Apple to Introduce Cheaper iPhone at WWDC?

[kuaizi8]

Am I the only one who doesn't want Apple to release cheaper iPhones?

The build quality of my iPhone 2G was amazing! The build quality of my iPhone 3G was cheap. Apple, please don't make your iPhones cheaper, if you're only going to offer cheap versions. Many people, including me, are in the market for a Pro iPhone with great build quality and high-class material. It doesn't have to be cheap!

Apple certainly wants many more people to be able to afford an iPhone to ultimately buy more apps in the App Store, but they have to be careful not to use cheap crack-fragile plastic, for instance.

Well, we'll know more on Monday! I'd like to see a new iPhone with 2G quality.

 

[bobbleheadbob]

I don't want a cheaper iPhone; I want a better iPhone! (Realizing that it's pretty damn great already.)

But a cheaper phone could appeal to some of my family members who are thinking of switching from Verizon and coming onto our AT&T Family Plan.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see and find out next week.

 

[imcquill]

I think this is exactly the phone that was in those Fido brochures. That would mean 4GB phone with 3G, but no GPS or wifi (in the ad anyways), but would come with a front-facing video camera, and it would be $99. I bet the service plans will be cheaper as well, as Apple will not charge the service providers as much for the phone (an earlier rumour was they were costing the providers closer to $400 than $600), so the service plans don't need to cost as much to recoup costs.

 

[student_trap]

I think a cheaper iphone would be a great thing. Apple will take a larger market share in the same way that they did with the ipod mini,then shuffle.

 

[definitive]

So will this new "Cheaper" iPhone be the new iPhone, or some cheaper version of the new iPhone?

 

[ULFoaf]

It probably got cheaper ...

The article says very little.

Could it be the new model at a lower capacity? Could they continue to sell the current 3G in parallel with the new model?

If it's anything that mimics the speculation of the "iPhone Nano" I will LMAO.

I am sure there has been plans for a "nano" for awhile. Remember the ads for the cover? Selling an accessory for something that doesn't exist is just too silly. It sounds like Apple's cost for the iPhone dropped significantly, so maybe they decided to abandon a new design and sell the 3G as a cheap version. Or maybe it really is a new version that is smaller and cheaper yet.

 

[Stately]

Yes.. the problem is AT&T, not the cost of the phone. I have many friends that can afford the cost of the phone, but cannot justify AT&T's plans.

After recently discovering that I'm averaging a whopping 250-300mb of data a month, I'm soon making my way to the door. That is, if AT&T doesn't begin offering some data plans that match usage, I'm splitting for T-Mobile.

I'm paying roughly the same price I pay for truly unlimited high speed internet service at home, for 250-300mb per month? And I can't even download a freakn app from the App Store with their service? Incredible.

Not for long. Times are tough and Visual Voicemail ain't that big a deal. I believe I'd be paying nearly half of what I'm currently paying with AT&T for a similar plan.

Bingo, you hit the nail on the head. I have definitely said the same thing as far as AT&T ruining a good thing. I am all about fair. The phone was phenominal when it was released and still is and is only going to get better but the cost to use it is honestly ridiculous. Not to mention like I said before, they are going to keep trying to find ways to get money out of people with every little add on feature of the phone, i.e. tethering, video calling, they have even tried to ban an application which does not belong to them "Slingbox". I feel like by the time you use all the features that the PHONE has to offer not AT&T, you will be paying like $450 a month. It's looking like it's gonna be a crazy situation . . Soon you'll just hear a little robotic voice every time you try to do something on your phone that should be free. AT&T - You took a picture sir? That will be ten cents . . Ma'am, Ma'am, sending that email will be what? let me hear ya . . c'mon . . CORRECT Ma'am, ten cents lol. Anyhow I left a while back hoping for a carrier change with the new phones/devices.

 

[bremb0]

Great... so every freaking high school kids can ask mommy to get em one.
Everywhere you look you see teenager with an iPhone, just like the old Razr.
Its starting to get really annoying. At&t network will get even more clogged with iphone users.

 

[peterdevries]

Am I the only one who doesn't want Apple to release cheaper iPhones?

The build quality of my iPhone 2G was amazing! The build quality of my iPhone 3G was cheap. Apple, please don't make your iPhones cheaper, if you're only going to offer cheap versions. Many people, including me, are in the market for a Pro iPhone with great build quality and high-class material. It doesn't have to be cheap!

