Symbian in Motion

Weeding Through the Spin; iPhone 3G is NOT Cheaper

by Zach at 6:56 pm | June 09th, 2008 | Category: Tangents

People please - put your thinking caps on for just a moment. Today’s Apple event has taken the internet by storm as we all knew it would. The new iPhone 3G that will be made available on July 11th looks like a fantastic device and while I’m not overly excited about seeing by HSDPA speeds cut in half once the new iPhone floods the market in my area, I am looking forward to picking one up to play with.

If we can all take a step back for a moment however, I’m not happy with all of the praise Apple and AT&T are receiving for the “price drop”. Yes, a shiny new iPhone 3G can be yours for $200 (8GB model) with a two-year contract. Apple has also been very straightforward with the fact that AT&T will require a $30/month data plan with the new iPhone 3G. So how exactly is the new iPhone “half the price”?

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Viewing 16 Comments

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    It's all somewhat relative, but if you do the math, you actually end up paying $40 MORE for the 3G iPhone at the end of your 2 years.

    What's funny about all of it is if you sign up for the most bare bones iPhone plan with the 3G 8gb and unlimited data, you'll end up paying $1880, but for that same $40 more, you can spend $1920 for the most bare bones individual plan with unlimited data with an N95-4.

    Aside from the $40, the N95-4 also isn't subsidized like the 3G iPhone will be.
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    Cheaper than what? It sure is cheaper than Nokia.
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    LOL an other cheap trick from Apple. I really don't know why there is all this hype is around the iPhone. The ONLY thing that it has that other devices are not up to par with is the smooth touch navigation. That is all, in ALL other areas it limps behind. It's Apple, but dose that fact automatically make it good? NO IT DOSE NOT! WAKE UP PEOPLE! I used to view Apple as the user friendly alternative to Microsoft, but since a few years now Apple has become a flashy and shiny version of Microsoft. The user friendliness the open view of things has completely disappeared and it's all about binding consumers to their product, just like Microsoft.
    I mean come on, iTunes? - the only program that iProducts work with is hardly the best media program around to say the least. Use anything other and there is chaos. Isn't this against fair trade laws? If I buy a device that is advertised as an all knowing data storing and transfer device, why am I made to use one specific program with it? Why am I not allowed to transfer files, audio and video to other computers, even if they are legal, and are made by me for example?
    I have Apple freak friends, who are all over IProducts, and they are spending a bunch of money on them. And then I go over to my friends house and all he dose is complain that this and that doesn't work on his iBook or iPod, and that his files are screwd up, and this goes on and on... And then I ask why i? - "Oh it's so cool and look at the smooth transitions and the animation, it moves an spins and oh wow it's soooo cool" - And then I ask - "Right click? where is the right click?" - Oh there is no right click...
    And that sums it up for me I think "There's no right click!" - The perfect analogy of IProducts, flashy and shiny and looking oh so good at first but when you look at it up close the functionality is not there... there is always a big nasty worm in that Apple.
    Getting back to the iPhone.
    Great wow it has 3G now, aaaand? Most other devices had that for ages, also they had copy-paste, they had MMS, and most importantly they had simple third party software implementation. So what are you at Apple raving about?
    This "price drop" thing is an other very good example that Apple hasn't brought anything new under the sun. All operators have special plans like this on all phones, some phones only cost a dollar, but you have to sign for 2 years, so there's nothing new here AGAIN!

    So to some it all up:

    I CALL BULLSHIT APPLE!
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    While there is not actual right click button, it's easily remedied with two finger touch and command button. it's a different approach from a windows and linux environment, but one takes a few minutes to get used to - not a big deal. I'm no Apple fanboy, but credit is due where it is deserved, in this case Apple's court. All manufacturers do the same thing, upgrade a device with more features which the initial one doesn't have, the difference between Nokia's strategy is Apple's is that, Apple can add features via the firmware, but Nokia is reluctant to, they keep releasing different FP, which doesn't bode well for new customers who just bought a FP1 device.
    The iPhone was missing 3G and GPS to make it a great device. Take the firmware difference on the N95 for example, how different is the device from the original firmware and the latest? Nokia didn't get the N95 right the first time did it? And look at how many variants it has now? There is (was) only iPhone, updates can easily be fixed via updates on it, making it more appealing to a worldwide audience in one sweep of firmware upgrade.
    Most other devices might have had 3G and GPS for ages, but did they have it encased in a shiny sexy shell with a great UI ad awesome web experience?
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    I agree there is some good stuff coming out of Apple's direction, the UI is great, hats off to them. But they are hyping stuff that already exits like it's their own. I'm not a fan of Microsoft, but win mobile had waaay more to offer then the iPhone software for years now, and if you get an HTC device you have touchflow. Also you've got to remember that you don't get an iPhone 3G with a software upgrade, you have to buy a whole new iPhone!

    At the end of the day I think the answer will be ANDROID. I sure as hell gonna buy a device that has it. Open source is the best, I'm all for it. I truly believe that Google and Android will eat the market alive. Hard core Apple fanboys and girls will never switch, but since it will run on a whole bunch of devices including Nokia, it will be an overwhelming force.
    Untill then I'll stay with Nokia or a win mobile device.
    Since I work at a TV company that will sell iPhones I'll probably get one handed to me, but I'll probably be using it as a paper weight or a doorstop or a nutcracker ;)

    ps: I might end up liking the iPhone, I'm gonna stay open minded...
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    Agree you have to buy a new iPhone for the 3G and GPS, but that's what the potential buyers were waiting for. you have to keep in mind, Apple are hyping stuff up to sell them, they are a business. It's credit to their PR teams that when they do offer a device (as mediocre as it may seem) they let the world know. It's good business. Other's should learn from them.
    On Windows Mobile, they've been making handsets and OS for a while now, and yet they still are nowhere near the ease of use on the iPhone. The key here is to make the device appeal to the masses, something Apple does with ease.
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    Totally agreeing with you on the PR team credit, they could probably sell ice to eskimos. It's a shame that people are mislead.

