Does Apple have a worm inside it now?

[Michael CM1]

For anyone who is complaining about a price increase for data.. you are getting an increase of speed so you pay more.. you are using it more so you pay more... it can do more things so you pay more... that's just the fact of the matter. If you don't like the speed increase and dont think the specs are good enough then go and buy the 1st gen. it's a great phone that does all you want for the price you apparently are only wiling to pay. So make your choice and live with it, and just enjoy the hell out of whichever one you get because the bottom line is the iphone is an amazing device that we all love

AT&T charges me more for a 3.0Mbps DSL connection than they do for the 768kbps connection. WHAT RAT BASTARDS!

As for the OP, I must say "are you stupid?" I don't like the plastic, but they're jacking the price down $200 for something better.

You also have must have never-ever-ever looked at how any cell phone carrier does business before. They want you to upgrade your phone and sign a new contract every 2 years. NOOOOOOO WAY!!!! Did you just fall off the yam wagon? The $99/month is unlimited CALLING, not data. I also want to bust out laughing at complaining about Apple trying to, get this, make money off the App Store. I thought they were just around to do our bidding and they go off and try to make money. What kind of stupid crap is that for some publicly traded company?

Sometimes I think they oughta put an IQ score on people's profiles. Just wow.

 

[Pandaboots]

You also have must have never-ever-ever looked at how any cell phone carrier does business before. They want you to upgrade your phone and sign a new contract every 2 years. NOOOOOOO WAY!!!! Did you just fall off the yam wagon?

Apple & AT&T want us to sign a 2 year contract and then have us upgrade/renew every year from the looks of things.

Anyway, I guess the point of my story was I'd rather have seen non-subsidized iPhones for full cost, with more inexpensive monthly outlay. I'm trying to figure out who's really the winner here with iPhone 3g? So AT&T is paying Apple to cut the retail price of the phone, which in turn means more sales, which means more subscribers for AT&T, so now they compensate with higher cost monthly plans to make up for the subsidy. My other assumption was the App store was a way for Apple to generate any lost profit margin not fully covered by the subsidy. (I just wasn't impressed by the apps they showed and the prices they wanted to charge for the software) I understand business and these are "for profit" companies with shareholders, etc. But this doesn't seem like the typical "Apple" way of saying, here's our superior product with a superior price tag..take it or leave it. But then again, this is what happens when competition is taken out of the formula. AT&T is the exclusive carrier for this revolutionary product and all us early adopters are gonna pay through the nose until further notice. Apple is doing the total opposite this time as they have done in the past. Imagine if they had worked the iPod this way. Here's a $50 iPod and songs will cost you $1.99 each/movies are $16.99 each/ tv shows are $2.99 etc. etc. Would that have been better than the current way? This is what is happening to the iPhone.

I and apparently many others would rather buy a high ticket item with low cost of ownership vs. an inexpensive (relatively speaking) product with higher costs of ownership over the life cycle. I just hope that maybe the basic phone plans will show a drop in price since they expect to have more subscribers, but since they haven't disclosed pricing yet, my gut says the phone plans are going to increase too. That will spell disaster....

 

[Shackler]

everyone complains about the 16gb but does any phone even have 16gb even through expansion slots? i dont think, i may be wrong.

 

[admanimal]

I was ready to buy it today until I found out that ATT was jacking the price of the plans!

How long is it going to take before people realize that 1st gen iPhone users were actually getting discounted rates, and all that is happening now is AT&T charging their standard rates?

 

[CrazEtooN]

I despair - I really do.

It's like no-one can ever be happy with anything they release. Personally I think they've done a fantastic job with the new iPhone and software, and can't wait to get it on July 11th.

Especially with the mobileMe stuff... I mean, wow.

Amen. A-freaking-men.

How long is it going to take before people realize that 1st gen iPhone users were actually getting discounted rates, and all that is happening now is AT&T charging their standard rates?

