Comments on: Apple Could Drop iPhone to $99, Destroy Competition

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 06:26:35 +0000

Kudos to Apple for opposing Prop 8! I wouldn’t have known but for reading this. And I bet the contribution was good business for them, too, not to mention good for attracting talent; the computer business thrives on a sort of libertarian ethic. Apple won’t lose too many high-tech sales to the crowd that’s thinks dinosaurs are a hoax. Oh wait, wasn’t this about the iPhone????

By: Pustoolio

Pustoolio — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:48:54 +0000

@ Jeff,

So how did that call to Apple regarding “no on 8″ go?
Hello, I’m a bigot who wants different rules for different groups of people. And can I get segregated fries with that? ^_^

By: Selección Digital» es.appleweblog.com » Analistas: Apple podría bajar el iPhone a $99

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:05:16 +0000

[...] Vía: The Apple Blog [...]

By: iMac, Mac Mini Updates November 11 According to… Pure Speculation | The Apple Blog

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:00:30 +0000

[...] dropped by others in the same business? Obviously, we here at TAB also publish stories that deal in speculation and conjecture, but we follow-up, and we spend some time assessing the validity of the source. [...]

By: Gemischte Zahlen: Developer, Neukunden, Aktien & $99

Gemischte Zahlen: Developer, Neukunden, Aktien & $99 — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:49:24 +0000

[...] $99 Impuls-Kauf Ebenfalls aufgegriffen von TAB, liest sich die hier zusammengefasste Analysten-Theorie durchaus spannend. Glaubt man Charlie Wolf [...]

By: iPhonorama #12 « Obelis

iPhonorama #12 « Obelis — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:24:31 +0000

[...] gandai, kad Apple gali nuleisti iPhone kainą iki $99. O, girdžiu, kad galinėje eilėje pasibaigė šūkavimai, kad “mes mokame už [...]

By: Branden

Branden — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:10:01 +0000

I don’t personally think they will sport a lower price point. Apple loves to thrive on the mysterious and keep their customer base happy. They would have to sell 2 iphones instead of 1 iphone to achieve the same effect. So they are introducing scarcity of their product to keep the price point high but at the same time they are keeping it rare enough that people still crave it and want it.

It’s just an idea but then again they have the App Store to back up some of the loss of profits by decreasing the price so it wouldn’t be nearly as crazy if they decided to drop the price without that 30% community income.

And finally I think it would label the phone as cheap and diminish the overall technology advancements the iphone has made, which is exactly what Apple tries to avoid. You buy a shiny Mac and you feel like a hero in disguise, even if it set you back 2,000 bones versus an equivalent PC at half the price. Again these are just some ideas I’ve thrown around. Take it with a grain of salt on your flamer wounds.

By: Apple podría bajar el precio de iPhone hasta los $99 | Zumo de Iphone

Apple podría bajar el precio de iPhone hasta los $99 | Zumo de Iphone — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:37:34 +0000

[...] Visto en TheAppleBlog. [...]

By: joecab

joecab — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:43:50 +0000

You both make good points. Smartphone tech certainly has a lot more ingenuity left. And it’s already been proven (with the switch to subsidized pricing) that the smartphone arena is more competitive than the iPod one, so Apple will be nimble when needed. Maybe part of the marketing is that you’re also selling extra services with these phones, and cheaper phones means cheaper people unwilling to pay for them.

By: Tom Reestman

Tom Reestman — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:26:36 +0000

Darrell,

It’s not just the rates, but the fact that the base rate doesn’t even include text messaging. If you were close to switching and then felt like you were being gouged you might change your mind. Not pointing the finger at AT&T any more than other carriers (they all do it).

Then there’s AT&T itself. Some people will simply not use them. Period. Others can’t use them since they’re not in coverage areas. And others may be in voice/EDGE coverage but out of 3G coverage and not want them for that reason as well.

In other countries, the above can apply to whatever local carrier(s) Apple chose to deal with.

And for some it’s more psychological. That is, it’s a barrier of wondering whether they really need (or want) their phone to do all those things in the first place. It’s a lot of commitment for two years to find out whether you’ll use it much.

And I think for some people adding a smartphone to a family plan makes the rate plan change more noticeable, and harder to justify. Sometimes the feeling is that a family must add two, and the expense goes up accordingly.

In all the above, I don’t think a $99 price will change the landscape much. I think Apple grabbed most of that low-hanging fruit with the drop to $199.