Apple certainly wants many more people to be able to afford an iPhone to ultimately buy more apps in the App Store, but they have to be careful not to use cheap crack-fragile plastic, for instance.

Well, we'll know more on Monday! I'd like to see a new iPhone with 2G quality.

Although I agree with you that the build quality is very (if not most) important, what's wrong with selling the same iPhone but cheaper?

I would also go for a pro.. But as I see it, there is no phone on the market with a more scratch resistant front AND back than the iPhone 3G. My Blackberry, which is newer and sees more use (because of my job) looks much older than my iPhone.

I think it is great that Apple would be able to update the iPhone 3G with OS 3.0 and sell it cheaper, making it accessible to more people. (And increasing the share price at the same time. I bought them a bit too expensive, so they have some way to go..).

 

[Fairbrother]

I for one would love to see an iPhone that has all the calling, calendar and contact functions and nothing else. If the cheaper phone has these then I'm sold.

Explanation:

My personal phone is an iPhone. My business phone us an LG with no bells and whistles. I use my iPhone for all my business contacts, calendars and have even had to use it as the catalyst for conference calls because our office's cheap Panasonic desk phones are either too confusing to work properly or don't work at all.

The iPhone truly has made calling easier, adding contacts easier, managing my customer list easier while on the road.

I can see many companies using a stripped down version for their outside force, AT&T or not. As many people hate AT&T, the same number hate carrier B, and so on with carrier C.

Richard

 

[peterdevries]

Bingo, you hit the nail on the head. I have definitely said the same thing as far as AT&T ruining a good thing. I am all about fair. The phone was phenominal when it was released and still is and is only going to get better but the cost to use it is honestly ridiculous. Not to mention like I said before, they are going to keep trying to find ways to get money out of people with every little add on feature of the phone, i.e. tethering, video calling, they have even tried to ban an application which does not belong to them "Slingbox". I feel like by the time you use all the features that the PHONE has to offer not AT&T, you will be paying like $450 a month. It's looking like it's gonna be a crazy situation . . Soon you'll just hear a little robotic voice every time you try to do something on your phone that should be free. AT&T - You took a picture sir? That will be ten cents . . Ma'am, Ma'am, sending that email will be what? let me hear ya . . c'mon . . CORRECT Ma'am, ten cents lol. Anyhow I left a while back hoping for a carrier change with the new phones/devices.

As said before, the argument with dataplans might hold up in the states, but don't apply in every country. Here in the Netherlands and many countries in the rest of Europe, the price of a phone is a major determinant. Data plans etc are all pretty similar in price.

It would sometimes be nice if people would remember that there are countries outside the boundaries of the United States..

 

[Roessnakhan]

Great... so every freaking high school kids can ask mommy to get em one.
Everywhere you look you see teenager with an iPhone, just like the old Razr.
Its starting to get really annoying. At&t network will get even more clogged with iphone users.

Why does this matter to you? You're not the member of a special club because you have an iPhone.

 

[alm99]

As said before, the argument with dataplans might hold up in the states, but don't apply in every country. Here in the Netherlands and many countries in the rest of Europe, the price of a phone is a major determinant. Data plans etc are all pretty similar in price.

It would sometimes be nice if people would remember that there are countries outside the boundaries of the United States..

What do you pay for data and is there a limit?

 

[Yvan256]

1. In Canada the iPhone is tied with Rogers
2. Where I live, Rogers phones don't work (at all)
3. Not buying an iPhone, see point 2.
4. There is no point four, stop reading already.

What I do hope is to see a new iPod touch with most of the same features as the iPhone (including but not limited to camera with video recording, GPS, compass, built-in mic for recoding live audio such as notes, etc). A "real" phone-less iPhone, not a watered down phone-less iPhone.

 

[Stately]

As said before, the argument with dataplans might hold up in the states, but don't apply in every country. Here in the Netherlands and many countries in the rest of Europe, the price of a phone is a major determinant. Data plans etc are all pretty similar in price.

It would sometimes be nice if people would remember that there are countries outside the boundaries of the United States..

Haha, sorry. My little fire there comes from being gypped lol. I know you guys exist . . Take care lol.

 

[peterdevries]

What do you pay for data and is there a limit?

There is no limit and I pay $ 42 all in. That includes 150 SMS and 150 free minutes of voice.

