8GB iPhone- now just $399
It’s always mass hysteria when the faithful gather for a confab with his Jobsness and Kevin’s already got all the details over all the wonderfully cool things he announced today. I will say this, Jobsy has something to say to all of you who picked up the iPhone when it first came out. You know, all of you who stood in lines for hours or days so you’d get your phone from the very first batch of iPhones. Yep, his Jobsness had this to say to you the faithful- the 8 GB iPhones will now cost just $399, a whopping $200 drop from the $600 you paid. Take that and like it! Don’t you feel so used?
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Looks like we were thinking the same thing at the same time; see my post a minute before. Let me state this: I have NO PROBLEM paying what will eventually be a premium for me to have a device early in the lifecycle. However, this much of a premium (33%) just a tad over two-months in the lifecycle is not acceptable. I’m hoping that Apple will do something for the early adopters; if not for me who has had the iPhone for about 45 days, at least they should do something for the folks that bought one yesterday. I don’t regret the device purchase, but I’ll be disappointed if Apple doesn’t do something for folks that bought in the last 2 to 4 weeks.
Yikes! I was catching up on the transcript of Jobs’ presentation on another site and I had to read it twice to make sure I read it right. They’re discontinuing the 4 GB iPhone already, and a $200(!!!) price drop on the 8 GB iPhone.
Wow! That’s a consumer’s worst nightmare — a significant price cut soon after your purchase, but too late to benefit you. There are going to be some angry customers out there.
WOW! Just about exactly what I have been looking for. I Just wanted a bit larger screen and storage but I can live with it.. This is what the Palm Life Drive should have been!
Is this going to be considered a UMPC? It looks to provide the FIE. I want one !
Yeah thanks for the middle finger gesture Steve. Like Kevin, I expect to pay a premium to be an early adopter, but 33% is ridiculous and unprecedented! Apple should at least give us all a $50 iTunes gift card to ease some of the pain. It really sucks for those who just passed the 14-day return period and now don’t even have the option of gaining back at least $140.
No, I don’t feel used.
I bought the iPhone because I was pretty sure I’d learn a lot from it, and I have. I’d pay the $200 to have that experience a few months earlier.
And if you begrudge Steve a lousy $200, what are you doing buying Apple products in the first place? That’a a mere pittance. Where’s your faith man!
On the other hand if he wanted to give each of us a free Airport Extreme, I wouldn’t complain, and I’d deploy it right away. :-)
Well.. sucks for me. What else is there to say?
Funny thing, first thing someone asks when I pull out my iPhone is ‘How much did you pay?’.
Now I can tell them I paid $600, but you can pay $400. Sucks for me, good for you.
Dave, it would be just my luck if we all got a free AirPort Extreme. I ordered (and blogged it) one of those just yesterday. Oy! :)
Obviously Apple has the right to price its products however they choose and to change those prices whenever they want.
But why go looking to upset people unnecessarily? What would it have taken to make the price cut without creating the amount of bad-blood they are…an iTunes card or a discount on an accessory fpr the phone? It would have gone a long way to people not feeling as upset as they are. Dumb Dumb Dumb
It’s the cell phone market. It’s a whole different pricing war.
BTW – My truck is being offered with a 1000 cash back 2 months after I bought it. Does it make me feel used? Nah, it’s just the way life goes.
If it gets you upset over this stuff just don’t buy stuff when it first hits the market.
Sure glad Kevin is here to help balance the Apple hate :-)
I think the problem here is that when the price drops that quickly, it suggests that the real value of the device we purchased is $399 (less if you bought a 4GB device like me) and that they lied to us when they sold it to us for more. It wasn’t a matter of demand, because you could (and can) walk into any Cingular store and get one after the first two days. It clearly isn’t a matter of cost since clearly they can sell it for a lot less.
Rather, it was just a grab for as much cash as they could get, and while I don’t begrudge a company the right to make a profit, I do begrudge a company that tricks their most loyal customers into paying more than they know they plan to sell it for in 60 days.
I still like my iPhone, but I won’t be telling other people that they “have to get one of these” now. I simply can’t trust Apple at the moment.
I saw a few places that suggested that a 3g Iphone may come out later this month for the European market. They just opened the price space for a 16gb 3g model.
Well folks, I have yet another theory/speculation. The unlocked iphones are starting to flood the market, and you can already get one over at ebay at around $800. This will inevitably drive down the price of a locked (and with a 2-yr contract) iPhone. So I think this is just an attempt to squeeze a bit more of the market for Apple (but more for AT&T).
Well is nice to able to buy the device in first place, think yourselves lucky, im still waiting fo the UK Version….
It just occurred to me that that $200 didn’t really disappear — well, not all of it, anyway. When Jahan and the rest of the folks in Europe finally get their versions of the iPhone, you just know that it will cost the same 399 it costs here in the US…only it will be Euros (and the Pound equivalent), not Dollars. Since the Euro is currently about 35% more expensive than the Dollar…voila, instant 35% price increase.
I don’t get the critics (and I’m not an apple fan-boy – I don’t own any apple stuff :)) – if you decided 600 $ was a good price for you and you’ve bought it, why are you mad the price is lower now ? Nobody pushed you, nobody forced your hand – it is a (hopefully) mature decision.
This “give me some gift certificat” thing seems what an undecided buyer would say – “I’m not sure why I bought it so at least I shouldn’t be worst off than the others !”. Its normal – prices fall with time – and it is normal early adopters see some modifications in their products.
However, what annoys me more is the way the initial post was written – to incite readers into anger for a very cool thing: decreasing the price of a seller’s main item. I didn’t see Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft ever decreasing their price except when they are pushed by their competition. I know there is a certain Microsoft skew on this site but it should manifest itself only when appropiate.
all may not be lost guys! I’ll try and confirm things when twitter is back online.
Hmmm, I guess it won’t help any of the early adopters – someone I chat to on twitter bought an iPhone within 10 days of the price drop, which makes him eligible for apple’s price protection policy. Sorry guys
It is never nice to hear something you bought just went down in price. Whenever I buy something I stop looking at the price so I don’t see the drop for about 6 months.
After that, the price drops is understandable, and not a problem.
But, when it is all over the tech news and all sorts of other news outlets, it is not something you can avoid hearing about.
I don’t have an iPhone, but, I would probably be happy with my purchase of the hottest phone out there, and to be on the edge of cool tech. And, as mentioned earlier, I would have learned a lot that the new iPhone owners would just be getting up to speed on.
Didn’t I read somewhere that AT&T have a 30-day no questions asked return policy?
Return the phone and then buy a new one for $399 and walk out with $200 and a phone…?
Also read that Apple will be refunding $200 to people who bought in the last 14 days.
cr0ft
that 30 day policy does not apply to iPhones
A lot of gadget tech companies do this, like Sony who have putting out UMPC models like crazy. I’m not surprised by this Apple move. A lot of money will be made on AT&T service by Apple. The old school rule still applies, never buy a first generation product if price is an issue. You know there will be IPhones coming out with more memory and better third party apps.
Well…there you go. Wish granted. All iPhone early adopters are going to be getting a $100 Apple gift certificate (http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/06/steve-jobs-gives-all-iphone-owners-100-back/). I am not a big Apple user (or fan for that matter) but it’s details like this that is moving Apple ahead. Maybe other companies will start getting the hint: Listen to your customers and they will come =)