Right....and my point is that these high subsidies come from somehwere! They don't magically get paid. $375 is priced into the plans whether we like it or not ($375 divided by 24 months = $15 per month). So don't blame AT&T for these high monthly charges.
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iPhone 3G Sales Spur AT&T Wireless Growth in Q4 2008
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Right....and my point is that these high subsidies come from somehwere! They don't magically get paid. $375 is priced into the plans whether we like it or not ($375 divided by 24 months = $15 per month). So don't blame AT&T for these high monthly charges.
Where do you get the retail prices of $575 and $675? Weren't the prices of the orginal iPhone $300 and $400 (after the price reduction)? Prices usually fall or stay the same as component prices fall, so I really can't see them increasing the prices higher than $300 and $400 for the 3G. The only significant difference between the original and 3G iPhone is the storage capacity and prices of flash storage have been dropping. Furthermore, when a cellphone company sells a phone for a subsidy, they buy the phone from the manufacturer in bulk, they do not pay retail price for each phone. Based on this, the subsidy AT&T is paying is probably only between $100-$150 for each phone.
I would think that as each new iteration of the iphone gets released it is in AT&T best interest to try and find ways to renegotiate this agreement and extend the exclusivity agreement.
Very true. AT&T is losing current profits in an attempt to gain more in the distant future. The only way AT&T will realize these profits is if the customer they sign-up now stays on their network for greater than 2 years. The longer the exclusivity continues past the original 2 years, the more AT&T will actually gain. If exclusivity ends in 2011, what is going to stop customers from jumping ship to another carrier? Loyalty? No, 40% of these iPhone users on AT&T already jumped ship once (with their old carrier) and likely would do so again. If these customers change right after their contract expires, Apple wins and AT&T loses.
When an AT&T store checks in an iphone shipment, it shows them how much AT&T is buying the phone for. It lists the 'bulk' prices as you say and NOT retail prices. The price for the 8gb iphone is $575 and the price for the 16gb iphone is $675.
In the original 3g Iphone press release it was said AT&T and Apple would eventually sell a contract free 3G iphone for $599/ $699. Currently if you are not eligible they sell you the phone for $399/$499 but they still make you sign a 2 year agreement. Even at this higher price, AT&T is STILL losing money which is why they now limit you the amount of iphones each line can purchase per 6 months.
I know a lot of this is confusing, so let me know if you have any other questions. Once again,all of this information is somewhat hidden in AT&T's quarterly and annual statements.
That, my friend, is the business blunder of the century! Right up there with IBM when they allowed Mircrosoft to sell PC-DOS to other hardware makers back in the 80s.
I don't know about that. Yes, AT&T is gaining a lot of new customers, but Apple is literally fleecing them of their profits. The only way AT&T will come out ahead (and this remains to be seen) is if AT&T can actually retain these new customers past their 2 year agreements.
Wrong
BB Storm has sold over a million phones since release. Verizon continues to churn out supposed iPhone killers that sell well without the hassle of dealing with Apple.
Verizon coverage in the northeast is far superior to AT&T's and for some that is important than the device. Ease of use in a UI is not so important when you are on the Acela without a reliable signal. (I have an iPhone and a Verizon aircard)
Ok, I just left the AT&T store and this was a big concern for me. The lady that I spoke with at AT&T said that she along with many AT&T employees knew of the upcoming 3G months before it ever came out. You see, I want to buy an iphone ASAP since I need it for my business but I don't want to buy one now and then not be able to get a credit for it once the newer iPhone that has been long talked about. A 32G iPhone for example, since it has been in previous post that the 32G chips have started production. This along with a quad-core processor for the iPhone which I know to be true since a close friend of mine has a family member for the company that created the quad-core processors for the iphone. They have been finished since December!!! I don't know when the new iPhone is suppose to come out but I've been waiting since October of 08. The reason that I quoted the person that worked at AT&T was because when I left the AT&T store today, the lady informed me that when the whole 3G iPhone came out, that the previous generation iPhone buyer's that had bought it in the last 3 or 4 months were eligible to trade in the phone for a credit and just pay the difference for the new iPhone 3G. i just want to make sure that if I buy it now that I would be able to do that. But then again, she said that the 3G was announced by apple months before it's release and the people that bought during that time would be able to obtain this trade in credit. BUT APPLE HAS NOT ANNOUNCED ANYTHING ABOUT AN UPCOMING iPHONE for RELEASE THIS YEAR!!!?????!!!!???!
