My growing doubts about owning an iPhone

[Michael CM1]

I've been a pretty staunch supporter of Apple's right to change the pricing and tech involved with the iPhone since day one. The price drop didn't bother me much because most cell phones' pricing drops.

However, with the latest rumor of discontinuing the 8gb altogether with yet another price drop set, I really question whether I'll be upgrading to the 3G model, or any future iPhones.

Technology and technology pricing is continually changing, but I can't think of another company that has updated it's phone line as quickly as Apple has. I don't see any advantage to purchasing a new iPhone vs. just going back to a BlackBerry. They're always updating their line too, except with RIM it's a style that gets changed, not function.

I love my iPhone, but I'm not going to spend $400-$600 a year just to make sure I have the latest model. I'm not going to complain to Apple about it, I'm just going to vote with my wallet and choose someone else's device.

1) You're basing this whole rant on a rumor from some Web site I had never heard of before reading it. How silly.

2) Go buy the biggest external hard drive Western Digital has to offer right now. Every time they release one with more storage, go buy a new one. What? There's nothing wrong with the one you bought even though there's a new 1.5TB drive out and the 1TB drive dropped $200????

3) Don't ever let your girlfriend hear of this strategy.

 

[Amblinman]

Why is what I posted a "rant?"

I have to say, I've become a pretty big Apple fan over the last six months, but some of you really do earn the charge of "Apple Fanboy." Is it okay to voice even the smallest displeasure with something without being accused of "ranting?" Or do you really see shafts of golden light pour out of every Apple-related decision?

Here, from today's Boy Genius Report:

In a move that wouldn’t be very surprising, 9to5Mac is reporting that we may see a $100 price drop from Apple on the full iPhone / iPod Touch line within the next two months. The 8 GB iPod Touch is also said to be on the chopping block and will be dumped at the same time, leaving the 16 GB and 32 GB to occupy the GSM-less space. Perhaps the announcement will coincide with the expected SDK release near the end of February or perhaps it will happen sometime next month, but they’re pretty confident that it’s going to happen. This move does seem a bit hasty considering the larger-sized devices were just released earlier this month. Apple has been far more aggressive than your typical handset manufacturer however, so nothing would surprise us at this point. The post also speculates that the 8 GB iPhone would be dropped from Apple’s arsenal, but stipulates that nothing to that effect was mentioned by their tipster. The axing would bring the ratio of iPod Touch to iPhone back to 2:1 as we’ve had for the past few months, but $299 is a great price point that would likely scrape up a good amount of new business for Apple. Will Apple continue to enrage the blogosphere by stabbing at early adopters or will they wait a quarter or two and drop the prices as the next-generation iPhone is released? Our guess is the former…

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2008/02/10/100-price-drop-on-iphone-ipod-touch-then-8gb-burial/

OH MAH GAH!! The rage!! They sound so incoherent from anger! I bet those guys own PCs!

Give me a break. I'm a consumer and as such I have every right to find what Apple is doing with their iPhone line a little distasteful. What they're essentially saying is "There is NO good time to buy an iPhone." Is this true of most tech? Sure. Is Apple abusing the notion. Yup.

Am I "ranting?" Nope. I stated matter of factly that it's starting to turn me off and as a result I might take my business elsewhere.

How utterly immature of me.

 

[arkitect]

What they're essentially saying is "There is NO good time to buy an iPhone." Is this true of most tech? Sure. Is Apple abusing the notion. Yup.

It is true that there is never a perfect time to buy technology. That is the nature of the beast. While we are buying today's best they are already working on 2 versions beyond the next version.
How is Apple abusing this? I mean, really. How? By offering updated technology?
Remember the whining and wailing about the G5 Powerbook that never arrived? So the iPhone has to be frozen in time while other phones from other manufacturers get better and better? Really?

How utterly immature of me.

Errmmm…

 

[huck500]

I'm not going to complain to Apple about it, I'm just going to vote with my wallet and choose someone else's device.

If there's a device you think is better than the iPhone out there, go for it. If you choose an inferior device just because Apple lowers their prices, well, that seems silly to me.

I agree, it wasn't a rant, though.

 

[SFC Archer]

Give me a break. I'm a consumer and as such I have every right to find what Apple is doing with their iPhone line a little distasteful. What they're essentially saying is "There is NO good time to buy an iPhone." Is this true of most tech? Sure. Is Apple abusing the notion. Yup.

Am I "ranting?" Nope. I stated matter of factly that it's starting to turn me off and as a result I might take my business elsewhere.

