Only Apple Could Sell a $3000 Phone
There’s a nice little article on Tom’s Hardware here about the cost of the iPhone. Here’s a quotation:
Let’s put this in perspective: When you factor in the full price of an iPhone and $100 monthly service, you can buy the hot new Dell M1330 XPS Laptop with almost all of the toys (LED backlit screen, RAM Drive, Hot Red Color, high end graphics, extended warranty) and still have enough money left over to buy a large screen TV for what you are going to shell out over the next two years for an iPhone.
We shouldn’t be surprised, since Apple has a long history of charging inflated prices for their hardware. Their computer prices are much more in tune with reality than they used to be, but it’s been clear for awhile that computers aren’t really their focus any longer.
Posted: June 28th, 2007 under Uncategorized.
Comments
Comment from Adam
Time July 4, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Personally I don’t have a cell phone at all and I think that it’s idiotic to pay as much as people do for them. OTOH I think the same thing about SUVs, cable TV, plasma TVs, etc. etc.
There are plenty of other swipes being taken at the iPhone for reasons other than its costs, but I haven’t paid much attention since I’m not shopping for a cell phone. I honestly don’t know how it compares to other phones. IMHO the worst thing about it is its lack of a user-replaceable battery. That’s a serious transgression from an environmental standpoint, not to mention terribly inconvenient to the user.
Comment from Dan
Time July 4, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Sorry - I was kinda grumpy when I wrote that. Nonetheless, I think this guy actually made a point opposite from the one that he intended: especially when phones require data services (iPhone, blackberry, Treo etc.), the cost of the hardware is only a small fraction of the cost of a 2-year contract. From that perspective, a few hundred bucks one way or the other on the hardware doesn’t matter so much. I understand the issue about a non-replaceable battery, but on the other hand I’ve never had to replace the battery in any of my phones or iPods (though Jean’s iPod definitely needs a new battery). I think the thing there is that by making it non-replaceable, they can make the device thinner and lighter. The replacement cost (something like $80?) doesn’t seem that bad, as long as it doesn’t have to happen soon; the Garmin GPS I just bought also has a “non-replaceable” battery, and their only quote on replacing the battery at the factory is a full repair at about $300.
As it happens, I got to play with an iPhone today for the first time, at a 4th of July party. It truly is beautiful, far and beyond better than any other handheld computer I’ve ever played with. It’s smaller than it would seem to be from looking at photos on the net. The screen is beautiful (and this was looking at it while sitting at a picnic table by the pool). The user interaction is very satisfying; flipping through lists of contacts or songs is one of the main things it does, and the ballistics of the scrolling is both good eye-candy and good UI. Flip fast, and it moves quickly at first, then slows down and stops; flip slowly and it moves more slowly, etc. The “cover flow” UI for music is gorgeous as well.
I won’t be buying one soon, though. AT&T is a deal-breaker for me, in this area; I had their service when I moved down from the Bay Area, and got out of it as soon as the contract expired. Coverage just isn’t as good as Verizon, here in SB; I couldn’t reliably make calls from my house. I also wish the iPhone supported voice commands, but I imagine that may come with time; my current little flip-phone does very good speaker-independent voice commands, and I use them almost to the exclusion of the rest of its interface. Of course, that may have to do with the fact that the interface is so clumsy…
Comment from Dan
Time July 4, 2007 at 6:49 pm
I clearly need to go into business as an analyst, since this guy is an idiot and apparently makes his living from it. Perhaps he hasn’t heard of what data plans cost for other mobile devices? I looked into a Treo, briefly, and it would have been $80/mo at minimum - 33% more than the basic iPhone plan, which matches my current cell plan but adds unlimited web/email. The price of the iPhone isn’t out of line with other premium phones. There’s always someone out there willing to take undeserved swipes at something new and good, especially if it comes out of Cupertino, but it’s kind of sad when people actually pay them for it. Any of the businesses this guy provides “advice” to should look out.