Heh. Yeah. You're right. Interesting. But I wonder how much of this is legacy tech that's being phased out.
interesting link though http://www.cdg.org/worldwide/index.asp
Just so everyone knows, $375 is incorrect, at least according to what the New York Times printed last year. When the iphone 3g first came out it was slightly above the normal rates. It's only $300 now, which is like $5.50 less a month then $375. not that that really matters
quad core processor for the iphone
how the hell did they manage that if they cant even get one into the macbook pro
i never heard of any credit for upgrading to the 3g iphone from the 2g model or else i would of considered it.
how the hell did they manage that if they cant even get one into the macbook pro
i never heard of any credit for upgrading to the 3g iphone from the 2g model or else i would of considered it.
Ok, I just left the AT&T store and this was a big concern for me. The lady that I spoke with at AT&T said that she along with many AT&T employees knew of the upcoming 3G months before it ever came out. You see, I want to buy an iphone ASAP since I need it for my business but I don't want to buy one now and then not be able to get a credit for it once the newer iPhone that has been long talked about. A 32G iPhone for example, since it has been in previous post that the 32G chips have started production. This along with a quad-core processor for the iPhone which I know to be true since a close friend of mine has a family member for the company that created the quad-core processors for the iphone. They have been finished since December!!! I don't know when the new iPhone is suppose to come out but I've been waiting since October of 08. The reason that I quoted the person that worked at AT&T was because when I left the AT&T store today, the lady informed me that when the whole 3G iPhone came out, that the previous generation iPhone buyer's that had bought it in the last 3 or 4 months were eligible to trade in the phone for a credit and just pay the difference for the new iPhone 3G. i just want to make sure that if I buy it now that I would be able to do that. But then again, she said that the 3G was announced by apple months before it's release and the people that bought during that time would be able to obtain this trade in credit. BUT APPLE HAS NOT ANNOUNCED ANYTHING ABOUT AN UPCOMING iPHONE for RELEASE THIS YEAR!!!?????!!!!???!
Reminds of those who argued that OS X would begin shipping on third party manufacturer computers imminently because it would allow the very same thing you just mentioned.
Heh.
I thought everybody in the world knew the iPhone 3G was going to come out in June/July of 2008. Much to Steve Jobs's chagrin, AT&T publicly announced the iPhone 3G months before:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aAoHevYzQJgw
Here, I make a new, bold, public announcement too. A new and improved iPhone will be introduced in June/July of 2009.
No CDMA
There will not be a CDMA version for the simple reason of cost. Apples development and support costs would be increased dramtically for almost no gain. Consumers are not that interested as long as they have coverage and GSM is generally more available world-wide. Customers don't seem to mind switching carriers based on these numbers so having one network provider to deal with per country is also a plus for Apple.
In terms of the data side of things I would say AT&T have a big issue. I have a Verizion PC data card and it is way faster than AT&T in San Francisco. I would also say the connection speed on my old Sprint Treo seemed faster as well. AT&T need to invest big time in their data network or I could see them loosing out in the long term.
There will not be a CDMA version for the simple reason of cost. Apples development and support costs would be increased dramtically for almost no gain. Consumers are not that interested as long as they have coverage and GSM is generally more available world-wide. Customers don't seem to mind switching carriers based on these numbers so having one network provider to deal with per country is also a plus for Apple.
In terms of the data side of things I would say AT&T have a big issue. I have a Verizion PC data card and it is way faster than AT&T in San Francisco. I would also say the connection speed on my old Sprint Treo seemed faster as well. AT&T need to invest big time in their data network or I could see them loosing out in the long term.
Apple and oranges. Apple makes the bulk of their profits off selling hardware. OS X selling on non-Apple hardware would seriously dent Apple's profits because people would no longer be buying Apple's overpriced Macs. Selling Apple hardware (a CDMA iPhone) to a new, previously inaccessible group of customers would greatly increase Apple's profits.