Comments on: WinMo Wrap — HTC’s Got Your Back; Quietly Brilliant; Upgrades Coming

By: Virtuous

Virtuous — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:07:21 +0000

HereAndNow: I doubt Microsoft, Google or Nokia would allow their operating systems on such a phone.

Luscious: AT&T subsidizes the cost of the $99 iPhone because they bind you to a 2-year contract. Without the contract the iPhone would be much more expensive.

By: Jake

Jake — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:09:58 +0000

Yeah, I’ve got to agree with DK – especially when you consider that the $99 iPhone you referred to is the outdated last gen version.

Here in the UK, I can get the TP2 free on a £34/18 month contract. For the same contract price and length the cheapest iPhone will cost me £96.89 and (once again) its the outdated iPhone 3G. If I want the 3GS it will cost me between £184 for the 16GB and £274 for the 32GB and I’m still paying for a fairly expensive contract.

For an even better comparison, the HTC HD2 will be available free on £35/18 month contracts when it’s released and it blows the iPhone away completely.

The reality is that HTC phones are fairly reasonably priced in comparison. Besides, a fairer comparison spec-wise would be between the price of the original Touch Pro compared and the $99 iPhone 3G. As for Expansys’s price that you quote, how much would an unlocked iPhone cost? I’ve heard that they sell for $800.

By: DK

DK — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:29:15 +0000

To Luscious:

That is total BS. iPhone is selling at $99 since AT&T subsidises it by $600, which they recoup over 2 years of very expensive contract. If you think Apple is handing out iPhones for cheap, then you are in a deep misunderstanding, Mr. I would anyday take T-Mobile over AT&Ts expensive contract with missed calls and sloppy infrastructure. I think HTC’s pricing is very fair, and handsets like HTC Touch Pro 2 is far better than the crappy iPhone. iPhone is cool, but HTC TP2 is smarter and more powerful.

By: Luscious

Luscious — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:21:13 +0000

Ad campaigns are one thing, but I think HTC should look at it’s pricing model if they really want to be embraced by consumers. Charging $300-plus for a TP2 is crazy considering the iPhone now sells for $99. $200 should be the sweet-spot today for a top-of-the-line smartphone.

Meanwhile, those guys at Expansys keep charging well north of $600 for their best models. Who’s buying? That’s nothing but a ridiculous markup considering the rapid life-cycle these things go through and the low per-unit manufacturing cost.

By: HereAndNow

HereAndNow — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:05:00 +0000

HTC should build smartphone “platforms” that can be flashed with different OSes (Android, Maemo, WinMo, …). The production units could be flashed, in percentages relative to customer demand, & identified by the model name/number.
e.g.
HTC XX-A – Android
HTC XX-W – WinMo

This approach would:
1. maximize their ROI, on each smartphone design.
2. allow users to change OSes, if they want to.
3. offer the possibility of running multiple OSes simultaneously, if virtualization on smartphones ever catches on.