With the rumored release of the new 3G iPhone upon us (all signals are pointing to a June release), it raises the question of how much will it cost? Price rumors have been floating around lately, and in an article last week at Fortune, writer Scott Moritz reported some tasty little tidbits. He noted:
“AT&T is preparing to subsidize $200 of the cost of a new iPhone, bringing the price down to $199 for customers who sign two-year contracts, the source says. Apple is expected to have two versions of the new iPhone, an 8-gigabyte-memory and a 16-gigabyte-memory model with price tags widely expected to be $399 and $499…The $200 rebate or subsidy would be limited to AT&T customers and not available through Apple’s stores. The new iPhone sold by AT&T will likely be locked or programmed so buyers can’t take the cheaper iPhone to another phone service.”
At that price point, the iPhone would be well within reach of a much larger market. The aim here of course is to get the iPhone into as many hands as possible. Without a doubt the $200 price tag is much more attractive, affordable, and reasonable.
Bringing the cost of the device is one of the most important next-steps in the proliferation of the iPhone in my opinion. iPhone is now charging on the enterprise scene, and with a more affordable 3G up for offer, I think we’ll see it in the hands of much more diverse group of social, business and casual users in mid 2008.
The question remains… What would you pay for the 3G iPhone? Is $199 a fair pricetag?
[via Fortune]
May 4th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Well, of course I would pay $200 for an iPhone, since I actually paid $399, and think it was well worth it.
The big question is how much I want to replace my existing iPhone with the new model. I don’t know if the rebate would be offered on AT&T Family Plans. On the other hand, GPS is very tempting. I don’t know how important 3G is because I don’t think it even exists where I am :-(.
D
May 4th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Scott Moritz has a LONG history for being wrong about Apple topics. He was the one that said Apple was trying to sell 1M iPhones on the first weekend of release. His modus operandi seems to be to set the bar really high for Apple in order to hurt sales. Some have linked his writing on The Street to Jim Cramer who has used his bully pulpit in order to benefit from shorting Apple. Whether true or not, I have yet to see Moritz be correct upon anything Apple.
May 4th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Good point Ken. I’ve known Scott to be wrong for awhile now. Who knows, maybe he’ll be right this time *shakes head*
May 4th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
I’d pay plenty more than $199.
May 4th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Sign me up!
May 4th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
KenC you are right about Scott Moritz he has nothing good to say about Apple - he also said there is a cut in the production of the iPhones based on a note from Miller Tabak which never exist. I don’t know what his agenda is and it is very similar to Toni ‘iphones gathering dust in warehouses’ Sacconaghi from Bernstein.
These outright liars should be held accountable for their lies.
May 5th, 2008 at 7:19 am
I had no idea Scott’s record was so sketchy. Can anyone provide a list of past examples that were completely wrong? Is there a hidden agenda here, or can it simply be chalked up to bad information and predictions on his part?
May 5th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Realistically, on a contract, no phone is worth a pricetag over $0. Unsubsidized, without a contract, I think an iPhone is worth $200.
Quite frankly, as much as I think the iPhone is a nice tool, to me, it won’t be worth its current pricetag. I’ll just sit tight and wait until I find it used for $200 or less.