No iPhone Pre-Sales?

[Anonymous Freak]

I am so confused about the pricing. They announced that the phone will be $499 and $599 with a 2 year contract, but other reports have said that it will cost that much to buy it at the Apple Store without a contract? Is this true. I can't imagine having to pay anything more than $599 for a phone contact or not.. even if it is the jesus phone.

Does anyone have any info?

It will cost $499 and $599. A 2 year contract with AT&T will be required. Both of these were stated at the MacWorld keynote, and both of these have been repeated by Apple and AT&T sources since. However, those are the only two bits of 'confirmed' knowledge regarding pricing and contracts.

There has been no public statement detailing anything other than that. Some people are speculating that those prices are *WITH* the 2 year contract (aka those are the "subsidized" prices,) some are speculating that those are the STARTING prices, and some price subsidy will be available. Anyone that claims to know 100% one way or the other is either lying or mistaken.

This linked sheet confirms it. Even AT&T employees don't know if there will be a subsidy or not, and are specifically directed *NOT* to speculate about any subsidy.

I personally am guessing that those will be the 'final' prices for a couple months, until supply is able to keep up with demand. Once they can supply enough, they will start offering standard cell phone subsidies. I also guess that the iPhone will not be available without a contract, at any price, until AT&T's exclusive expires in a couple years. Both of these are purely uneducated speculations, based solely on my own non-insider knowledge of Apple, and of the cell phone industry.

However, any AT&T contract can be cancelled before it expires, with an approximately $200 'early temination fee'. (Although it also wouldn't surprise me if they bumped that fee up by $100 or so just before the iPhone's release.) But most cell phones sold in the U.S. are 'carrier locked', meaning they only work with the carrier whose service it was sold with. U.S. law prevents carriers from taking legal action to prevent someone from unlocking it; but they don't have to do it for you, nor do they have to provide information on how to do it. With the iPhone seeming to be locked down tight by Apple, it will probably take a while before anyone figures out how to unlock it to work on other providers. (Mainly T-Mobile in the U.S.) (Again, this is all pure uninformed speculation on my part.)

 

[Mydel]

OK so let's say I buy an iPhone(599$), sign a contract (??$) and cancel a contract....So how much would cancelation fee cost me?? and you wanna tell me that AFTER I payed cancelation fee AND payed 600$ for a phone I cant use it with other provider???
Cant belive that!

 

[Raidersmojo]

didn't jobs say at the iphones introduction it comes with a two year plan? I thought it said "with two year plan" who knows

if it doesn't come with a plan I'm sure you can go to the apple store in the morning (before the mall opens I'll be there hour early before they let the "mall walkers" in and then I'll camp out in front of the apple store waiting for it to open) then walk over to a cingular booth and get it figured out contract wise (that way you'll hate them instead of apple)

but hey while they are screwing you over at least you'll get to play with your iphone a bit

I'll have my powerbook in the car waiting to sync music to it and my cars already geared to plug into my ipod so my 2nd gen can go bye bye.

this phones going to be sweet and change my life and make it easier. sync it with ical to have all my dates for classes when papers are due or exams are and get reminders wherever I am. use it as a portable hard drive, use it to access email anywhere and use the internet and not to mention you can use it as a conversation piece to talk to girls "oh is that the iphone" you "yes would you like to touch it?" bam your in!

sorry...I can't wait for the iphone. for me its going to be life changing!

 

[oilster]

it´s not just a phone....

it is bobophone!

 

[aricher]

you will be in for a suprise because there are less idiots out there than you think.

Proper grammar would be "fewer idiots."

 

[segfaultdotorg]

No pre-order

This stinks. I understand that there are no pre-orders for most Apple products, but most Apple products are introduced as "available now," not announced six months before release.

I still hope you will be able to order the iPhone online, so that I don't have to set foot in an Apple store (none nearby) or a Cingular store (always busy with about a two-hour wait). Cingular offers mail-order for their other phones.

 

[EricNau]

Seriously. You can't be serious. camping out for a phone??? Unbelievable. What is the world coming to??

People camp out for video game consoles, what's the difference?

...at least cell phones are productive.

 

[EagerDragon]

Now this quate in the document seems to allude to unpublished features

"iPhone from AT&T offers the "Your Music, Your Way" strategy of providing consumers access to music in a method of their choosing?

Sounds very interesting.

 

[EagerDragon]

I am so confused about the pricing. They announced that the phone will be $499 and $599 with a 2 year contract, but other reports have said that it will cost that much to buy it at the Apple Store without a contract? Is this true. I can't imagine having to pay anything more than $599 for a phone contact or not.. even if it is the jesus phone.

Does anyone have any info?

The way the note reads it sounds like those are not the prices (499, 599), that those are just the ones to state for now.

Sounds like there is a price change.

 

[EagerDragon]

has anyone heard that cingular will not insure the iphone in case it breaks. my sister was told that today at the cingular store. better not drop it.....

No need to protect it, the distortion field extend over it, and all around, it can not be harmed.

 

[johnee]

And so begins the camping.

that's exactly what they want. people camping makes for bigger headlines.

 

[sportsfanMAW]

The way the note reads it sounds like those are not the prices (499, 599), that those are just the ones to state for now.

Sounds like there is a price change.

that whats i picked up from it when i read it

 

[scu]

My guess is that supplies are very limited and/or they have no idea how many they will really have for the launch.

