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Apple to Offer iPhone 3GS Free on Contract?

I don't think they will have a 8GB iPhone 4. I think the 16GB will fill the $99 spot. It just seems like one of those things that some people don't care about (amount of storage space), but Apple will "upgrade" it anyway and make a big deal of it.
 
Somebody please explain to our friends in the US that not everyone in the world buys an iPhone on contract. Pre-paid or PAYG is very popular in many parts of the world. In the UK the cheapest PAYG iPhone is £428 for the iPhone 3GS. That is way too expensive for most PAYG users. So if they could reduce that to say £200 they would have a big hit IMHO even if it is old technology. Multiply this by several million PAYG users around the world (especially China, India, etc) and it's a nice little earner. Keep the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 for the mid-range and premium market.
 
3gs free with contract? oh really apple!!
wow this phone is older than my grandma, the only thing that keeps it allive is appstore and jb!
 
grapemac said:
In the UK, the 3GS is already free. You can get a refurb model free for £13.50 per month for 2 years, or a new model free for £18.50 per month for 2 years.
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Basically the same deal here in Japan. Both the iPhone 3Gs and the iPhone 4 are both free with a two-year contract.
 
a free by contract 3GS makes sense, I mean as long as their is demand I don't see why apple would not want to continue to supply it.

If anything, I think that the "cheaper" iPhone 4 or whatever, that we have been seeing cases for and stuff about being a cheap iPhone 4 with less memory. May actually just be a redesign for Apple to save some money on the current iPhone. The design for the next iPhone may have nothing to do with that.

When it comes to apple its never really clear what they will do, but if I found a cheaper manufacturing process, and there was a high demand, and I was about to lower the price of a hot product as well as introduce another, a cheaper and faster production style would make sense.
 
adder7712 said:
People still want the "ancient" (in phone terms) 3GS?
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According to that NPD report a couple weeks ago, more people want the 3GS than any single Android or BB model. Price is a very important mobile phone spec for a huge portion of the population. Lower the price and even more of these customers will become interested.

If you want to know marketing, you have to learn to sell to people who aren't like you, but still buy stuff. Lots of stuff.
 
OrangeSVTguy said:
Who would pay for a phone that's 3 generations old?
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Just bought one in April after I dropped my iPhone 4. I like it better than the 4. No reception problems, and my face doesn't activate the touch screen like it did on the 4.
Very happy with purchase.
 
The 3Gs is still a very capable device and with iOS 5 support it is a great low budget iPhone. The underclocked 800Mhz processor gives nearly the same performance as the iPhone 4 due to the A4 using it's extra power to power the Retina display. The only downside is the lower amount of RAM will be tested with iOS 5 and all its goodness.
 
Evangelion said:
You will be disappointed. Increasing the screen-size would lower the pixel-density. And it would make things more difficult for developers...
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I'm not sure why if it lowered the density (to stay compatible with apps) why it would make it difficult for developers? I can't see them changing the DPI and the total number of pixels, if they change the pixels it would be to keep the same density.

And since before the Retina Display, hasn't Apple been telling developers to not design for a specific screen size?

Gary
 
twoodcc said:
please tell me they aren't still producing these
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They sure as heck should be.

It could be similar to how Sony was (is still maybe?) still producing the PS2 long after the PS3 came out, with the PS2 actually pulling in more profits than the newer console.
 
puma1552 said:
This is the most retarded comment in this whole thread.

The 3GS is a dinosaur, and it will NOT perform well in two years. The 3G can't handle iOS4 to save it's life (had one and wanted to do nothing but throw it at a wall by the end of the contract), why do people all of a sudden think the 3GS is going to be handling iOS5/iOS6 and into iOS7 and be a phone that runs software well for FIVE YEARS into its design?

Drop the 3GS, move on Apple. And give up with the 8 GB crap, it's not 2004 anymore.
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Because Apple said from the get go "use iOS4 on the iPhone 3G at your own risk...it WILL suffer from performance issues."

Apple has very publicly stated that iOS5 will be supported on the 3GS...therefore it will work just fine with iOS5.

I would love to see a free 3GS. With the amount of cell phone customers who come into AT&T stores asking for "the free phone," it would be a huge revenue booster for AT&T.
 
Hope they do this. Would be a great way to compete on price while at the same time, would be easy to upsell to the higher models.
 
Apple wouldn't be offering the phone free, the carrier would. And Apple is not going to give the phone away free, they have nothing to gain, only the carrier does.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Apple wouldn't be offering the phone free, the carrier would. And Apple is not going to give the phone away free, they have nothing to gain, only the carrier does.
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wisdom...Lol i think alot of us still dont understand that carriers pay for the phone because they make atleast 1500 off of it...
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Apple wouldn't be offering the phone free, the carrier would. And Apple is not going to give the phone away free, they have nothing to gain, only the carrier does.
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Apple has everything to gain.

An iPhone for all (or at least for those willing to pony up for a data package).

With a lot of customers coming in asking for "free phones," and since smartphone are the only true free phones now (the others are free after mail in rebate) it makes a ton of sense.

The Samsung Focus sells so well because it's free. The iPhone 3GS would still work because of its brand cache.

It's an iPhone. For free. Think about it.
 
Ammo said:
Apple has everything to gain.

An iPhone for all (or at least for those willing to pony up for a data package).

With a lot of customers coming in asking for "free phones," and since smartphone are the only true free phones now (the others are free after mail in rebate) it makes a ton of sense.

The Samsung Focus sells so well because it's free. The iPhone 3GS would still work because of its brand cache.

It's an iPhone. For free. Think about it.
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Exactly, remember more iPhones out there in the world would literally mean more people to download your app too.
 
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