Apple, O2 to slash 8GB iPhone price in the UK - report

[AppleInsider]

Apple and wireless partner O2 this week will slash the price of its iPhone handset in the UK to 169 pounds from 269 pounds as part of a limited promotion, according to a new report.

The move will see the localized version of the 8GB iPhone sell for just $333, or considerably less than the current US$399 fetching price within the United States, according to Mobile Today.

The overseas trade publication, which did not name sources, said an announcement is expected Wednesday and that the 16GB model would not see a similar reduction, remaining at £329.

Apple recently instated a similar price cut in conjunction with T-Mobile Germany that saw the local version of the 8GB iPhone fall from €399 to €99.

As was the case following the reductions in Germany, speculation is that the UK promotion is the latest precursor to a new model that will operate on third-generation (3G) wireless networks.

In a report issued earlier this month, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said steep price cuts on the touch-screen handset are a sign Apple is looking to drain existing inventories ahead of 3G iPhone launch no later than June.

The analyst noted that the electronics maker has been able to maintain tight control of iPhone inventory at its own stores, which have been running extremely lean of stock in recent weeks.

"This type of channel control is typical of Apple ahead of new products," Munster wrote. "In Europe, the opposite story seems to point to the same conclusion. Apple's carrier partners are a completely separate channel from its own retail stores, and the carrier partners appear to be overstocked with iPhones."

"Therefore," he added, "it seems as if this has led to Apple trickling iPhones into its U.S. retails stores, while T-Mobile and other carrier partners seek to drain their stock of iPhones ahead of a new model."

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Banalltv]

Must really be something good coming in June.

[collide007]

Woah, this would be extremely tempting if i wasn't holding out for whats coming in June and need more storage than 8GB *Must stay strong, resist temptation, you've made it this far*.

[diskimage]

This is still the middle of April. Is it really going to take a month and a half to get rid of their stock of iPhones or will Apple release the new iPhone sooner than June.

[11thIndian]

I think that's the big question. Has the purge started so soon that it indicates a pre WWDC launch, or do they have enough stock to trickle the supplies down through until early June?

With Apple's aggressive sales targets for the iPhone this year. A multi-month lag is something I don't think they can afford...

[iextreme]

Following this article, I have two things to bring up:

1.) Considering that only the 8GB version is having a price reduction and not the 16GB, could this be an indication that Apple is planning to drop the 8GB version all together?

Obviously, there are multiple scenarios that could unfold once Apple makes a new iPhone announcement, but could it be possible that there will be a 2.5G 16GB (with a possible addition of a 32GB) even as a 3G iPhone is released?

2.) I think, based on reports that I have read over the past few months, that iPhone sales are indeed rather low in Europe due to the steep price of the phone as well as the less than competitive subscription offers (in my opinion), compared to subscriptions on other phones and operators.

[aegisdesign]

Just to point out that the prices are including VAT. The £269 price is including VAT so the US price equivalent would be £228.94 or about $451. £169 is £143 without VAT ($282)

That may seem cheap compared to the USA but most other phones are free on the tariffs the iPhone is on so it's still not cheap by comparion with other phones. And in any case, surely everyone is waiting for the next version anyway?

[NasserAE]

Sound to me like Apple will be dropping the iPhone 8GB model once they clear the inventory.

[Ireland]

Apple, O2 to slash 8GB iPhone price in the UK"?" - report

[Carniphage]

My guess is that Apple's next step will be to launch a lower-cost 2.5G handset alongside a brand-new 3G handset.

It would be very Apple-like to drop the current model altogether and replace it with a "mini" which is affordable for more people.

Apple are clearly facing resistance in some territories to its version of the revenue-sharing model. So I suspect a cheaper-to-manufacture handset would allow it to make money in more territories.

With regard to this announcement....
I am confused about is what this means for the retail price of the handset in Apple Stores.

In Germany, T-Mobile will sell you a 99euro iPhone - providing that you sign up for the tariff.
But if you could, for example, walk into an Apple store and buy the handset for 99 euro. The unlockers would strip the store bare in ten minutes.

Will Apple stores be selling the handset for £169 tomorrow?

C.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by diskimage

This is still the middle of April. Is it really going to take a month and a half to get rid of their stock of iPhones or will Apple release the new iPhone sooner than June.

Or 2,5 months from now if you go to the end of June.. The WWDC is near the beginning of the month, but that is no guarantee.

Originally Posted by iextreme

1.) Considering that only the 8GB version is having a price reduction and not the 16GB, could this be an indication that Apple is planning to drop the 8GB version all together?

Intresting idea. I figured they'd keep the 8GB version, but maybe not. One of the defining factors of the iPhone (though still something to bitch about around here) is the excessive capacity over other phones. The 4GB model was dead in the water and quickly canceled.

Or maybe it's because the 16GB flash chips are too expensive and Apple is already taking a lower margin on these higher-end iPhones.

Originally Posted by Ireland

Apple, O2 to slash 8GB iPhone price in the UK"?" - report

Maybe the rest of Ireland should join the UK.