A person is smart, people are stupid. We are seeing the mass effect on this forum, and as such, we are being bombarded with stupidity. They will never get it because they won't open their eyes and see the bigger picture. They are too convinced it is some evil scheme by Apple and At&t to steal their souls.

I tried to reach out and make them understand. It was an exercise in extreme futility, so I stopped and I just ignore them now. I feel much calmer now that I do. "Woo-Saaaaa"

 

[Jack Dangers]

Seems Apple is starting to get a little rotten lately. I think they have totally missed with the iPhone. Here's what they are doing to us: (Fanboys please suspend your disbelief for a few minutes)

1) Cheapen the product with a glossy (as opposed to matte) plastic. This will be a scratch magnet and make us want to replace our phones in a quicker cycle.

2) Lower the price, so they can sell tons of em, and they will make up the lost revenue with the new App store (through the revenue sharing)

3) Allow AT&T to price gouge us every month with increases and contract renewals for upgraders

Aside from the inevitable 3G, the new iPhone is still yesterday's specs with its lack of flash support, cheap camera, and 16G max?????? wth is that all about?

[Maybe they should have branded this phone the iPhone Air.]

I would have gladly paid $599 for a 32GB, with >2.0 megapixel camera, with an all aluminum chasis. (video capability would have been nice) And what ever happened to the supposed $99/month unlimited everything plans?

Man, seems if you buy an iPhone, you've sold your soul to the devil, because this crap will continue. The iPhone will see a major update annually and there will be some reason to upgrade to it, which in turn will require a new 2 year contract at a higher price point per month from AT&T. So essentially these plans are no different than an ARM loan in the mortgage industry. You lock in for the 1st year and then the rate raises. What's next for Apple? Give the phones away for free then charge us $300/month?

In the meantime, I feel like their music/movie and Mac divisions are suffering because of the iPhone R&D. Sad part is after one year the biggest development for the phone was due to AT&T, not Apple. No design change to make the copy cats look dated, no increased specs etc. Wait a minute, I guess they are going to set up a store to sell us video games that were cool in the 80's and also allow us to stalk our friends via GPS. Ok I'm done..damn I need to step away from the keyboard.....

1) Plastic casing = supposed better reception

2) Sell more iPhones = more revenue = more $ for R & D for next iPhone model

3) Seems to be regular practice. Rate plans are back to normal. I've been an AT&T customer for years and whenever I wanted a discounted phone, I had to re-up my contract every time.

 

[slimjim247]

Plastic Back

Is the plastic back like the plastic on the chocolate phones?

If so, that isn't that "cheap" and i don't really notice the scratches on it unless your looking for them

 

[TwinCities Dan]

AT&T charges me more for a 3.0Mbps DSL connection than they do for the 768kbps connection. WHAT RAT BASTARDS!

That's kinda what I was thinking, did people think AT&T was going to spend millions on upgrading their network to 3g (The only one in the states) and then give it all away for the same price as they did before? I kinda thought that was a no brainer. Do you pay more for broadband than dialup? I do.

 

[andiwm2003]

well, i think the $10 increase for G# is not too bad. in the end it's $30 for unlimited data.

what pisses me off is $39 for 450 min. voice is way too expensive in the US but that is a problem with all carriers and phones.

$199 for the iphone is actually a steal and I can't be more happy about it. If my current iphone breaks or gets lost i don't have to pay 399 bucks to replace it.

so i'm happy. my guess is that 10 million others this year will be happy as well.

p.s.: and who cares about scratches. you said yourself: we are doomed to buy a new phone every year anyway........

 

[CrazEtooN]

The complaints on the plastic back are also comical to a fault. I don't know if it is just me, but I can't remember a metal backed phone before the iPhone. As a matter of fact, barring the iPhone, every phone I have had in my cellphone using life has been plastic backed.

Tell me again why this is suddenly a problem?

