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Lower-Cost iPhone's Plastic Rear Shell Reportedly Surfaces
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the last thing people want is cheap plastic
Seriously. Nobody wants to touch cheap plastic phone cases. That is the last thing that any self-respecting apple fan would tolerate.
/s
Quite bluntly - there's more competition than when the iPhone first debuted. Newer phones have comparable OSes and specs at lower price points. Some will buy Apple no matter what. Others buy based on many factors with price being one of them.
Apple can lead the industry - but it can't ignore it either.
If it can allow me to buy a nearly disposable iPhone every year without a contract for about $300, I definitely will buy one of these. The iPhone's technology has advanced enough in the last few years that each successive release is going to just be a speed bump, not necessarily must-have innovation. Therefore, last year's iPhone technology isn't such a huge step back people make it out to be. My only reservation is that I would need a model with 64 GB or more. The cheap phone may just come in 16 or 32 GB (or 8).
The end is nigh
Here is my hope:
1) Apple is aware that iPhone has come and gone. It revolutionized smartphones, made them a lot of money and they will milk it for years to come.
2) iPad has come and gone. It created the tablet category, made them a lot of money, etc.
3) Apple is an innovator and a revolutionary, and its following wants new revolutions. Without that Apple will lose its might and become just one of the tech companies. iWatch, and iTV are coming to revolutionize their categories.
If Apple is not aware of this, and literally does not revolutionize something this year, and instead starts coming up with versions and colors of same old product, it will sadly deflate and become an ordinary tech company -- on their way to become irrelevant.
Here is my hope:
1) Apple is aware that iPhone has come and gone. It revolutionized smartphones, made them a lot of money and they will milk it for years to come.
2) iPad has come and gone. It created the tablet category, made them a lot of money, etc.
3) Apple is an innovator and a revolutionary, and its following wants new revolutions. Without that Apple will lose its might and become just one of the tech companies. iWatch, and iTV are coming to revolutionize their categories.
If Apple is not aware of this, and literally does not revolutionize something this year, and instead starts coming up with versions and colors of same old product, it will sadly deflate and become an ordinary tech company -- on their way to become irrelevant.
I love that you said that in sarcasm.
Because that's exactly true. How important are the materials used for the casing if you put it in a silicon or plastic case anyway? Which, I am sure is more than a majority of users. I see (my experience only I admit) very very very few "naked" iPhones in the wild.
Nexus 4 isn't exactly the bread and butter of camera phones with its washed out imagery. Doesn't help that the phone chokes too any time you try to do anything intensive and starts throttling. That stale OS is still more than satisfactory for the target market of this phone.
the last thing people want is cheap plastic
Does anyone remember the iPhone 3G / 3GS?
Say what?!?! Seriously Squilly, this is why you will never make it in the business world. The iPhone 5 is a $600+ phone. The $300 quoted here is the retail price. Not the subsidized price that you pay your cell company. This would be a free phone at Verizon, ATT and Sprint. This is designed for the rest of the world where they pay full price for the phone, but get a much reduced rate per month than US.
Understanding what you are paying for and not being ignorant: Priceless. Basic business 101....
Cool page. I especially like the statement that
I mean, all those other manufacturers use diamonds that are NOT crystalline. But Apple uses diamonds that are actual crystals. That is the sort of thing that sets Apple apart from every other user of diamond abrasives. It is truly magical.
/s
Does anyone remember the iPhone 3G / 3GS?
Yeah, actually at least from this "potential" prototype leak the 3G, 3GS looked better, ...
Does anyone remember the iPhone 3G / 3GS?
I know this one!
No.
Seriously, that was like, what 5 years ago. Who can remember back that far grandpa!
This is different from the Mac Mini. The Mac Mini's only reason for being cheaper is that it doesn't include a display by default. Include a display and the price shoots up to well over a thousand bucks. The innovation was that now you could bring your own display, and save a whole lot on computer upgrades. This is purely a cheaper iPhone. I don't believe they've ever done anything like this.
That's true, but I think you can't ignore the fact that the mid-end segment has become good enough for most people.
Proof (again): popularity of iPhone 4 world wide, 2 years after its release.
There is strong demand for an iPhone at lower price point, you can't let your product portfolio be based on 2-year old phones in such a segment.
sure is fugly
the last thing people want is cheap plastic
Hawaiian's will be fishing these out of the Pacific Gyre 10-15 yrs from now...
its a cheap phone dafq would u expecT?
What do they mean by "smaller"?
I sure hope they don't shrink the iPad's screen...the mini is just...ugh, there to placate people who don't know any better. Bigger might be better, as the iPad still is too small to replicate lots of types of pages...
If they mean shrink the sides, well currently they're great to hold on to. Don't think I want those shrunk either. What I would like is better speakers though...
Glad to hear they're really doing a cheaper iPhone. I assume it'll just be a (kind of absurdly long in the tooth) early 2011 dual core A9 again, but whatever, that runs current iOS well enough, and they really, REALLY need to get iOS in more hands. They need to be on every carrier, and hitting more price points. This looks like a perfectly nice design, and probably perfectly decent specs (if underwhelming compared to lots of android devices...but then it seems like Android needs a lot more CPU to do the same thing).
I sure hope they don't shrink the iPad's screen...the mini is just...ugh, there to placate people who don't know any better. Bigger might be better, as the iPad still is too small to replicate lots of types of pages...
If they mean shrink the sides, well currently they're great to hold on to. Don't think I want those shrunk either. What I would like is better speakers though...
Glad to hear they're really doing a cheaper iPhone. I assume it'll just be a (kind of absurdly long in the tooth) early 2011 dual core A9 again, but whatever, that runs current iOS well enough, and they really, REALLY need to get iOS in more hands. They need to be on every carrier, and hitting more price points. This looks like a perfectly nice design, and probably perfectly decent specs (if underwhelming compared to lots of android devices...but then it seems like Android needs a lot more CPU to do the same thing).
I'm not sure how this made your point? Your point was that the iPhone 5 is cheaper. It is not. And Tmobiles plan is no different than Verizon or anyone else's, the difference is that the subsidized price is excluded from the monthy plan costs and instead is a separate charge (only difference is once 24 months is up you no longer have to pay it).
EITHER WAY the iPhone 5 is a $600+ phone and this is a $300 phone. It is NOT cheaper than an iPhone 5.