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iPhone 3G Selling Twice as Fast as Original

Beric said:
All right, so why doesn't AT&T PAY people to get an iPhone, and then increase the cost even more?
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They are "paying" you to get an iPhone. Because you are getting a subsidized price on the phone. If you wanted to buy the phone without subsidy it would be 600/700 (8gb/16gb respectively). What AT&T is doing is giving you a 400 dollar discount on the hardware in exchange for 2 years of payments (in which they earn back their 400 and then some).

This is why you can get other phones for near free or totally free when you sign up with a carrier.
 
MacRumors said:
Lines are still forming for the iPhone, which has been in short supply since its launch about 12 days ago.
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I'll never understand this queueing for a phone. It's not bread or eggs or rice...it's a phone! Same thing for the new Batman, $50 or more people were paying for scalped tickets on Craigslist. There will be other showings people. Just as Apple will make more of these phones. Why would you settle for a white one when you want black? I understand people less and less.

But I do think it's great they are selling so many. The iPhone really is a great device.
 
BryanLyle said:
The buy in price IS $300 cheaper than the original. Most people don't sit down and figure out that this phone is actually more expensive over the 2 year contract.

They see the $199 / $299 price.
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I guess we should use that logic when buying cars and stuff too. The $30,000 Honda is cheaper than the $22,000 Ford because the Honda gets better gas mileage and need fewer repairs over 10 years. Perhaps it will last 3 years longer too.

Hmmm ... I wonder if the finance company will agree and give a lower interest rate and lower payments accordingly. :rolleyes:

Let's forget that the slight increase in cost over the two years of the phone actually offer 2-3x faster service, better quality speakers, etc. I guess paying a bit more for better features should be a no go.
 
.:R2theT said:
I'll never understand this queueing for a phone. It's not bread or eggs or rice...it's a phone! Same thing for the new Batman, $50 or more people were paying for scalped tickets on Craigslist. There will be other showings people. Just as Apple will make more of these phones. Why would you settle for a white one when you want black? I understand people less and less.

But I do think it's great they are selling so many. The iPhone really is a great device.
Click to expand...

It's primarily based-off of people's constant desire to 'have' and 'want' things, which in-turn stems from materialism. People feel the need to spend their money frivolously on items of 'haute couture' in order to be greeted with some type of acceptance in society.

It's a sad reality.
 
All I know is..

All I know is, since reading this article, my safari is much snappier :D


I say, bring on the bag phone version of the iPhone.. think how cool that would be. :rolleyes: 4 TB hardrive (watch out !!! :eek: ). 12 Batteries for all day fun (unbelievable- I know. It's okay. I know ) all in a convenient leather bag ... -with a strap! They could call it the iPhone (Retro) (tm) . Modeled after the bag phones of the 1980's.. it could even have extra pouches for things like diapers or money. Maybe even a convenient cup holder for your Starbuck's latte or Old Milwaukee.

It could be your "all in one" carrying tote bag, but with a big massive apple logo (that scratches easy :confused: WTF ???) so everyone truly knows what it is ;). They can even have a product red version (no way! :eek: ) and offer it in many "truly amazing" colors :cool:. I could see the advertisements already. :rolleyes:

"Introducing the iPhone (Retro) -Case Included"


They'd sell a million of them. :D
 
Beric said:
The iPhone 3G is NOT cheaper!
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Yeah, unfortunately I think people are once again falling for the "wow it's cheaper upfront!" thing and not bothering to do the simple math to see what it actually costs.

And I don't buy these "easier for people to acquire" arguments, because if you can't afford the extra $200 for the phone, then you REALLY can't afford an overpriced ~$84/month MINIMUM on the phone's plan. (I'm certainly in that category. I'd shell out $600 for the phone if I could use it with a reasonably priced plan, but I can't justify spending roughly an extra $34-58 a month more than I already spend on my current phone plan).

If I could get one without a data plan I'd consider it...
 
I want an iPhone like anyone else but I'm getting tired of thinking about it.

I'm tired of tracking the inventory to see if my local store has them. I'm tired of calling them to see if they have run out yet. My wife is tired of me talkiing about it. I'm tired of trying to find the time to go to the store. I'm tired of having to stand in line to get one. I don't have that kind of time on my hands right now. I stood in line for forty minutes one time and gave up because I had to go to a meeting. Plus, standing in line doesn't guarantee you'll get the model you want either.