Also, please tell me what you are doing to your phones that causes them to get so scratched up. I really am dying to know...

 

[TwinCities Dan]

what pisses me off is $39 for 450 min. voice is way too expensive in the US but that is a problem with all carriers and phones.

Don't you get a ton of night/weekend minutes with the plan, or am I mistaken?

 

[Walter P Henson]

AT&T charges me more for a 3.0Mbps DSL connection than they do for the 768kbps connection. WHAT RAT BASTARDS!

As for the OP, I must say "are you stupid?" I don't like the plastic, but they're jacking the price down $200 for something better.

You also have must have never-ever-ever looked at how any cell phone carrier does business before. They want you to upgrade your phone and sign a new contract every 2 years. NOOOOOOO WAY!!!! Did you just fall off the yam wagon? The $99/month is unlimited CALLING, not data. I also want to bust out laughing at complaining about Apple trying to, get this, make money off the App Store. I thought they were just around to do our bidding and they go off and try to make money. What kind of stupid crap is that for some publicly traded company?

Sometimes I think they oughta put an IQ score on people's profiles. Just wow.

Before you go around insulting people's intelligence maybe you should stop to think about what they are saying first. 99 dollars a month does purchase unlimited EVERYTHING with certain carriers i.e. Sprint http://www.sprintspecialoffers.com/everything/?id12=UHP_Masthead_050108_SimplyEverything

But seriously I do appreciate your demeaning overtones they really help contribute to an intelligent and productive discussion.

one more thing...yam wagon........

 

[benmrii]

I'm no fanboi, I've toasted this underwhelming update (at least with regard to the hardware) extensively, but this I need to respond to:

1) Cheapen the product with a glossy (as opposed to matte) plastic. This will be a scratch magnet and make us want to replace our phones in a quicker cycle.

There have been a myriad of reviews and posts panning the metallic back of the iPhone for its negative affect on reception, and the initial reviews of the iPhone 3G have stated the reception has improved. There are also dozens of cases and films available, not to mention people who work with plastics for a living who just might have developed a scratch resistant glossy plastic. You immediately assume it will scratch. If they can make such an effective scratch-resistant glass touch screen I'd imagine they can do so with plastic.

You've never seen one, you've never held one, and the only pictures I've seen so far look pretty nice to me (even if they are of the white ).

2) Lower the price, so they can sell tons of em, and they will make up the lost revenue with the new App store (through the revenue sharing)

You're really complaining about good business planning? You're really complaining about Apple making money so they can continue to innovate and develop new, groundbreaking products? You're complaining about the App Store which is heralded as one of the best reasons to get an iPhone because of how it encourages people to develop software for the iPhone, making it such a unique and in-demand device? You're actually complaining that the iPhone costs less money?

3) Allow AT&T to price gouge us every month with increases and contract renewals for upgraders

"Price gouge." You should look that term up because I'm not sure you know what it means. What the definition is not: charging customers the same amount that you charge all of your other customers for 3G service plans. In fact, considering the exponentially higher amount of use of the internet service AT&T will be providing specifically to iPhone users they could have arguably charged more, but they aren't. Not to mention, AT&T's 3G unlimited data plans (again, the same for all of their smart phones, including the iPhone) are the same or lower than all of the other US mobile phone companies.

16G max??????

Name one phone that has more storage, not counting phones that require you to match those 16GBs with 8 different 2GB swappable chips. For example, the Samsung Instinct - the closest thing to a true iPhone killer there has yet been - comes with 32MB of internal storage.

I would have gladly paid $599 for a 32GB, with >2.0 megapixel camera, with an all aluminum chasis.

You and a minority of customers. Of the people interviewed that did not buy an iPhone, 56% said they would have bought one if it weren't so expensive. It's not about you and your personal preferences in aesthetics, it's about business. They will sell more and, in turn, be able to continue to turn out better products down the road.

So essentially these plans are no different than an ARM loan in the mortgage industry. You lock in for the 1st year and then the rate raises.

