A $99 Apple-branded cell phone is inevitable, analyst says

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  • Reply 21 of 47
    hobbeshobbes Posts: 1,252member
    Well, duh.
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  • Reply 22 of 47
    I believe that Apple has a few million 4 Gb models laying around. Remember when the 3G came out there was an add briefly for a 4Gb iPhone?
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  • Reply 23 of 47
    If you reduce the screen, you necessarily make _everything_ harder to use. Just imagine the portrait keyboard on a notably smaller screen. As everyone learned when they tried to use the Storm: touchscreen phones _can't_ compromise on the navigation and typing experience. Not to mention it would fracture the app store; which Apple clearly sees as a very big feature. And if the carriers/Wal*Mart/Apple can come up with a $99 price tag for a phone that obviates a $200 nano purchase, no-one's going to hold out for a fully subsidized version.



    The plan prices are a much bigger roadblock. Apple needs to work out second-tier phone plans more than they need a physical 'iphone nano'. (push-only over cell and wifi for everything else? if they had a real mms solution it might work.)



    As far as the hardware goes, their only problem is adding the right hardware extras to the $199 and $299 flavors to keep people from just picking up the $99 phone. More storage won't matter to many people as soon as the $99 version is carrying 8GB. What else do they reserve for the more expensive models that the market will accept being missing in the cheaper phone? Is a better camera enough?
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  • Reply 24 of 47
    Shaw Wu continues to prove that he is a clueless advice pusher and that any uninformed investor stupid enough to pay for his advice deserves to lose money.
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  • Reply 25 of 47
    In the words of bugs bunny..... what a maroooooooon.





    First, there is no reason for Apple to create a family of iPhones. Leave that to everyone else to build different models to offset what each one is missing. (See Rimm product line for examples)



    I mean really, what would the model lower than the current iPhone omit?

    Let's see, can't take the "phone" part out, that would make it the touch.



    Can't make it a flip-phone, that would make it a non-Apple hard to use ugly thing.



    Can't add a keyboard, that wouldn't make it smaller and would make it bad like the other hybrids.



    What do you "take out" to make it a low end iPhone?



    Does anyone really think Apple should get in the dumb-phone business? No.



    I can't understand how an author can write that Apple will definately "come out with" a 99 dollar phone and list one reason they could just eat 100 in margin to make THIS one actually BE a 99 phone.... and then say they need a low end model to fill out the family.

    What's THAT one cost, is it free?



    Puff piece, made up stuff, won't happen.



    People been saying Apple will have a 500 dollar laptop for years.

    Someday they'll be right.

    They'll never be relevent, neither is this author.
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  • Reply 26 of 47
    dualiedualie Posts: 334member
    They could give the phone away and I still won't use AT&Ts overpriced "service." It's completely ridiculous what they charge.
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  • Reply 27 of 47
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    I don't understand that. Even if your contention is true, it shows that the iPod line is a tiered or segmented product line, where you buy either based on your desires or budget.



    The tiers are based on significant omissions for the iPod line.

    Anyone that looks at a shuffle, and the Nano, can see a pretty significant difference in what was taken out.



    ok, Jeff. Let us know what YOU think the low end iPhone would be missing when you pick it up and look at it in a store.

    Keep in mind what Apple has invest in the App Store, so turning their back on that isn't likely.

    Just what would a lowend iPhone have?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    Didn't a lot of Apple fans say the same about the iPod before the mini was released?



    As I recall, the Mini was a complete surprise.

    As I recall, it never occured to anyone that Apple would market a second "line" of players.

    So no, unless you can back it up..... I don't think anybody was saying that.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    I think it's very silly to make such bold predictions on what Apple is going to do. A lot of times, Apple's fans are nearly as bad as analysts, though generally Apple fans forget what the fan consensus was once it's been proven to be false, though they remember those of analysts.



    I think it's silly to say stuff that doesn't make sense.

    Again, show me a what a great cut-down version of an iPhone that can play apps off the app-store and I'll retract the "silly" label.

    Until then, this not just silly.

    It's an example of why this guy should be universally panned for outstanding achievement in silliness.



    Generally, I don't understand why this guy doesn't suggest a really cheap laptop from apple could come out if they'd just leave out the screen.

    If it was Apples business plan, to chop features to gather market share they would just change their name to Dell.
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  • Reply 28 of 47
    noirdesirnoirdesir Posts: 1,027member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PXT View Post


    I'd like to see a law passed so that the line rental and the finance for the phone are separated out. Phone deals are like unregulated finance. If you buy a car with finance, they have to tell you the total cost, the interest, how long it takes to pay etc. This could also help with carrier switching, since you could change your carrier, but of course you'd still owe them for the phone loan.