I'm to the point that I could care less about it anymore. I'm just tired of talking about it. I'm a diehard Apple fan and I will get one eventually but I'm tired of the rat race just to get the phone. It's like a freakin' game. :apple:
 
BryanLyle said:
The buy in price IS $300 cheaper than the original. Most people don't sit down and figure out that this phone is actually more expensive over the 2 year contract.

They see the $199 / $299 price.
Click to expand...

I think you ignore the fact that with ANY service industry, you end up paying more if you are paying for the cost of something over time instead of "up front". It's the same with credit cards as well or any loan for that matter. Don't have all the money now, then you eventually pay more in the long run. Though the only shady thing here is that if you buy the phone outright, you don't get a decrease price on your wireless bill.

However, to say that the phone+plan is more expensive over the two years totally ignores the fact that you are getting more service out of them. 3G is faster than EDGE, thus you'd expect 3G to cost more than EDGE. Anyone who assumes that the price should have stayed the same is now expecting special treatment from AT&T. They may be a horrible empire, but increasing price for increased service is shared by ALL companies, no matter how evil they are.

And also, in comparison to other 3G phones, they pay the exact same amount for a 3G data plan, $30. The only reason why the original iPhone had a data plan of $20 was because MediaNET access is $15/month and 200 SMS messages is $5. Again, AT&T is not shafting people here either. You were paying for these services already.

I dislike when people distort the facts, even if the company is evil. That makes you no better than them. But I didn't post this as an attack on you, but to inform everyone.
 
The shortage already appears to be ending. Over half of all U.S. Apple Stores had the iPhone in stock last night and now 153 of 188 have it today (hasiphone.com). That's 84%. Only two states, Kansas and Louisiana, have no Apple Store stock. I walked in and out with an iPhone yesterday at an Apple Store in Virginia, only waiting for the (admittedly slow) activation process.
 
.:R2theT said:
I'll never understand this queueing for a phone. It's not bread or eggs or rice...it's a phone! Same thing for the new Batman, $50 or more people were paying for scalped tickets on Craigslist. There will be other showings people. Just as Apple will make more of these phones. Why would you settle for a white one when you want black? I understand people less and less.

But I do think it's great they are selling so many. The iPhone really is a great device.
Click to expand...

I stood in line for a little over 2 hours last Thursday. My phone was pretty useless and desperately needed a new one. I was hoping to get one before I went on vacation but ended up spending my first day there getting my iPhone. Were it not for those problems with my phone I probably would have waited. I think it was a fun experience, though. And considering I waited nearly a week and still had a to stand in a really long line, I think people are just accepting it as inevitable. The demand is such that there's no guarantee any store that has them today won't have them tomorrow, so you may as well sacrifice a bit now. Or you can order it through AT&T and have it come to your house, but I didn't want my phone to arrive when I was on the other side of the country. Most of the people I talked to had the same feeling. We were already there, so we may as well wait it out, and then be done with it all. I prefer that to going back every day or constantly calling.
 
BryanLyle said:
The buy in price IS $300 cheaper than the original. Most people don't sit down and figure out that this phone is actually more expensive over the 2 year contract.

They see the $199 / $299 price.
Click to expand...

Unless of course you get reimbursed for phone expenses but have to buy the phone. My company pays for service I pay for the phone. So the fees for the service don't really matter, the phone cost matters to me. I also needed exchange.

BTW. Ordered my phone from att on Monday and it arrived in store today (white 16GB), so I saved a lot of headache of waiting on lines. (Although, I did try for an hour after it was launched).
 
BryanLyle said:
The buy in price IS $300 cheaper than the original. Most people don't sit down and figure out that this phone is actually more expensive over the 2 year contract.

They see the $199 / $299 price.
Click to expand...

Those of us who get a FAN discount actually are getting it cheaper. Depending on your discount, some people even will have an even lower bill than they did with their EDGE phones.
 
avigalante said:
It's primarily based-off of people's constant desire to 'have' and 'want' things, which in-turn stems from materialism. People feel the need to spend their money frivolously on items of 'haute couture' in order to be greeted with some type of acceptance in society.