That is really not an accurate analogy at all. A home is a necessity, an iPhone a toy/accessory. Not to mention, whether or not you choose to upgrade your iPhone/iPhone contract is much more a case by case basis personal choice than the sneaky tactics of an ARM loan that you are already locked into.

In the meantime, I feel like their music/movie and Mac divisions are suffering because of the iPhone R&D.

You might "feel" like that, but actually they continue to improve according to things like "numbers" and "profit margins" and "actual data."

Sad part is after one year the biggest development for the phone was due to AT&T, not Apple. No design change to make the copy cats look dated, no increased specs etc.

The biggest development was by far the iPhone Firmware 2.0 and App Store. The influx of programs on top of Enterprise is huge. The significantly lower price plus the addition of so many programs - both for business and pleasure - alone will sell millions of units.

And why would you change the design of a ground breaking device, particularly when one of the most unique and amazing aspects of it is it's single button, touch-screen interface?

 

[That70sGAdawg]

OP is right. The "Fanboys" are chugging the Kool-Aid!! Bogarting it in fact !

The software is available for ALL iPhones, not just 3G , So the ONLY improvements after a YEAR are GPS and 3G....

 

[skwoytek]

There is nothing I liked about the new iphone...outside of 3G.

Cheap plastic casing.

Raised rates by a minimum of $15.

Is is really more affordable? Sure the phone is, than ATT socks it to you with a minimum of $75+tax for monthly service. What a fraud!

This was a giant leap backwards for Apple. I also did not enjoy how they claimed how much faster the 3G phone was versus Edge....basically telling those of us who have Edge that it really sucks.

I am not buying one, and have decided to give my Edge Iphone to my nephew and get a BB from VZW so that I get better coverage and fewer dropped calls.

I love the looks of the original Iphone, hate the lack of simple things like a to do list, a designated contacts button/icon. It has been a year and still no copy/paste...come on!

I like Apple products, however I am not a fan boy and agree with every product Jobs puts out there. I call it as I see it.

Have you actually priced a Blackberry that compares to the iPhone and the associated monthly costs for voice and data from Verizon?

See you back here soon...


Again, the standard from AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon is $39.99 monthly voice, $29.99 monthly data and $5 minimum for SMS. Nobody's ripping you off, you just can't afford (or don't want to spend) the money for a new smartphone and monthly plan...

 

[ruinfx]

Before you go around insulting people's intelligence maybe you should stop to think about what they are saying first. 99 dollars a month does purchase unlimited EVERYTHING with certain carriers i.e. Sprint http://www.sprintspecialoffers.com/everything/?id12=UHP_Masthead_050108_SimplyEverything

But seriously I do appreciate your demeaning overtones they really help contribute to an intelligent and productive discussion.

one more thing...yam wagon........

some of the stuff is capped

 

[chrisparr]

everyone complains about the 16gb but does any phone even have 16gb even through expansion slots? i dont think, i may be wrong.

Yep. The new Samsung i900 (or 900i).

Someone posted a thread about it on this board a few days ago. 8 or 16 GB with a micro SD slot that can take up to 32GB in total.

It looks a *very* good phone. It does run with win mobile, but I think Samsung are a Google Android partner, so when it comes out with that OS it will be up there with the iPhone.

I was going to get the iPhone, but after the WWDC I was *very* unimpressed. I read about the Samsung the day after. I'm going to compare both and then choose.

 

[chrisparr]

OP is right. The "Fanboys" are chugging the Kool-Aid!! Bogarting it in fact !

The software is available for ALL iPhones, not just 3G , So the ONLY improvements after a YEAR are GPS and 3G....

+1

That pretty much sums it up.

IMHO, the 3G iPhone is all about Apple grabbing a slice of the corporate sector. All that fancy mobile me stuff (is that what it's called? I've forgotten already) is only going to appeal to a niche group of people.