I for one could not justify spending more on an iPhone than I would on a Mac Mini. I guess if you are desperate enough to get your hands on an iPhone to unlock it for another carrier, you might pay that price???
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AT&T To Offer No-Contract iPhones to Existing Customers Starting March 26th?
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I for one could not justify spending more on an iPhone than I would on a Mac Mini. I guess if you are desperate enough to get your hands on an iPhone to unlock it for another carrier, you might pay that price???
I hope that when/if a netbook/mutant iPod Touch comes out that they offer it with built in broadband for $30 a month, in addition to WiFi. That I would most definitely like.
Basically I love my iPod Touch, but would love the ability to have 3G data on it so I could stream stuff while I was driving. The iPhone doesn't make sense for me because the additional phone charges are way too much considering I already have a Blackberry for work anyway.
I for one could not justify spending more on an iPhone than I would on a Mac Mini. I guess if you are desperate enough to get your hands on an iPhone to unlock it for another carrier, you might pay that price???
I paid $650 for my Treo 650 (and one for the wife as well) when it first came out. So, yeah I personally have no problems with spending the money for it if I think it is worth it.
They want to charge you $600.00 for a new replacement phone if yours is damaged.
The real reason that they have such a high price is that there is NO INSURANCE available on the iPhone. Damage it or loose it, and it will cost you $600.00 or $700.00. That's huge for a phone. They are just trying to hose you with a enormous replacement price.
The real reason that they have such a high price is that there is NO INSURANCE available on the iPhone. Damage it or loose it, and it will cost you $600.00 or $700.00. That's huge for a phone. They are just trying to hose you with a enormous replacement price.
Thank You -that was my point- for those of us who are only concerned with an internet device and not phone calls at all, I dont see what's holding this back. Instead, I'm going to have to accept some sort of silly "netbook" device which will be bloated, overpriced and make me wish I had brought along my Macbook anyway. And it will be stuffed with features nobody wanted just to make it fit into Apples twisted pricing schemes, making it "artificially" cost more than an iPhone...
I just want to get online; run itunes and safari and get some business done for chrissakes; forget the gaming platform, forget the phone and you can even forget the ipod part AFAIC. I'll just run itunes [or some mini music app] on the effing thing; sync "selected" music from my homebase via MobileMe or even just access a shared library; maybe they can store my selections in my "cloud" [they could even randomly "rotate" selections from my library - I'm paying for ~20GB of storage anyway] ; then I can just stream it to my headphones via my "iCell" yada-yada-yada. It's 2009 -why do I have to carry all this data anyway? Cmon am I the only one thinking? A lot of us consider phones practically disposable items at this point - I beat the crap out of mine. I dont want to carry it around like a gold ingot and I cant stand any particular one for more than 4 months anyway.
Apple adherence to the "hierarchical" pricing will bite them back eventually. And what they are up to now is not the answer to saturated ipod market, fellas. Sometimes just be like mortal companies and offer 3 different versions of something which are all uniquely equipped for a given user.
sorry to ramble...
Apple doesn't have to do cheap, but they SHOULD do efficient.
Not true.
Replacement price is usually $200 over the subsidized price. You are replacing a phone you had already spent money on. The above pricing is for the phone new without a prior purchase and no contract with your own plan.
Actually, this isn't accurate either. You must factor for time-value of money. Those $75 future payments are discounted in net present value. The $10 future payments for the cheaper plan must also be discounted. However, the flaw in your logic is most noticeable in that you are paying $700 up-front. The more you pay now, the less that will be discounted for time-value of money.
For those that don't have a financial background: net present value takes into consideration that money received in the future is worth less than money received today. It's similar to the "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" rationale. The reason money is more valuable if you actually have it today is because you can use it to make more money. If you have money in your pocket, you can earn interest on it, etc.
I don't have my financial calculator with me, but I would guess that the $200 down payment and $75 stream of payments for 24 months is actually worth about $1500 depending on interest rates. I would guess the $700 down payment and $10 stream of payments for 24 months is actually worth about $860.
NPV of $200 phone + $75 monthly payments = $1500
NPV of $700 phone + $10 monthly payments = $860
So, you might still be correct, just not 100% accurate. Also, someone with a financial background and a financial calculator capable of doing Net Present Values could make these numbers a little more accurate.
No Contract?
All very nice, those new features in 3.0. The biggest obstacle for the iPhone remains however its limited use for travelers due to insane roaming charges!
An AT&T no-contract option (it already exists in Hong Kong, where Apple sells unlocked iPhones) would be a solution, but, -alas-, some Telecoms such as Soft Bank in Japan have tinkered their SIMs so that they dont work, unless you BUY an iPhone from them, although the same SIMs work on any other phones.
