Steve Jobs: Free iPhones for Apple Employees

[Avaritia]

I believe Apple gives its employees free iPods. I know someone who works for an Apple store and got one for free, so...

They have done this before.

I have an iPod, it wasn't free I worked hard for it and won it.

 

[Ugg]

Because it would cost a lot of money, apple is in to make money, not spend it friviously. Not to mention when was the last time you heard Apple do such a thing? iPhone is undoubtedly cool but so where the intel macs which was a much larger leap than this.

Let's see. I am interested in a new phone. I go to AT&T where they sell a few dozen different handsets and most of the information from the employees is word of mouth, not from actual experience. Now, if I go to Apple where they only sell one phone and talk to an employee who actually owns one and more than likely has it on his person and is willing to show me all the goo gaws....


If you ask me this is the best way for Apple Stores to sell them by Airbus 380 loads.

It may cost Apple a few pennies, but the return on investment is going to be phenomenal.

 

[gwangung]

Because it would cost a lot of money, apple is in to make money, not spend it friviously. Not to mention when was the last time you heard Apple do such a thing? iPhone is undoubtedly cool but so where the intel macs which was a much larger leap than this.

You have NO concept of what a lot of money is. Cost for Apple? $6 million for employees, $7 million tops. Less when they account for it property.

Chickenfeed. (And a LOT less than giving every employee an Intel mac. You do the math)

 

[twoodcc]

dang...too bad i'm not an apple employee

 

[alldayeveryday]

Ah, you've had to have worked for them for a year I'm afraid!

I'm pretty sure that you would have had to be working here today, when the announcement was made in order to qualify for the free phone. If you are a fulltime employee though, you don't have the year stipulation, only if you are a part-timer.

Now I just have to wait til the end of july.

 

[Antaios]

the ATT employees are going to be pissed

no... we're used to getting screwed by Cingular/att. We only get a 30% discount on the full retail price of phones we buy. FULL RETAIL. Not the discounted price you pay when you sign a 2 yr contract. Outback Steakhouse employees get a better discount then we do (40% off).

 

[safehousemike]

Apply may not lose ANY money on this...

I am pretty sure that part of the Apple-ATT agreement is that apple is entitled to some fraction of the monthly revenue on the iphone plans. If all of these employees decide to activate their iphones, then apple will probably just recoup their initial cost and more over the two year contract. I think that rationalization, along with the whole employees are walking billboard thing, is why there is no downside for apple to hand out so many iphones.

 

[iW00t]

It is not a blessing, it is a curse.

Behold, free phone, crappy contract plans!

 

[rt_brained]

But on average Apple already spends over $100,000 on each employee per year for salary, taxes and overhead.

NOTE TO SELF:
See if Office Assistant position at Apple is still open.

And Apple gets something back from this that is worth way more than the cost of a phone. Reasoning is like this: If you make everyone in the dog food factory eat dog food for lunch, pretty soon they start making some darn good tasting dog food.

I would eat Apple dog food.

 

[MrSmith]

Question is, how many MR members get one 'to test'?

 

[notjustjay]

You have no idea what you are talking about. People that work in Apple Stores owned by Apple are Apple employees and get all the rights and benefits.

Editorializing aside, I stand corrected.

 

[notjustjay]

You're friends with the DogCow?!

It was his nickname -- and yes, it originated from the dogcow. He used to work in the Apple division of a local software company, and he was a self-proclaimed "Mac evangelist" (not unlike any of us, I guess ) He relocated to CA a number of years ago to work for the big man himself.

At the time I first knew him I was an avid Windows guy, and he and I had all kinds of fun "discussions". He had already been gone a few years before I made the switch to Apple. I sent him a photo of me posing with my 12" PowerBook. I'm sure he had a good laugh. And now, with a free iPhone and who knows whatever else he's privy to over there... he's definitely laughing.