Increasing Price of iPhone

[Bevz]

I paid £260 for my first gen 1 phone with no subsidy...
On the apple website an 8gb iPhone3G costs £343 on PAYG
On the O2 website a 32gb iPhone3GS costs £538 on PAYG

This phone is getting very expensive!!!
The 3G was £93 more expensive than the original Edge phone with no more storage, and the 3GS is £185 more expensive than the 3G, ok a lot more storage but even so surely the NAND prices would have come down over the years...?

To put it another way...

A 8gb iPod Touch is £165.
This means the original 8gb iphone was £100 more expensive than the Touch equivilent. Fair enough.

A 32gb iPod Touch is £283
This means the current 32gb iphone is £255 more expensive than it's Touch equivilent!!!!

Conclusion: We are paying an extra £155 for a compass (about £2.50 in any hardware store), an extra 1MP on your camera and a slightly faster processor....!!

Remember this is just the price of the handset without subsidy!
I love the iPhone, and i am happy to pay a little extra as new hardware functionality is added, but this is getting silly... it's getting VERY expensive!

AND you're still buying a phone that will always be locked to one carrier even when your contract expires!!!

 

[G4R2]

You're only paying for it if you decide to buy it.

If the only thing of value you see in the new iPhone is a compass and it isn't worth the extra price to you, don't buy it. No one is forcing you to do so.

 

[JohnFa]

I'm also getting tired of all these posts about how expensive the phone is. iPhone is not a run of the mill cheap cellphone, it's a computer with phone functions. It's not designed for every 17-year old kid out there.
If you can't afford it, don't buy it.

 

[Bevz]

You're only paying for it if you decide to buy it.

If the only thing of value you see in the new iPhone is a compass and it isn't worth the extra price to you, don't buy it. No one is forcing you to do so.

Of course. But i like the iPhone, i am a fan of the technology, i WANT to buy the latest version; what i'm saying is it's getting more and more expensive... The price of something like the iPhone will always be artificially inflated beyond the value of the sum of it's parts... Some of this is to cover things like R&D costs etc, but what i'm saying is that inflation is inceasing with each new iteration of the Phone...

 

[dagomike]

Epic.

 

[Bevz]

I'm also getting tired of all these posts about how expensive the phone is. iPhone is not a run of the mill cheap cellphone, it's a computer with phone functions. It's not designed for every 17-year old kid out there.
If you can't afford it, don't buy it.

I'm not a child. I have spare cash. I love the iPhone. I want to keep buying it. My point (well more of an observation really) is that it is getting more and more expensive with each new iteration above and beyond the phone contract and i suspect above and beyond the price of any new components that have been added....

 

[uberamd]

You're only paying for it if you decide to buy it.

If the only thing of value you see in the new iPhone is a compass and it isn't worth the extra price to you, don't buy it. No one is forcing you to do so.

Exactly. People who complain about the price but buy anyway simply have no self control.

 

[genmic]

You're only paying for it if you decide to buy it.

Such insight...

I completely agree with the OP. I think it's also important to note how many purchasers did not understand when the 3G was realized that it was a price jump, not cut. ATT and Apple advertised the subsidized price, but judging by the uproar at upgrade costs, people clearly don't understand how subsidized pricing works.

 

[sananda]

The first gen entry level phone was £269
The second gen entry level phone was £226 (£349 - £120 worth of bolt on)
The third gen entry level phone is £320 (£440 - £120 worth of bolt on)

 

[d21mike]

I don't believe this is true in the US.

I purchase the original iPhone for about $700 (I think). I did get a $100 rebate. I believe the price then dropped to about $500. Not subsidized.

When 3G came out it was US $299 and $399 for 8gb and 16gb.

The price is still the same for the 3GS but you get 16gb and 32GB and better camera and faster cpu and better 3G etc.

So to me it is gettting cheaper based on what you are getting. Similar to new computers getting better for the same price.

To me the price increase was the Data Plan and the Text Messages.

It went from $20 with 200 text to $30 with no text ($5 for 200). So the actual cost per month went up $35 for the same data and text from AT&T. I believe they blamed this on the fact that you now have 3G over EDGE. To me it was to help pay for the subsidized phone. So in this case I would agree it was a price increase.

 

[genmic]

I don't believe this is true in the US.

I purchase the original iPhone for about $700 (I think). I did get a $100 rebate. I believe the price then dropped to about $500. Not subsidized.

When 3G came out it was US $299 and $399 for 8gb and 16gb.

The price is still the same for the 3GS but you get 16gb and 32GB and better camera and faster cpu and better 3G etc.

So to me it is gettting cheaper based on what you are getting. Similar to new computers getting better for the same price.

To me the price increase was the Data Plan and the Text Messages.

It actually dropped to $399. And the 3G was $199 subsidized, but make no mistake it was and is a $600 phone. It still amazes me how many people don't realize this.

I bought my 2G at no commitment for $399, and to buy a 3GS the same way would cost me $699.

 

[G4R2]

Such insight...

I completely agree with the OP. I think it's also important to note how many purchasers did not understand when the 3G was realized that it was a price jump, not cut. ATT and Apple advertised the subsidized price, but judging by the uproar at upgrade costs, people clearly don't understand how subsidized pricing works.

The only insight, and it's not really insight, is that no one is forcing anyone to buy the iPhone at this price or any other. It is purely a luxury purchase for anyone who purchases it regardless of whether it is subsidized or not.

There's a distinction between wanting and needing.

Complaining about the increasing price of a cell phone or computer doesn't differ much from complaining about the increasing price of Ferrari's.

As for myself, I don't need the new iPhone. I do want it. So I preordered it. And it is worth it for me since I want the faster processor and network speed, improved graphics power, increased memory capacity, video recording, voice control, marginally better camera, and yes, I want the compass too.

 

[fid]

Don't forget the price of the 8 Gig 3G phone being sold (subsidized) for $99.

No, the phone in the U.S. has remained 'amazingly' flat in price. So much so, that I would have paid more for a premium iPhone (i.e. OLED, better camera) had they introduced it.

 

[Bevz]

There's a distinction between wanting and needing./QUOTE]

I cannot think of any situation that would result in someone needing an iPhone (as opposed to any other cheaper phone on the market)... Please correct me if i'm wrong though...

I thought we all just wanted one?

 

[G4R2]

There's a distinction between wanting and needing./QUOTE]

I cannot think of any situation that would result in someone needing an iPhone (as opposed to any other cheaper phone on the market)... Please correct me if i'm wrong though...

I thought we all just wanted one?

I can't think of such a situation either. Which makes the price irrelevant. Complaining about the price over something that is a luxury item doesn't carry much weight. If it were a necessity then complaints about the price would be taken more seriously and not subjected to ridicule.

 

[Bevz]

If it were a necessity then complaints about the price would be taken more seriously and not subjected to ridicule.

LOL, i seem to have hit a nerve

 

[Bevz]

The first gen entry level phone was £269
The second gen entry level phone was £226 (£349 - £120 worth of bolt on)
The third gen entry level phone is £320 (£440 - £120 worth of bolt on)

Ah.. a very good point, i was wrong to assume the raw PAYG price was the actual price of the unit; you're right, i should have made an adjustment for the 12 months "free" data

 

[manueld]

could it be also due to the fact that the dollar was weaker to the pound at that point?

 

[citron230]

I think Apple should give us the phone because we want it!