material consumption.

I didn't have the cash, I can't afford to lose my roll-over minutes in my business, I budget was far too tight to splurge on a toy that could be obsolete in months, I have to save money and wait till my RAZR bites the dust even though after playing with the iPhone in store I can see how it would be helpful in my business to have a phone running far better software than the crappy contact stuff Motorola sticks on their phone.

I think this is fantastic news by Apple for majority that can't afford to make impulse buys of premium priced new products. All of you would have been totally happy if they kept the sames prices you had paid for the next six months and given not a thought to those with tighter budgets who have to wait.

Bravo Apple!!!!!

 

[Epicurus]

Really...

When all is said and done, as a day one iPhone buyer, I'll have some mixed emotions about today's announcement.
First: Cheaper is great. Everyone in my family has been bugging me to no end to touch my phone and play with it. Now I can point them in the direction of an Apple store with a little less guilt about the price. I bet by January, half of them will have made the leap.
Second: 33% drop after two months! I knew I was going to drop $600 for this phone back in January, so I was fully committed to that price being worthwhile for a long time. Still, if the phone was being built such that one million phones sold were enough to drive down the production costs by 33%, then Apple should have just bit the bullet and dropped the price from day one. Seriously, this was a lame move. If the iPhone had debuted at $400 it would have sold sold a million in under a month. Of course, at that price the lines that were would have been twice as long, making life miserable. Considering the AT&T mess, can you imagine how bad things would have been if the price had been lower?!
Third: Acceptance... Every Apple product I've bought was purchased/ordered on the day it was announced. Every Apple product I've bought was upgraded a few months later, usually with a price drop to boot. That's a fact of life.

It's natural to get bothered by big price drops right after a product comes out. I remember when everyone was complaining about the slow update rate when we were on PowerPC. Now we're on Intel, and things are better. When Apple announced the phone, people said Apple wouldn't be able to keep the phone fresh with all the rapid updates coming from Moto and Nokia. Now they get aggressive with the price and we complain... When 2.0 comes in January, fur is going to fly.

 

[elguercoterco]

To put the (understandable) anger in perspective:

Is a big price drop EVER acceptable? Yes--and it has happened many times. Now, when would have been the earliest we might have normally expected something so major? I'd say just in time for Christmas shopping (2 months from now) or MacWorld SF in Jan 2008 (4 months from now). Let's say Jan 2008.

But no matter WHEN it happened, the numbers would be the same: people getting an iPhone $200 cheaper than you. If the drop happened in 4 months from now that would be acceptable. Instead, it happened today.

So the people who are so angry and yelling about lawsuits and petitions are angry about a 4 month window in which some OTHER people got a big discount.

I'm not saying that's not frustrating--it is.



Yes, Microsoft is ALWAYS dropping prices on best-selling products

Try not to take things so literally. I never related the "screwed-over" feeling to price drops from Microsoft...it's much more broad. Think the blue screen of death, XP's consistent crashing, their products sucking...etc.