I, as probably most iPhone users would accept to pay for ONE contract with ONE Telecom or even an extra "tax" for using an alternate prepaid SIM in order to avoid roaming charges that can easily reach several thousand dollars-per-month, especially if you use such useful features such as Google maps, LookItUp, etc.
Its the perfect rip-off and it seems that Apple condones it!
Splitting my time between Europe and Japan, I have long lost my enthousiasm for the iPhone and no upgrades whatsoever will change that, until Apple has brought their Telecom partners to reason.
This issue may not concern most US-users but Apple should be aware that it seriously cools down the interest of European and Asian consumers who are often crossing borders.
All very nice, those new features in 3.0. The biggest obstacle for the iPhone remains however its limited use for travelers due to insane roaming charges!
An AT&T no-contract option (it already exists in Hong Kong, where Apple sells unlocked iPhones) would be a solution, but, -alas-, some Telecoms such as Soft Bank in Japan have tinkered their SIMs so that they dont work, unless you BUY an iPhone from them, although the same SIMs work on any other phones.
I, as probably most iPhone users would accept to pay for ONE contract with ONE Telecom or even an extra "tax" for using an alternate prepaid SIM in order to avoid roaming charges that can easily reach several thousand dollars-per-month, especially if you use such useful features such as Google maps, LookItUp, etc.
Its the perfect rip-off and it seems that Apple condones it!
Splitting my time between Europe and Japan, I have long lost my enthousiasm for the iPhone and no upgrades whatsoever will change that, until Apple has brought their Telecom partners to reason.
This issue may not concern most US-users but Apple should be aware that it seriously cools down the interest of European and Asian consumers who are often crossing borders.
When I moved here, I was quite surprised how popular the Nokia N-series and HTC smartphones are compared to the iPhone.
so basically you're saying that you can get $500 return on $1800 investment over 2 years? and $80 return on $240 investment? pretty decent especially these days
Just to shed some perspective.... the Pay As You Go iPhone has been available in the UK since just before Christmas.
Charged at £340 ($495) and £390 ($569) (inc 15% VAT) respectively for 8GB and 16GB models.
The price includes 12 months free unlimited data, thereafter it's a £10 ($14.60) a month bolt-on (or requires at least £10 top up, not sure of the details).
Charged at £340 ($495) and £390 ($569) (inc 15% VAT) respectively for 8GB and 16GB models.
The price includes 12 months free unlimited data, thereafter it's a £10 ($14.60) a month bolt-on (or requires at least £10 top up, not sure of the details).
That may be the case but, $1 is still $1 more or less over 2 years and last I checked, 1 + 1 = 2...
so basically you're saying that you can get $500 return on $1800 investment over 2 years? and $80 return on $240 investment? pretty decent especially these days
Yes, but keep in mind that some of that will account for inflation. On paper it sounds great, but that amount of money will buy less two years from now.
That may be the case but, $1 is still $1 more or less over 2 years and last I checked, 1 + 1 = 2...
Not really though. Let's assume I wish to buy your iPhone from you and that we both agree $500 is a reasonable price. Now lets assume I can't pay you for two years. Wouldn't you want more money because you won't get the full price immediately? You might ask for $800 in two years or $500 today. You might think that no one would do the $800 deal, but in actuality, we would both benefit. I would get the phone now and you would get a much higher price (although it wouldn't be for two years).
Obviously this is a very simplistic example, but you can see how banks operate on a daily basis when they give loans.
I bet if you went to a local bank to get a loan and made the statement "$1 is still $1 more or less over 2 years and last I checked, 1 + 1 = 2" they would have a hard time not laughing.
I digress. My entire point is that as tempting as it is to simply look at the sum of payments for a phone, it's really not that simple.
No commitment usually means unlocked; probably AT&T responding to recent lawsuits wanting them to remove the Apple/AT&T exclusivity contract.
As with the price, assuming the device is unlocked, that is not for the masses; don't forget it's not suppose to be affordable. It's also to assimilate the last few people who refuse to buy locked devices. Unlocked would mean they can't force you to use any data plan; you would technically, just give them the IMEI for a RAZR or something and then use the SIM card in your device.
Also if update 3.0 is as good at they say, this will make the device very competitive.
Just to give some of you folks what comparable phones price at [release]:
Nokia N95 — $750
Nokia E90 — $1100
Nokia N97 ~ $700 (Estimated)
Yes, I've a Nokia person, but as you can see their high end devices (which are better) cost more, so if this no-commitment price equates to an unlocked phone, the price is very competitive.
And hopefully they let me buy one on my data card account
Now if that device isn't unlocked, it's a sham and what's the point of selling it at no commitment if you can't use it anywhere else?
