More iPhone News

[duckdog]

Interesting development. Smart phone market getting more competitive, and prices need to move down.


FORTUNE: Techland AT&T to cut the price of Apple’s new iPhone «

AT&T to cut the price of Apple’s new iPhone

By Scott Moritz, writer
AT&T (T) is planning to put some extra shine on the even sleeker new Apple (AAPL) iPhone.
When the 3G iPhone is introduced this summer, AT&T, the exclusive U.S. iPhone sales partner with Apple, will cut the price by as much as $200, according to a person familiar with the strategy.
AT&T is preparing to subsidize $200 of the cost of a new iPhone, bringing the price down to $199 for customers who sign two-year contracts, the source says. Apple is expected to have two versions of the new iPhone, an 8-gigabyte-memory and a 16-gigabyte-memory model with price tags widely expected to be $399 and $499.
AT&T and Apple declined to comment.
At $200, the iPhone would be within reach of a much wider consumer market and give AT&T a strong magnet to pull lucrative customers away from rivals like Verizon Wireless (VZ), Sprint (S) and T-Mobile (DT). The $200 rebate or subsidy would be limited to AT&T customers and not available through Apple’s stores. The new iPhone sold by AT&T will likely be locked or programmed so buyers can’t take the cheaper iPhone to another phone service.
Subsidies of $100 to $200 are common in the U.S. phone market, where people buy their phones from their carriers. Lowering the consumer cost of the phone to win two-year subscribers is considered a small investment with a quick payoff. The average monthly wireless bill is around $50, so a phone company can recoup the phone’s cost in a matter of months.
The average iPhone user however, runs up a $100 tab each month due to the higher priced data and calling plan. This would give AT&T an even quicker payback on its $200 outlay. But AT&T doesn’t get to keep all the money it collects from its iPhone users. Unlike most other phonemakers (but like BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIMM)) Apple has a revenue-sharing arrangement that requires telcos like AT&T to pay somewhere between 9% and 25% of the money collected each month from iPhone users.
The new iPhone is expected to be released on the one-year anniversary of the original iPhone debut June 27 or thereabouts. A few weeks prior to that launch, Apple is planning to stop supplies of the older model iPhone, according to the source. This will help clear out inventory and stir up demand for the new device. It will also attempt to avoid the public relations pratfall Apple made when it cut the price of the iPhone without warning last year. To soothe the ire among people who bought the iPhone just before the sudden markdown, Apple issued store credits.
A few details about the new iPhone have also been confirmed by the source. The new iPhone will be 2.5 mm thinner than the 11.7 mm original. The iPhone will also have a GPS chip for navigation and other location-based services.

Wish I could get ATT Wireless here.

[dkrift]

Engadget doesn't think this will happen.

[duckdog]

Originally Posted by dkrift

Engadget doesn't think this will happen.

Interesting. Thanks!

[Ska]

Even if it does....I'm still not switching carriers just for a phone.

[n0s_speed]

if they have the 1yr contract plan, i'd get it. but 2yrs? no thx. i've been out of my contract for yrs from t-mobile now. i don't want to stinking contract again.

[Nikon1]

I'll stick with my unlocked S/E K850i phone on AT&T's network.

[Slynky]

Well, all you fanbois...

You can get the S/E 580i for nearly free for a new 2yr contract. (I paid $79). NOW, having said that, it's not a big screen like the iFUCK, but it didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Has:

FM radio with presets (and that crap that scrolls the name of the station and the name of the song);

MP3 player (just like my Rio and all the ability to move here and there);

SHAKE (just shake it and the song randomly changes);

2 MP camera (with all sorts of options of shooting a pic);

PDA software (the usual sort...multiple alarms, with the exact same abilities as Outlook on recurrances);

Games (who cares);

9 (yep!) hours talk time;

Lighting effects (yep, really cool shit if you like to make people look);

In Camera photo-editing (if you need it...but I have Photoshop);

OH, and much better than the iPods of the world, I don't need earbuds...I have a speaker;

Themes (yep, just like Windows themes);

Zooming during video (or using the still camera);

(sound recording, too, during video);

Record conversations;

Speaker phone;

AND...EVERYTHING you need comes in the package (every cable...handsfree, PC connector, car charger, etc.);

Sound recorder;

Song lookup (just record several seconds of a song and play it back in Song Search mode and it will tell you the title and author of the song);

AND, unlike Motorola shit, ALL the complete software is free !

So, pay hundreds of dollars for your iCrap. I'll keep this sweet thing.

(I've probably forgotten stuff, too)

[Ska]

Slynky, what carrier is that phone for? Or is it unlocked?

[Slynky]

Originally Posted by Ska

Slynky, what carrier is that phone for? Or is it unlocked?

It's AT&T. I suppose one could get it unlocked.

Amazon.com: Sony Ericsson W580i Black Phone (AT&T): Cell Phones & Service

[Slynky]

As I said, I forgot some things:

It has a fitness program...

YouTube - Sony Ericsson W580i W580 from AddictedToPhones.com

and of course, bluetooth.

Another video:

YouTube - Sony Ericsson W580i blinky lights

LOTS of themes:

YouTube - My W580i Walkman with all the modifications

Oh, and STANDARD... 512 MB of memory.

More lighting effects:

YouTube - WTF Lighteffects for black W580i ~ walkmanguru.com

[dkrift]

haters

[duckdog]

Originally Posted by dkrift

haters

[Slynky]

Originally Posted by Ska

Slynky, what carrier is that phone for? Or is it unlocked?

It can be unlocked.

[Slynky]

Originally Posted by dkrift

haters

[Nikon1]

Originally Posted by duckdog

^^ ^^