How utterly immature of me.

I think its safe to say that everyone seems to be a little confused about your thread...It really makes no sense at all.

There is currently a world class event called "Mobile World". Currently manufacturer's and companies are releasing hundreds of New and Upgraded products. Just in two pages of info alone: LG has two; Samsung has more then a DOZEN new or updated models; Nokia has 5; Motorola has 3; Samsung has 4; BlackBerry Curve has another new release; Toshiba had 2 last month and now another one this month....and the list goes on and on. The ONLY change the iPhone has had is a memory increase!

As many others have already stated...Technology changes and so will products but I think you will find that by being an iPhone owner is less expensive then any other cell phone available. The other major makers are changing their products every 6-9 months. There is still only ONE iPhone of two capacities. The sweet thing is that 95% of the iPhone can be changed with a SOFTWARE update which keeps your product far superior then anyother that has to be a model change.

I use to own a Treo 650...Treo started with the 180 & 180g in Jan of 2002 for $299, within 7 months the 270 was released for $699 (a new model). Sep 2002 (same year) Treo 300 was released for some where in the $500 price range...and to shorten the history lesson, between 2003 to now you have the Treo 500, 500v, 600 series, 650 series, 680 series, 700p/w/wx, 750, 755 series, 800w and the 900 series is being developed...God forbid if I forgot a model. This is over 30 different phones in a 5 year period, averaging more then 5 per year. You can research BlackBerry or any other company and find the same thing. Yet...there is still only ONE iPhone w/2 sizes.

I am still confused by your thread and can't find the answer your looking for so maybe this will help.

My philosphy is simple in regards to electronics: Skip a model from the one you bought and you will loose NOTHING.

Good Luck with your BlackBerry FAMILY and no software updates!

 

[joeconvert]

Why is what I posted a "rant?"

Give me a break. I'm a consumer and as such I have every right to find what Apple is doing with their iPhone line a little distasteful. What they're essentially saying is "There is NO good time to buy an iPhone." Is this true of most tech? Sure. Is Apple abusing the notion. Yup.

Am I "ranting?" Nope. I stated matter of factly that it's starting to turn me off and as a result I might take my business elsewhere.

How utterly immature of me.

Because it is a rant. The iPhone was announced over a year ago. We are steadily marching towards a year of availability. The iPhone, as everyone knows, was in many ways outdated when it was announced. Apple has continued to update the software to add features and improve stability.

As someone that has used quite a number of smartphones, the manufactures tend to not even fix stability problems and force you buy to the new model to do what you were supposed to be able to with the old. - Except here is RIM, for email their stuff just works.

The only change on the iPhone has been flash storage. Read the headlines, we have seen the most significant breakthroughs in flash performance in pricing in the last year than we have seen in the previous 3 years combined.

 

[SharkySharky]

I've been a pretty staunch supporter of Apple's right to change the pricing and tech involved with the iPhone since day one. The price drop didn't bother me much because most cell phones' pricing drops.

However, with the latest rumor of discontinuing the 8gb altogether with yet another price drop set, I really question whether I'll be upgrading to the 3G model, or any future iPhones.

Technology and technology pricing is continually changing, but I can't think of another company that has updated it's phone line as quickly as Apple has. I don't see any advantage to purchasing a new iPhone vs. just going back to a BlackBerry. They're always updating their line too, except with RIM it's a style that gets changed, not function.

I love my iPhone, but I'm not going to spend $400-$600 a year just to make sure I have the latest model. I'm not going to complain to Apple about it, I'm just going to vote with my wallet and choose someone else's device.

I am not saying your complaining or whining, but I do have to ask one question for you and for anyone else:

Do you think it's fair that technology companies hold technology back on purpose to keep the market from "plateauing" for a period of time as they advance technology further?

By this I am saying that technology is held back on purpose because of many reasons: price, business, etc. and the technology found at most companies is more advanced than what is available to consumers right now.

Apple(and other companies) probably has some pretty crazy technology in the works, but to preserve a market they won't release this technology for a couple years.

Example: The iPhone has been in the works since almost the time the first iPod came out. Now I know they had to develop the product, and work out a contract with AT&T, etc so maybe this isn't a good example, but I feel that the technology has been around for at least a year or two before the iPhone was released.

This doesn't bother me because I don't want a "stale-mate" time when technology doesn't advance as well as having expensive products and buggy products as well. I don't mind waiting for price to come down as well as thorough testing to be completed before I receive something, but my Inner Geek would really love to get my hands on the latest technology that these companies are "holding back" on purpose.