As with the price, assuming the device is unlocked, that is not for the masses; don't forget it's not suppose to be affordable. It's also to assimilate the last few people who refuse to buy locked devices. Unlocked would mean they can't force you to use any data plan; you would technically, just give them the IMEI for a RAZR or something and then use the SIM card in your device.
Also if update 3.0 is as good at they say, this will make the device very competitive.
Just to give some of you folks what comparable phones price at [release]:
Nokia N95 — $750
Nokia E90 — $1100
Nokia N97 ~ $700 (Estimated)
Yes, I've a Nokia person, but as you can see their high end devices (which are better) cost more, so if this no-commitment price equates to an unlocked phone, the price is very competitive.
And hopefully they let me buy one on my data card account
Now if that device isn't unlocked, it's a sham and what's the point of selling it at no commitment if you can't use it anywhere else?
For those people who bought unlocked iPhones outside of their country, how does the warranty work?
That may be the case but, $1 is still $1 more or less over 2 years and last I checked, 1 + 1 = 2...
That's ignoring the principle of net present value entirely.
Look at it this way: if you have a choice of either paying out $1 today, or pay out nothing today, but $making 0.25 payments per year for the next 5 years, which do you choose?
If you pay $1 today, then the total payout is $1.
If you pay $0.25 per year for the next 5 years, then the total payout is $1.25.
If you could put that $1 in the bank today and earn 10% simple interest per year (contrived numbers, I know), then by this time next year when you make your first $0.25 payment, your investment will be worth $1.10. You deduct the first $0.25 payment, leaving $0.85 to re-invest.
The next year when you make your second $0.25 payment, your $0.85 re-investment will be worth $0.93. Take away $0.25 and you're left with $0.68 to re-invest again.
Year 3: You start with $0.75, pay $0.25, and re-invest the remaining $0.50.
Year 4: Start with $0.55, pay $0.25, and re-invest $0.30.
Year 5: Start with $0.33, pay $0.25, and have $0.08 left over.
So, if you decided to go for the full $1 up-front, that $1 is all you'd have to pay ever.
But, if you decided instead to pay nothing now, but made $0.25 payments every year for the next 5 years, then you'd still pay out a total of $1.25, but you'd actually end up 8 cents further ahead at the end of it, than if you'd just paid $1 up front.
In other words, the total of $1.25 you'd pay out over the next five years, is actually worth less than the $1 you'd pay if you made a lump-sum payment today. If your average rate of return on investments (or debts) varies, then the outcome of this little thought experiment would also change.
for what no service like the other phones they carry have mms why is it the iphone shouldn't have had mms activated and they should stop blocking it from the iphone if they activate it on the 3g and not the original iphone every customer with a first gen iphone should seek a legal action at at@t so they can be prepared to be sued the iphone can recieve mms it is well documented in europe that it works so cut the bull at@t and apple stop covering up for them
yeah for the 3g not for the orignal iphone they said it's a hardware problem no it's not it's the feq. the iphone use when connecting to the network that is being blocked at the source by detecting the iphone that's why they wipe the system every day to find if there is jailbroken iphones using swirlymms on their system and stop it that is the same why they are gonna block the first gen iphone from the 3g version so it doesn't get the mms service once it comes out in 3.0 firmware what bothered me more is that apple said the first gen iphone can't handle mms so how do they explain the mms apps in the european itunes appstore in portugal and spain the orignal iphones there that they have been working well using it and we all know about this it's well documented how can they even make that statement. if they don't add the first gen phone to get mms i would be the first to seek legal action against them i been getting all my documentation ready to prove my point europeans have been having mms on their iphones now for almost half a year how is it we don't have it in the united states. your gonna tell me it's hardware issue better get your story straight apple i smell money
yeah, well quite inflation you're expecting since quickly calculated your numbers imply interest rate of about 35%. the market expectation for inflation are now below 1%.
Subtle purging of inventory maybe?
Makes me wonder if ATT is slowly trying to purge their current inventory of iphones to make way for the iPhone 3.0. Would make sense as they know that the hardware will be different so why not get rid of the older version and prep for the new coming out in maybe near end of year?
Makes me wonder if ATT is slowly trying to purge their current inventory of iphones to make way for the iPhone 3.0. Would make sense as they know that the hardware will be different so why not get rid of the older version and prep for the new coming out in maybe near end of year?
i can bet my first born there will be atleast 32g iphone if not 64g one to handle the NEW OS 3.0 firmware and some new hardware like better chipset for graphixs and ram to handle turn by turn gps and file transfer, bluetooth apps ,etc and a better battery and speakers setup with better megapixel camera for pics ,video recording and a fowardfacing one for video conferencing if they are planning to be cutting edge they need to step it up in this game of the smartphone apple can only go so far with apps or the pre and blackberry anroid ,winmo will start setting up to the plate now that they know what they are up against they 'll change their plans