[Banalltv]

Originally Posted by solipsism

Maybe the rest of Ireland should join the UK.

Woah there, let's not get carried away.

[hdasmith]

Originally Posted by Banalltv

Woah there, let's not get carried away.

That would be an interesting idea. While Scotland and Wales are becoming further separated from the Union, Ireland re-join?! FWIW, as I Scot, I don't think it's a good idea for Scotland to separate from the Union... I don't think England or Scotland could survive properly economically if they did.

[gem]

Originally Posted by aegisdesign

Just to point out that the prices are including VAT. The £269 price is including VAT so the US price equivalent would be £228.94 or about $451. £169 is £143 without VAT ($282)

That may seem cheap compared to the USA but most other phones are free on the tariffs the iPhone is on so it's still not cheap by comparion with other phones. And in any case, surely everyone is waiting for the next version anyway?

And even if it wasnt that similar in price - about bloody time! I am fed up of paying a huge premium for apple products just because I live in the uk. They always cost much more than the exchange rate (even one favourable for the US).

I agree it is not cheap in comparison to other phones (until apple released the iphone, if you got a contract you would probably expect to pay at most around £20 for a phone (obviously much more if you are on pay as you go) but the are normally free, so for apple to charge more than ten times that it is not surprising so few are selling)

[Banalltv]

Originally Posted by hdasmith

That would be an interesting idea..

Maybe in a few more years we'll both secede from the EU and join the US instead... maybe get cheaper electronics prices...

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by Banalltv

Maybe in a few more years we'll both secede from the EU and join the US instead... maybe get cheaper electronics prices...

Please await until the Transatlantic Guinness Pipeline is in place. I can't explain it, but he farther away you get from Ireland the poorer the Guinness tastes.

[lostkiwi]

Originally Posted by solipsism

Please await until the Transatlantic Guinness Pipeline is in place. I can't explain it, but he farther away you get from Ireland the poorer the Guinness tastes.

I can totally verify that one. In New Zealand, the Guinness tastes crap, has the consistency of gravy and is generally very unpleasant to drink. In comparison, the same brew in Dublin is fantastic.
However, I'm more of a Murphy's chap myself, probably I much prefer anything and everything Cork to Dublin... :-)

S.

[winterspan]

Originally Posted by lostkiwi

I can totally verify that one. In New Zealand, the Guinness tastes crap, has the consistency of gravy and is generally very unpleasant to drink. In comparison, the same brew in Dublin is fantastic.
However, I'm more of a Murphy's chap myself, probably I much prefer anything and everything Cork to Dublin... :-)

S.

Some of us are happy if we can even find Guinness for sale! .. Ireland is definitely on my to-do list along with the UK. Speaking of which, which island is better?

[Banalltv]

Originally Posted by winterspan

Some of us are happy if we can even find Guinness for sale! .. Ireland is definitely on my to-do list along with the UK. Speaking of which, which island is better?

Try both islands. As for stout I prefer Beamish or one of Guinness's Brewhouse series, not sure if that is still going, then Murphy's, then normal Guinness which I find a bit heavier than the others.

When I'm in the other island I love to try their local brews instead. In London I like London Pride a lot.

[aegisdesign]

Originally Posted by winterspan

Speaking of which, which island is better?

Technically, The United Kingdom INCLUDES Northern Ireland so you don't have to make that choice.

Personally, I'm a more of a Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout fan than the Irish version of Stout, which is a little bland IMHO.

[XenonII]

Originally Posted by Banalltv

Woah there, let's not get carried away.

Is suggesting that the part of Ireland that remained loyal to the British Nation leave to join the Republic getting "carried away"? If not, then why is this.. I would think that it would be much more logical that the Republic rejoin the UK to end the problem of partition. Partition is not a long term solution and after all, it was the Republic leaving the UK which caused Ireland to no longer be united in the first place!

Northern Ireland leaving the UK just increases partition. Let's not forget, that it is not just Ireland that's divided but the British Isles. It seems to me that it makes much more sense to end the problem of the divison of the peoples of our islands once and for all rather than make a bad situation even worse. Northern Ireland was never part of the Republic, but the Republic was part of the UK for longer than Great Britain existed as sovereign state. It's not even as if the Irish would have to give up their parliament this time around now that most of the UK has devolved parliaments or assemblies.

[XenonII]

Originally Posted by hdasmith

That would be an interesting idea. While Scotland and Wales are becoming further separated from the Union, Ireland re-join?! FWIW, as I Scot, I don't think it's a good idea for Scotland to separate from the Union... I don't think England or Scotland could survive properly economically if they did.

They are not becoming further seperated they have just had many of the powers of the central government devolved locally. It doesn't make them any less part of the United Kingdom and the central government still holds ultimate power, it has only devolved it. Support for independence is at a record low in Scotland I believe and practically non-existant in Wales as well as Northern Ireland. There is also not much support for independence in the remaining overseas territories or crown dependencies either.