I am betting on supplies will be ultra limited, worse then the PS3 launch,

That was my first thoughts as well. Apple is notorious for not having enough products right at launch time.

The other issue might be that everyone and their mother wants one and if they are allowed to pre-order there is no guarantee they will buy one when they see the price. This way only those who really want it will get one and Apple has some idea of how many there are.

The only problem is that Steve did confirm they would start pre-ordering at some point. So I am a little intrigued by this announcement.

 

[strangelogic]

'incentive discount'

didn't jobs say at the iphones introduction it comes with a two year plan? I thought it said "with two year plan" who knows

Yeah - that means that is your 'incentive discount' in order to get the low low price on the iPhone you have to agree to use att for 2 years... Imagine how much it would cost if there was not this subsidy!

 

[Stella]

Well actually, no. It's a phone, a wireless internet communicator/micro computer, and oh yeah, a full-screen video ipod.

I agree that the hype is getting excessive, but to say "it's just a phone" is not, strictly speaking, accurate.

A phone with bells and whistles :-D

 

[SiliconAddict]

Well, what if you are already a cingular customer and you want to switch out your phone for an iPhone? It just doesnt make sense

Sure it does. It comes down to this: Crapular looks at their customer base and potential customers and is telling you to bend over if you really want the iPhone. And they don't give a crap since every single until will sell anyways so you people can fight over the units.
Apple and Crapular have one thing in common. Arrogance to spare. Thankfully I not interested in lubing up for a phone that pretty much does the same thing my current phone does. I'll wait two years. At some point the price will drop and they will open it to other carriers.

 

[SeaFox]

No, I doubt you'll be able to leave the store without activating the phone, that's just not how cell companies work.

No, that's how the greedy companies in the U.S. work. It's time for this country to realize that the phone and the service are two separate things and start selling them accordingly.

 

[lazyrighteye]

OK so let's say I buy an iPhone(599$), sign a contract (??$) and cancel a contract....So how much would cancelation fee cost me?? and you wanna tell me that AFTER I payed cancelation fee AND payed 600$ for a phone I cant use it with other provider???
Cant belive that!

Believe it.

Oh, and early termination fees range per carrier and can be quite painful (to the tune of ~$250).

 

[EagerDragon]

Ouch

Upon looking at the cingular plans, looks like a PDA phone will cost you the cost of the device, the minute plan, plus the data plan.

---
Cingular Unlimited data plan for a PDA is the following:
PDA Connect Unlimited
With PDA Connect you can browse the Internet and access e-mail from your PDA device. And now, Xpress Mail is included with PDA Connect Unlimited at no extra charge.
View Details
You need a compatible plan and phone to get this service.
See compatible: Phones and Plans
*Monthly Price $39.99

**** I don't see why it would be any different for the iPhone, it maybe even higher as iPhone users are likely to use more of the data plan than the average TREO user with a lousy browser.

That data plan is a lot higher than Sprint ($15 dollars).

 

[mac jones]

isn't this called like 'Inciting a riot'?

I mean, Mac fanatics may be pencil-neck geeks but they can still do some damage jacked up on Starbucks or Dr Pepper.

I don't know, I'm staying away (a least until the night before)

 

[QCassidy352]

A phone with bells and whistles :-D

Well, you could call a mac pro "a word processor with bells and whistles" if you wanted - wouldn't change all the things it can do. No matter how you phrase it, the iphone is several rather exciting devices wrapped in to one.

 

[sportsfanMAW]

Upon looking at the cingular plans, looks like a PDA phone will cost you the cost of the device, the minute plan, plus the data plan.

---
Cingular Unlimited data plan for a PDA is the following:
PDA Connect Unlimited
With PDA Connect you can browse the Internet and access e-mail from your PDA device. And now, Xpress Mail is included with PDA Connect Unlimited at no extra charge.
View Details
You need a compatible plan and phone to get this service.
See compatible: Phones and Plans
*Monthly Price $39.99

**** I don't see why it would be any different for the iPhone, it maybe even higher as iPhone users are likely to use more of the data plan than the average TREO user with a lousy browser.

That data plan is a lot higher than Sprint ($15 dollars).

yes but that is for the Treo, if you check the prices on a blackjack its only $20 for unlimited data which is wut i would be willing to pay. Hopefully cingular/apple see's we are putting out enough just to pay for the iphone and will give us a break on the data plan.

 

[oxygen8]

Man, I cant wait for all you folks to pay retail, work out the bugs, and suffer through an inferior network so that in June of 2008, I can get an iPhone.

No lines for me.

smart move, oh,wait a mintue, you'll have a crappy phone for 365 more days than you need to. life's too short buddy. get in while you can.

even an iphone with bugs will be miles a head of any other phone. as for the price, because the launch in all markets will take so long i don't foresee a drop in price or increase in storage untill apple has a chance to sell everyone a first generation phone. this product won't budge untill @ least x-mas 2008.

the waiting game is not the smart move on this product.

 

[twoodcc]

And so begins the camping.

exactly. i won't be camping....but hoping i'll be able to get one

 

[Digital Skunk]

Man, I cant wait for all you folks to pay retail, work out the bugs, and suffer through an inferior network so that in June of 2008, I can get an iPhone.

No lines for me.

Amen brother! No line and no Cingular... I will pick mine up a year from now for $300 (8GB) at a Sprint store and walk out the door.