 

[lilnyc]

I love my iPhone, but I'm not going to spend $400-$600 a year just to make sure I have the latest model. I'm not going to complain to Apple about it, I'm just going to vote with my wallet and choose someone else's device.

Amblinman, you're not spending a lot to upgrade if you can sell your current one. I spent $100 out of pocket for the 16GB. The guy who bought my 8GB couldn't believe that I'd had it since iDay (6/29) because I kept it in ready-to-sell condition. Do the same with your's and you'll fare well when you want to get a new one. Best of luck

 

[hockeysc23]

I believe your off when you think Apple says there is never a good time to buy. You will just find that members here are of 2 types:

1. Those that always think an update is around the corner and will truely be upset if there is one, and they "missed out"
2. Those that understand that technology changes. If the value and features you get from the iphone or whatever device are worth it the day you bought it then it shouldn't matter that there is a new model out.

Learn to be happy with the technology that you have. I bought the iphone knowing im going to keep it for at least 2 years then decide at that time if there is something better out there for the money or if my iphone is still functioning fine.

Maybe you need to evaluate more before you buy your technology items.

 

[Sobe]

Give me a break. I'm a consumer and as such I have every right to find what Apple is doing with their iPhone line a little distasteful. What they're essentially saying is "There is NO good time to buy an iPhone." Is this true of most tech? Sure. Is Apple abusing the notion. Yup.

It only really matters if having the top of the line iPhone matters to you more than the functionality you are paying for.

If you're not filling a need, but rather a psychological desire to have the best, you need very deep financial pockets.

If you think Apple's dev cycle is short and expensive, get into high end PC gaming and try to have the best equipment all the time.

It'll make the iPhone look positively stable in comparison.

 

[wizard]

Why is what I posted a "rant?"

Nothing logical conveyed to the rest of us would be a start.

I have to say, I've become a pretty big Apple fan over the last six months, but some of you really do earn the charge of "Apple Fanboy." Is it okay to voice even the smallest displeasure with something without being accused of "ranting?"

And just what was your displeasure, that is what many people are asking and you have yet to answer. It is not rational to say that you are displease with a company improving its product. Further there is no evidence of the rapid updates you claim to be seeing.

Or do you really see shafts of golden light pour out of every Apple-related decision?

Not at all. In fact with respect to Apples iPhone there is enough wrong with it that I've avoided purchasing one. Those are issues specific to my wants and needs, but that doesn't mean I won't change my mind when Apple really updates the iPhone. An update by the way that could be all software.

The point is don't buy a product if it doesn't meet your needs at the moment. Many a thread in this forum wouldn't even exist if people followed that little bit of advice up front.

Here, from today's Boy Genius Report:

We don't care about such reports what we are dealing with here is assertions made by you that are not logical.

Give me a break. I'm a consumer and as such I have every right to find what Apple is doing with their iPhone line a little distasteful.

Not when it comes to updates and dealing with the market. You may think that Apple is immune from market pressures but let me tell you that is certainly not the case in the cell phone business. They have no choice but to adjust price based on pressure from the competition and the demands the consumer makes.

What they're essentially saying is "There is NO good time to buy an iPhone." Is this true of most tech? Sure. Is Apple abusing the notion. Yup.

Err Nope. lets face it Apple share of the cell phone market is so small that it really doesn't matter what Apple does right now. To survive and grow market share they need to find the optimal equation for pricing and configuration. Otherwise iPhone would suffer a slow death.

In any event we still don't know what you are complaining about. We have had exactly one hardware update since the product was released. A pretty good one at that. Frankly an update made possible by two things. One is the dramatic drop in FLASH prices and the other is the advancement in FLASH technology.

Am I "ranting?" Nope. I stated matter of factly that it's starting to turn me off and as a result I might take my business elsewhere.

Again we must ask what are they doing to turn you off? One new product announcement since it came on line can't be enough to generate this RANT. A product announcement that anyone familiar with iPods should have realized is coming. Frankly many of us are expecting a lot more in the way of updates and are wondering where those updates are.

How utterly immature of me.

Well at least you have enough intelligence to understand your behavior and relieved the forum of having to point that out to you.

Look at it this way there has been one hardware update of record and numerous software updates. Those software updates have been free. The FLASH hardware update is in part the result of technology advancements and rather significant price drops. So explain what you are complaining about!

Dave

 

[brinycbri]

i dont get how you can be mad at apple if its based on rumors...