    Good idea. This would show the complex financials behind this. An example:

    - new phone: $500 = $200 + 24 x $20 (this is using a somewhat arbitrary compound interest rate), this comes to $180 in interest rate payments

    - monthly contract: $50

    - discount on monthly contract if signing up for two years: $20/month



    What the customer currently sees: $200 + $50 per month
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  • Reply 29 of 47
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Will the $99 iPhone have to be with AT&T? (please no, no)
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  • Reply 30 of 47
    Remove 3G and the expensive DataPlan. Remove GPS and Wifi. Apps could still be synced through the computer. Use a slightly smaller screen with the same pixel resolution. In the same way as the nano has the same resolution as the ipod even though they are different sizes. Use a smaller battery because of what is being omited above. 4 GB of RAM. And there you have it a 99 dollar iPhone with a much cheaper service plan. =-)
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  • Reply 31 of 47
    i don't believe that anything can really be taken away from the iPhone. Besides the GPS and 3G which leaves you with a first gen iPhone or no cell so you get a Touch. These are the most basic models available that will still work with the app store as a previous poster mentioned. All iPhones it is safe to say will have to be as capable as this first gen as to work with current apps but future iPhones can and will add features that new apps will take advantage of as they surface. So maybe someone could tell me would it be possible for apple to sell refurbed first gens or left over 4 gig 3g's at lower price to either help clear inventory or drive up adoption.
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  • Reply 32 of 47
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,150member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bslaght View Post


    then you will need to pay ~$500 for an iPhone....if you don't want a contract.



    Nah... then he will find something else to whine about afterwards.
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  • Reply 33 of 47
    Apple would be out of business if it ever listened to analysts...here is a good list of thing apple didn't do that analysts wanted them to.



    http://counternotions.com/2008/11/27/avoided/



    Apple's whole strategy with the iPhone is a single device that is easy to support maintain and write applications for. Developers can write an app once and it works pretty much on all iPhones and iPod Touches. I mean they will have different version each year, but not multiple versions at the same time besides storage.



    I also think if they ever do fill in the price umbrella with a $99 phone it will just be the 8GB moving down to $99, 16GB moving to $199 and a new 32GB moving into the $299 spot. Why would they move backwards and make a 4GB phone?



    I think we could see a 32GB phone sometime in January
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  • Reply 34 of 47
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iVlad View Post


    LOL all these analysts are always wrong, they know nothing about Apple. I think Apple fans know more than them.



    Uh-huh. Shall I repost my ridiculously long list of things Mac fans have claimed Apple wouldn't do?



    Thus far, Apple has followed their iPod strategy. They've introduce a few novel, flashy ideas to an existing product, marketed the hell out of it, kicked up the features several notches to keep the competition off balance and then pushed prices down to attract a larger market. Anyone who thinks Apple won't find a way to offer the iPhone for a lower price isn't looking at what they did with the iPod.
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  • Reply 35 of 47
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by zunx View Post


    THE ONLY IPHONE THAT WE WILL BUY IS:



    - Unlocked to be used with any provider.

    - NO contract with any provider. Prepaid.



    That simple. Until then, NO iPhone!





    first off I think you mean that you will buy. do NOT assume to speak for the masses.



    second, eventually the phone probably will be unlocked and perhaps with the choice of no contract or a contract with whomever who will pay some or all of the cost like standard phones.



    HOWEVER, Apple owes ATT for putting up a huge chunk of the R&D costs and keeping their mouths shut about the device design. The Exclusive Contract is how that money is being paid back. Not unlike how you go sign for service and they let you walk out with a $300 phone that you didn't have to pay up front for. You paid it off over the length of your contract. Only there's no ETF in this deal and the money is a lot higher amount (and top secret).
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  • Reply 36 of 47
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bslaght View Post


    then you will need to pay ~$500 for an iPhone....if you don't want a contract.



    the price isn't the issue. You can't pay for a phone until there is a confirmed line activation with ATT. and that line activation requires a contract.



    there is no option to pony up even $1000 and walk out of a store with a phone that has no contract. Least not in the US. in the 3 countries in the world that have laws against locking a cell phone to a carrier you probably can.
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  • Reply 37 of 47
    sc_marktsc_markt Posts: 1,402member
    How about an iPhone with wifi so we can use it to make calls while using the built-in wifi to browse the web saving us the extra costs for the AT&T data plan? I want an iPhone but I don't want to pay $70/month but I want the ability to surf the web and get email.



    Are there any phones out there that have wifi built in?
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  • Reply 38 of 47
    T-Mobile Germany has beaten Kaufmann Bros. to the punch. They already offer the i-Phone for ? 1,- (8 GB; ? 20,- for 16 GB). You need to sign a contract with ? 69,- of monthly cost minimum. But you can have an i-Phone wih just ? 1,- initial cost.

    http://shop.t-mobile.de/iphone/tarif...1410-_,00.html
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  • Reply 39 of 47
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by copeland View Post


    T-Mobile Germany has beaten Kaufmann Bros. to the punch. They already offer the i-Phone for ? 1,- (8 GB; ? 20,- for 16 GB). You need to sign a contract with ? 69,- of monthly cost minimum. But you can have an i-Phone wih just ? 1,- initial cost.

    http://shop.t-mobile.de/iphone/tarif...1410-_,00.html



    eh?? Iphone is free in the UK on certain tarifs.



    not that its worth the overall outlay
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  • Reply 40 of 47
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sc_markt View Post


    How about an iPhone with wifi so we can use it to make calls while using the built-in wifi to browse the web saving us the extra costs for the AT&T data plan? I want an iPhone but I don't want to pay $70/month but I want the ability to surf the web and get email.



    Are there any phones out there that have wifi built in?



    Your homework for tonight: Find the term "wi-fi" on this page and report back to us how it alters your incorrect assumption above. BONUS POINTS: Explain how Google is your friend.
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