savramesh 37 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 The Hindu Wednesday, Jun 10, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc. has slashed the entry price for its much talked about iPhone by half and lowered the prices of some laptops by as much as $300, the company’s first dramatic price cuts since the recession began a year and a half ago. With its legendary founder and CEO Steve Jobs absent until his medical leave is over at the end of June, Apple’s biggest unveiling at its annual conference here for software developers on Monday night was a brand new model of the iPhone, the 3G S. It looks the same but sports a faster processor, longer battery life, an internal compass, a video camera and a photo camera with better resolution and auto-focus. A 16-gigabyte version of the 3G S will cost $199 and a 32-gigabyte version $299. The 8-gigabyte iPhone 3G, which came out last year amid great fanfare worldwide, will now cost $99, down from $199. When the iPhone made its debut two years ago, eager Apple fans had to shell out $499 for a 4-gigabyte version and $599 for 8 gigs. Apple is known for ending events with a last-minute surprise, leading to some anticipation that Jobs might make a cameo at Monday’s two-hour presentation. But he did not take the stage and Apple’s top marketing executive Philip Schiller exited without uttering the company’s signature line that there would be “one more thing”. The latest iPhones go on sale on June 19, just as Apple faces tougher competition from the likes of Research in Motion, the makers of Blackberry, and Palm Inc. This past Saturday Palm came out with a well-regarded iPhone rival, the $200 “Pre”. Industry analyst Michael Gartenberg said the new iPhone pricing breaks through an important barrier for consumers. It is likely to cause other smart phone makers to offer something similar, he said. “Every $100 you move down in consumer electronics brings in a lot more customers,” he said. “Ninety-nine dollars is a psychological price point, so that’s a real barrier to move through. It becomes something people can afford — it becomes an affordable luxury.” Schiller said in an interview that the $99 iPhone would reach people just joining the smart phone market. But lowering the price could be risky for Apple unless its new versions have enough appealing features to keep them selling briskly at higher prices. Apple had already announced other new features in the new software — such as the ability to cut, copy and paste text — and the ability for “tethering,” which means using the iPhone to connect a computer to the Internet. - AP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pasumark 51 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 Will the price be cut in India also? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dkaile 1,051 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 Now thats very interesting news. I hope they are selling unlocked sets for the prices quoted above. And with the new software with cut and paste, bluetooth sorted out etc. etc. it could just become the ideal phone.... maybe even better than Pre at this price.... also Android phones have failed to create any stir in the market.... so this could be the best bet... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FEVIN-RAJ 61 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 mmm Thats a rocking news ... here in india, these GSM operators will double the price ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raju_a 31 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 Hi!! The price is with a 2 year contract and if u calculate, the price would not have reduced much. But yes the features have improved. raj Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mufaddal 678 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 yes $99 is for locked phones with 2 yr contract at&t sells unlocked iphone for around 500 usd and i think so this price cut might be even reflected on indian markets ..vodafone and airtel might slash the cost of iphone by a few thousands ( hopefully ) btw i m no much happy for iphone 3gs ...apple is giving few upgrades every year to its iphone... still no video calling no hardware qwerty No Multitasking Background apps Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kshah 452 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 Formerly it was USD 199 and they charge USD 20 per month for data too. All bull***t and non sense. They do not reduce prices. May have dropped 50 bucks nothing more than that. Memory prices are going downwards, so obviously they can reduce thats much. I have used iphone of my sister for few days, its a good multimedia phone. Thats all. Nothing more than that. Very well designed OS. But not meant for serious business use / even serious fun user who would like to exploit device fully. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mufaddal 678 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 came to know from a reliable source that iphone 3gs will be launched in india in first week of aug or in end of july rumoured price is 31k for 16gb and 36k for 32gb at the most prices may vary by 1.5-2k . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
savramesh 37 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 ^^^ 10k / 15k handset they are selling for 30k / 35k.. i have a doubt, if we import it then can we use it in our gsm network? if so browsing possible using gprs ? the 8GB 3G iphone is only 99$ now ie approx 5k. they says "every pocket should have one" may be sadikk bhai will have some solution for indians to have it for this price Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shashank 8 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 ^^ Why don't u guys understand that $199 and $299 are the prices with contract. Which means they will have to pay Rs.10,000 initially and ~Rs.3000 every month for 2 years!!! Same thing goes for iPhone 8GB also..its price is not $99!! This model will cost ~20k in india... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
savramesh 37 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 ^^^ thanks for correcting.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mufaddal 678 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 ^^ Why don't u guys understand that $199 and $299 are the prices with contract. Which means they will have to pay Rs.10,000 initially and ~Rs.3000 every month for 2 years!!!Same thing goes for iPhone 8GB also..its price is not $99!! This model will cost ~20k in india... firstly iphone is a quadband gsm phone so it will work worldwide no matter where u buy it from secondly iphones can be unlocked anytime for free , thanks to dev team now most imp part iphone will never come for 5k ... as said 99$ is for contract based iphone . this is a common misunderstanding that i m seeing since last yr , even last yr people were just converting 199$ to inr and saying that iphone 3G will be priced at 10k people need to understand in US they have contract system , and iphone without contract sells for around 500 usd officially by AT&T . also remember one thing that the brand is apple , they always charge good premium for their products ( imac ,ipods ,iphone) u will never get an iphone for 5/10k thats the bottomline whether u import it or u buy it from here. only thing selling for 10k i remember were refurbished iphone 2G ( at&t was selling them for 199$ -250$ last yr ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pasumark 51 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 Why dont they introduce contract system in India? They can initially give this to high value customers, customers having credit card and corporate. Also to long term customers who have been in their network for more than 3 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
