Maybe the 2yr Contract/Subsidy Model is outdated?
I just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. Not they are any better or worse then anyone else's, but I thought I'd add to the dialogue.
Maybe the typical 2yr Contract/Phone Subsidy itself is outdated from a technological standpoint, at least as far as the physical hardware of phones is concerned? Having owned cell phones for 10 years now I have observed, much like everyone else, that technology has come a long way. For most of the recent history of cell phones, up until the release of the original iPhone 2 years ago, your typical consumer cell phone hasn't technologically advanced all that much from year to year. I'd say my first 3 cell phones were basic phones that I was just happy they could make a phone call, and the last two had some extra features like built in cameras, the ability to record video, and/or ability to playback mp3 music files. Sure it was cool at first when cell phones had built in cameras, but they were grainy and unspectacular in their resolution - more a gimmick then anything else. I'm not sure how other networks have worked, but coming from Verizon since my cell phones had the ability to download music over their network has been a joke -- since their "Get it Now/VCast" network uses a weird points-instead-of-dollars system that is crippled and you actually end up paying more for music if you had just downloaded it from iTunes or elsewhere on the Internet.
Anyway, long diatribe short -- from one year to the next you didn't have rabid consumers clamoring over the next great phone; if something you were interested came onto the marketplace, usually you could hold yourself over until your contract was up. Sure, designs changed ever so slightly and technology advanced bit by bit, but nothing seemed "leaps and bounds" over the previous version. It really wasn't a big deal to be locked into a 2 year contract, unless you had buyer's remorse and hated your phone from the beginning or hated your cell phone service.
Enter the age of the smartphone - technology is advancing so fast that from one year to the next you could have a revolution in cell phone technology, rather than a slight evolution. The original iPhone was such a phone; the Palm Pre may or may not be such a phone -- at least for Sprint users. Whether the 3GS is a revolution over the 3G, I really don't know. The 3GS will be my first iPhone and its certainly going to be a revolution over the LG Chocolate 2 I have used for the past 2 years, love it though I may, the faithful and reliable little one. What I do see and hear is that 3G users are rabid enough that they can't handle the thought of their being a new iPhone release and not being invited to the party, so to speak. I agree that you sign a 2 year contract and you should be able to live with waiting an extra year, but if consumer sentiment and fanaticism is so high for the iPhone and Apple products, there should be some solution Apple, AT&T, and "the market" should be able to provide that would make consumers happy and also be profitable to the companies that make the products and services we love. Unfortunately, with this problem, I just have observation and no real solution -- I don't know what the best answer is.
Maybe AT&T could just have a 1-year contract and a higher initial purchase price of the iPhone with less of a subsidy? Admittedly, this wouldn't please Apple or enable the sale of the same volume of iPhones as its not the most consumer friendly, as consumers look at the initial purchase price of the phone moreso then the total cost of ownership for however long they use and own the phone. I'd say Apple could only come out with a new version of the iPhone only every 2 years, but this wouldn't work either as technology advances and their competitors try to play catch up and could possibly usurp the iPhone's current success, so there is no chance in the world of this option. Maybe if Apple opens up the iPhone to other networks after the original AT&T exclusivity contract, competition will somehow bring prices down -- but knowing Verizon and the way they want to cripple and control anything other then pure voice with their "Get it Now/VCast/Rhapsody/Whatever" services -- I don't see them enabling the open ended App store that makes the iPhone the iPhone. So -- I just don't know.
I just feel like the whole 2-year contract/subsidy model is outdated in that new hot phones are coming on the market every year that consumers can't wait to ditch their year old phones for. However, if abandoned, how do the wireless telecom companies make their profit? Just some thoughts...
lol