    I still say that ANDROID will kick all asses mentioned above :D
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    You know i was actually exited when i heard that a 3G iphone was coming whats even more i actually started saving up for one and when i heard rumors about it floating a 5mp or even a 3mp auto focus cam i was so defenet to buy it, i mean its ui is really like no other; i used my friends the other day and somehow just in using it you totally forget about its shortcoming....i was just so blown away with moving around pictures with my fingers, it really did feel like something else, but the new 3G iphone doesn't really seem like a upgrade to me, i mean ok you have gps now but theres a addon GPS for the original iphone and new firmware is great but that can easily be upgraded on the original i somehow get the feeling that i'm gonna get ripped off when i get one now cause what about the people who waited in line day and spent so much to get the original one would it have been so hard for apple to put 3g on the origianl? i seems like a marketing gimmick to me apples knew their product would sell like hot cakes because of all the hype they created so they exploited costumers and than it seems to me they did the same with the 3g iphone, all that hype that the iphone was finally gonna be complete but ended up just getting minor addons, i kinda disapointed...
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    Hey it's good to see people waking up, and clearing the haze that Apple has put upon them. Zylam, if you don't already have a stack of Apple products, just take that money you saved up and buy nice HTC device. They have touchfolw that is almost the same as the iPhone's. I have to note that it's not up to par yet, but I believe that it will be soon (upgrades in firmware will be available). And if you don't mind waiting, Nokia is working hard on their touch UI.

    Don't get fooled that Apple is full of worms! ;)
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    In all honesty I don't see anyone getting close to the touch UI on the iPhone. I played with the touchflo on the HTC Diamond, and it's nowhere near as good.
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    Agreed. There are plenty of things that the iPhone *was* missing but in
    terms of UI appearance, design and intuitiveness, no other device I've used
    comes close.
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    Those Chinese are hard at work my friend :) I'm roaming these wholesale sites searching for products, and it's amazing what they have there. True most of them are not really good quality, but some like CECT is coming up hard. Give them a few years, and you'll see Chinese brand phones everywhere. Yeah the touchflo is not up to par yet, but the all other parts of HTC products are just very sound. When it comes devices like this I go for ease of use, comatibility, and something I can rely on. I really don't see the iPhone lasting. The hype is gonna die down, as you can see in Europe (where I live) it wasn't as big to start with, and you'll see the competitors coming out with better UIs. And then comes Google and Android and this iPhone will be history. It is an innovation, and Apple deserves credit for it, but you can only blow a bubble so full of hot air till it bursts. We'll have to see if Mr. Jobs has some more aces up his sleeve. I know one thing for certain he loves money like no other and sure as hell he won't be giving away iPhones for free, but that's what Google is gonna do. So you are the consumer, what do you do? Get an iPhone for tonnes of money or get an Android phone that has an even better OPEN SOURCE UI for FREE? Hmmm... I've been in media for the most of my adult life and my prediction is consumers go for free stuff. Sure they will have to swallow some advertisement, but they'll do it gladly to get great phone for free. And it won't be long probably day after it comes out, that the Eastern Europeans will hack it so you don't even have to put up with the ads. And there, everything will be nice and dandy, until Google turns evil and turns us into it's slaves... Happy Times :D
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    There's no question that HTC is becoming a force to be reckoned with. Its
    recent and forthcoming handsets are - simply put - phenomenal. HTC's one
    downfall in my opinion, is Windows Mobile.

    Now I'm not one of those Windows Mobile-hating Nokia fanboys that pop up
    everywhere. There are aspects of Windows Mobile that I think are great in
    fact. The problem is that the OS, even 6.1, has fallen behind - visually and
    in some respects functionally.

    I cannot wait... Let me stress that... CANNOT WAIT to see what Android
    brings to the table for HTC. There, I said it. :)
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    It's good to see you Zach finally joining the conversation. Android is not just for HTC!
    Motorola, Samsung, LG, and yes Nokia will also support Android, just to name a few :)
    I'm really exited about this, most of about the fact that it's open source
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    You know its really a shame that apple played their game to squeeze out as much profit as they could from their iphone, weighter its the new 3g one or the original to me their the same, i mean making operators advertise for a product they made, i have to say thats pretty cheap whats more so i looked so forword to the new iphone, i'm kinda heart broken but not cause i'm not getting one but a good friend of mine is a huge apple ipod fan and a few months ago he bought the iphone at pretty high price but he said it was worth it cause its ui was just amazing, but one of his friends told him that there was a new 3g iphone thats gonna be revamped and is coming he got so excited that literately 2 days later he called me and said i've given my iphone to a family member and i'm so gonna get the revamped one, and what do apple do, nothing.....all hype and no game, i called him up and hes like you know screw the iphone its a waste of money, hes so sad and angry that hes like i'm just gonna lye low on phones for a year......get job apple you riped of a true fan, other brands may not have such an amazing ui as the iphone but atleast they don't exploit the customers with what they have, i mean was thinking of just getting a 4gb nano cause i really hate the quality of my n95's audio but apple, nah man nomore......later guys
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    nice post

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