savramesh 37 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 this is a common misunderstanding that i m seeing since last yr i wonder why didnt i realize - "how is it possible to get an iphone 3g 8gb 2mp touch for 5k" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shashank 8 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 Indians don't like contract system...it leads to big time headache for both consumers and operators.. Are u willing to pay Rs.3000 every month for 2yrs???? We blindly cannot say that when americans pay 3k why can't we pay...it depends a lot on purchasing power. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
savramesh 37 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 ^^^ 3k per month for 2 years totals to 72,000.. either EMI or total months should be less.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mufaddal 678 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 3000 rs was a reference to 50-60$ bill which an american citizen would get in usa u get phones on contract , their call charges and sms charges are much higher than ours , out there even an average user has to shell out more than 30$ in phone bills coz incoming calls and sms are not free there . the situation is completely different here , the charges are less and also average mnthy bill is much lesser , so dont calculate that u have to pay 3k/mnth for 2 yrs on at&t i think there are two plans which have to be selected by the user to get iphone , the contract is for 2 yrs and they have to stay on those plans for 2yrs unless they are due for some upgrades or benfits , plus an iphone user has to pay 20$ extra if they want unlimited data .if they want to terminate the contract they have to pay termination fee which for iphone was around 170usd . the situation is different in india , most companies wont offer phones on contarct as recovery in india is much more difficult if the customer fails to be on contract . so u will never have contract system here in india . btw if u calculate on contract system u end up paying more than what u pay when u get phone without contract also in contract systemu just cant choose any plans , u have limited choices and u have to select specified plans only to get the phones Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mufaddal 678 Report post Posted June 10, 2009 check this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kshah 452 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 Indians don't like contract system...it leads to big time headache for both consumers and operators..Are u willing to pay Rs.3000 every month for 2yrs???? We blindly cannot say that when americans pay 3k why can't we pay...it depends a lot on purchasing power. Its not only about buying power, it is also about how society has been using services. I phone is successful only in US because of two reasons: 1. US openness to accept new innovative technology, even if it do not meet certain basic functionality criteria. Not only Iphone, there has been man other product which go successful in US. I give you one example of Indian product http://solsons.com/ this guy makes some of most innovative handtools in world. All are patented and superb innovation. I have met his director long back. He said in US there were long QUEUE out side store before TV program was over. It was about "POPspanner" 2. Implementation of legal system, where Most US citizen can not escape from contract terms and conditions. Same applies to companies. Hence they can have long term contracts. In India reliance tried to tie customers in 3 year contract when they launched services, but utterly failed. 3. Unawareness about convinience of unlocked, freely changeable handsets, hence they do not mind remaining tied to one handset for 2 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greatest 55 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 ^^^ very good explanation... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KumaarShah 143 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 (edited) I feel that a contract system can do well here in India because the tariffs are far too low than in India and it may not be more than 1 to 1.5k per month which many will consider reasonable enough. Secondly, people here on RW are forgetting that RCOM (except kshah) started with the contract system (aka DAPO) and by no means it was considered unreasonable at around Rs 20+k.... for the very basic (as compared to today's mobiles) LG and Samsung mobiles.... Probably RCOM should tie up with Apple Iphone and get it on a very reasonable contract basis here in India also. Or maybe TATA or Voda or Airtel will be doing it...Lets wait and watch.... July is not too far off..... Edited June 11, 2009 by KumaarShah Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mufaddal 678 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 Probably RCOM should tie up with Apple Iphone and get it on a reasonable contract basis here in India also. Or maybe TATA or Voda or Airtel will be doing it...Lets wait and watch.... July is not too far off..... no matter how many july's passby iphone or for that matter any high end phone will never be available on contract in india , irrespective of operator in india no one wants to be tied up for 2yrs with same handset . and not to forget we have prepaid users in majority over postpaid Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dkaile 1,051 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 (edited) Check out all new features of the iphone 3g A$$ at - http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3g-s/ and I really donno what u people are talking about... its a revolutionary product which has just got better... Edited June 11, 2009 by dkaile Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KumaarShah 143 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 ^^^ I too agree with you... @doc, people may change their mentality of not getting tied up for 2 years to any operator only if the contract is reasonable and not otherwise... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manishag 17 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 in India customers are not willing to get stuck with particular operator. I saw so many good bundled offers from operators like HUTCH get 18k local H2H minutes(500 minutes free per month and unused minutes can be carry forwarded) free along with 3 years valdity and color sagem handset. but it didn't get that success because you will get stuck for 3 years. in india people have enough time to go and check out the things. major market is of prepaid. many people are carrying more then 1 sim. one SIM because no is old and they can't change and another SIM for calls because it has free minutes or other schemes. because as a customer you will get good scheme if you purchase new SIM. for old customers good schemes are not there. if you purchase new SIM you will get 1-2 year validity with 6 month local/STD tariff with almost full talktime for around 50-75. but in case of US market people don't have time. there people prefer purchasing postpaid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