I actually pay only $ 21 because I complained so much at T-Mobile about their shoddy service that they offered to slash my monthly fee in half to get rid of me. I can recommend all dutch T-Mobile customers to do the same. Perserverance pays!

 

[iPhoneNYC]

Apple has been smart. People accepted high prices to get the new next great thing. But now they have a two year old iPhone, can make a cheap 4 gig version and can push ATT into a cheaper monthly thing. This all sounds like it will be a hit for Apple in a crappy economy. And I bet people who purchase the less expensive model will spend equal or greater at the App Store.

 

[GQB]

Yes.. the problem is AT&T, not the cost of the phone. I have many friends that can afford the cost of the phone, but cannot justify AT&T's plans.

After recently discovering that I'm averaging a whopping 250-300mb of data a month, I'm soon making my way to the door. That is, if AT&T doesn't begin offering some data plans that match usage, I'm splitting for T-Mobile.

I'm paying roughly the same price I pay for truly unlimited high speed internet service at home, for 250-300mb per month? And I can't even download a freakn app from the App Store with their service? Incredible.

Not for long. Times are tough and Visual Voicemail ain't that big a deal. I believe I'd be paying nearly half of what I'm currently paying with AT&T for a similar plan.

I agree that its the service that's the cost impediment, not the cost of the hardware. The (minimum) $360/year for data service I don't need is purely a waste of money.
I'm just not that 100% addicted to net access that I can't live for the 10 minutes it takes me to find a wi-fi connection if I really need it.
But the phone companies know a cash-cow when they see one, and they'll give up mandatory data connection only at the point of a gun.
(But remember, Pre is no better.)

 

[ChrisA]

From the looks of things my current mobile is on its last legs. This could be some very fortunate timing for a change, if this happens!

Yes, because then you could walk out of the store with a new phone after you sign a $1900 contract. The current $2000 contract is just to expensive

Seriously, $100 off is only a 5% discount over the contract's life.

 

[manu chao]

Yes.. the problem is AT&T, not the cost of the phone. I have many friends that can afford the cost of the phone, but cannot justify AT&T's plans.

You mean the total cost. In my country, a 16 GB iPhone without a plan did cost a whopping $1100. With a plan it is around between $185 and $325 (depending on the plan). For AT&T it does not matter whether you pay them $1000 now or $200 now and $800+interest later.
There are two components to the price of a smartphone, the device and the data plan. Whether you sell the phone for $100 less and ask $5 more per month over two years is just a marketing decision.
A smartphone is at least $1000, get over it. You can pay now or in installments.

 

[manu chao]

What do you pay for data and is there a limit?

In Switzerland you have 100, 250 and 1000 MB/month plans. Since they are sold together with voice plans it is impossible to tell the precise cost of the data plan alone. But the step up from 100 to 250 MB/month is roughly $10/month (if you factor in the difference in call charges and handset price) and the step up from 250 MB to 1 GB/month is about $15/month.

 

[peterdevries]

Not exactly on topic, but I guess we can all be pretty sure that the new iPhone will have exactly the same dimensions, since there have been no leaks of any case manufacturers like last year..

If that's the case than it would corroborate my suspicion that they would put the 3G in a new coat and sell it cheaper alongside the more expensive iPhone Video..

 

[GeekLawyer]

Not exactly on topic, but I guess we can all be pretty sure that the new iPhone will have exactly the same dimensions, since there have been no leaks of any case manufacturers like last year..

If that's the case than it would corroborate my suspicion that they would put the 3G in a new coat and sell it cheaper alongside the more expensive iPhone Video..

I think you might be on to something with that speculation. Especially if by "in a new coat" you mean with the matte plastic (or whatever) backing.

 

[celtikmind]

It would sometimes be nice if people would remember that there are countries outside the boundaries of the United States..

Please, tell that to Apple as well...

For anyone living in a non-native english speaking country who still though prefers english as system default the International settings can be an annoyant hell on earth... It's a choice between either living with every date still displayed in the local language or living with american standards when it comes to thousands and decimal-delimitation. In short, it looks outright stupid and neglected that those aren't as easily changable as the time format. There are ways of course but is terminal hacking really part of the "Apple experience"...

Tell me again why US can't join the most of the world in the metric system?

 

[coreyyy]

keynote monday?

WWDC opens on the 8th, but i'm pretty sure the keynote isn't unitl tuesday.