It's a sad reality.
Click to expand...

I'm really tired of these broad, typically snobbish generalizations (er....like mine!).

I waited in line because the opportunity cost for 2 hours on a Saturday morning was minimal, but the advantages of a well-designed smartphone were significant.

And, in fact, a week later I was at a hospital for 2 days watching a close friend die; between maintaining contact with mutual friends, keeping track of work-related emails, navigating over the next few days to a funeral home I wasn't familiar with in a town I didn't know, being able to get to his widow's house with pizza...

2 hours on Saturday was well worth it. Sure, there was a little materialism involved, but primarily it was functionality that I felt was of value, and proved itself immediately in a way I didn't anticipate.
 
dagamer34 said:
...
However, to say that the phone+plan is more expensive over the two years totally ignores the fact that you are getting more service out of them. 3G is faster than EDGE, thus you'd expect 3G to cost more than EDGE. Anyone who assumes that the price should have stayed the same is now expecting special treatment from AT&T. They may be a horrible empire, but increasing price for increased service is shared by ALL companies, no matter how evil they are.

And also, in comparison to other 3G phones, they pay the exact same amount for a 3G data plan, $30. The only reason why the original iPhone had a data plan of $20 was because MediaNET access is $15/month and 200 SMS messages is $5. Again, AT&T is not shafting people here either. You were paying for these services already.

I dislike when people distort the facts, even if the company is evil. That makes you no better than them. But I didn't post this as an attack on you, but to inform everyone.
Click to expand...

Many issues with this:
-Most of us don't have access to AT&T's 3G service
-They don't give us the option of just paying for slower service
-Faster service doesn't automatically translate to higher costs usually (or even most of the time)
-They don't give us the choice of not getting a data service at all as you can in many other cases
-Even people with access to 3G aren't necessarily going to use it. I'd leave it off even if I had it, after looking at the battery life indicators and how little it speeds up most web browsing (seems about the same unless there are largish files to download on a page...probably large images and the like).
 
spooty said:
The shortage already appears to be ending. Over half of all U.S. Apple Stores had the iPhone in stock last night and now 153 of 188 have it today (hasiphone.com). That's 84%. Only two states, Kansas and Louisiana, have no Apple Store stock. I walked in and out with an iPhone yesterday at an Apple Store in Virginia, only waiting for the (admittedly slow) activation process.
Click to expand...

Except in NY. The three apple stores will probably have lines through next week.
 
Wolfpup said:
Many issues with this:
-Most of us don't have access to AT&T's 3G service
-They don't give us the option of just paying for slower service
-Faster service doesn't automatically translate to higher costs usually (or even most of the time)
-They don't give us the choice of not getting a data service at all as you can in many other cases
-Even people with access to 3G aren't necessarily going to use it. I'd leave it off even if I had it, after looking at the battery life indicators and how little it speeds up most web browsing (seems about the same unless there are largish files to download on a page...probably large images and the like).
Click to expand...

You're confusing cost with service now, and before you made a blanket statement about people not realizing it's more expensive now.

I focused most of my comments on price, but I'd have to agree with you about not being able to turn off 3G for good. Though in that case, I'd have to recommend that you go get an original iPhone if you can make do without GPS.
 
decimortis said:
I had to settle for white too, but now that I'm holding it, I'm glad there weren't any black available as I'm really digging the white. Goes better with my MacBook anyways. ;)

Besides, it's not really white, it's just light black.
Click to expand...

Hey, me too. I "settled" for white as well, but I have to say, I never look at the back. It's the front I'm concerned with and that is still black! :D
 
.:R2theT said:
I'll never understand this queueing for a phone. It's not bread or eggs or rice...it's a phone! Same thing for the new Batman, $50 or more people were paying for scalped tickets on Craigslist. There will be other showings people. Just as Apple will make more of these phones. Why would you settle for a white one when you want black? I understand people less and less.

But I do think it's great they are selling so many. The iPhone really is a great device.
Click to expand...
Ya, it's a little crazy. But waiting for the iPhone was a lot worth it than having to hunt around for the Wii last Christmas. THAT was ridiculous.
 
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