New Iphone i want one.

[Toine]

I was wondering, the new Iphone will cost 199 dollars, but is this with an contract? Or without one.

next question is, if you can buy one without contract for 199 dollar can anyone buy one for me over there and ship it to me?

[qviri]

With a contract. (And AT&T raised their contract price, too.)

[sco1984]

I was wondering, the new Iphone will cost 199 dollars, but is this with an contract? Or without one.

next question is, if you can buy one without contract for 199 dollar can anyone buy one for me over there and ship it to me?

Namaste !! from India...Me too

[Toine]

With a contract. (And AT&T raised their contract price, too.)

Okay, so you get an contract for like 40 bucks a month, AND you have to pay 199 dollars? That's way too expensive.

[j-dawg]

The best bit is that at $200, it'll drive prices of the old iPhone down quickly. I can buy one of those and jailbreak it for use with T-Mobile.

Needless to say, there will be no warranty to speak of, but the warranty has already expired on my old Nokia, so where's the fuss?

[t20user]

Ya, I want an unlocked older iPhone. WiFi is plenty for my remote surfing needs and I have been contract free for 2 years and I want to keep it that way.

[wearetheborg]

Okay, so you get an contract for like 40 bucks a month, AND you have to pay 199 dollars? That's way too expensive.

I believe the contract is for $70 a month(40 voice +30 data)

[qviri]

With a contract. (And AT&T raised their contract price, too.)

Okay, so you get an contract for like 40 bucks a month, AND you have to pay 199 dollars? That's way too expensive.

But the first iPhone was $600, so clearly this is a great deal

[NorrisCell]

The contract requirement has yet to be determined. With the old iPhone, buying one at an AT&T store would require a contract extension, regardless of how far you were into your current contract. However, you could go to an Apple store and buy one for the same price without any extension.

I'm sure the $199 price will be subsidized like a normal phone, with a retail around $350-400. I'm also sure this new version will be underwhelming and overhyped like the first one.

::puts on anti-flame suit::

[Toine]

The contract requirement has yet to be determined. With the old iPhone, buying one at an AT&T store would require a contract extension, regardless of how far you were into your current contract. However, you could go to an Apple store and buy one for the same price without any extension.

I'm sure the $199 price will be subsidized like a normal phone, with a retail around $350-400. I'm also sure this new version will be underwhelming and overhyped like the first one.

::puts on anti-flame suit::

Actually, the iphone over here isn't that populair. Very little people have one.

[mattbiernat]

Actually, the iphone over here isn't that popular. Very little people have one.

because it is extremely expansive.

[Toine]

Actually, the iphone over here isn't that popular. Very little people have one.

because it is extremely expansive.

Plus my HTC P3300 can do the same (i mean twice as much) for half the money. The iphone, and ipods too are so hyped it's not even funny. Ok they are nice, but WAY too expensive.

[NorrisCell]

Plus my HTC P3300 can do the same (i mean twice as much) for half the money. The iphone, and ipods too are so hyped it's not even funny. Ok they are nice, but WAY too expensive.

That's 80% of my beef with them. Aside from the marketing and double-touch screen, it doesn't do anything special. A good solid HTC device can outperform in every possible way except maybe "cool factor" which is subjective. I tend to feel that way about the ipod too.

The original iPhone, even after the price drop, wasn't worth it. $400 for a phone with the features it had was ridiculous. I like to think it didn't take off in other countries partially because they are aware of just how stupid it was to release a "flagship" phone that doesn't run on UMTS.

I REALLY dislike Apple and most of its products, as you can probably tell. That's why the it made me laugh when all the people that rushed out and stood in line for a mediocre phone got rewarded with a $200 price drop a couple months later.

I can't dispute that Apple has amazing brand loyalty, and excellent marketing. I can, and will, dispute that they have any truly superior or innovative products.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hnOCUkbix0

[j-dawg]

I can't dispute that Apple has amazing brand loyalty, and excellent marketing. I can, and will, dispute that they have any truly superior or innovative products.

I would disagree with you on that.

I think Apple makes good products in the sense that everything is well packaged. You are absolutely correct in that there is little technological innovation in Apple products, but sometimes too much technology is unappealing to a customer.

Yes, there are many cell phones that will do everything an iPhone will do, and cheaper. For the more tech-savvy users, these are a better alternative. But John Q. Public gets frustrated when he tries to do what the readers of thinkpads.com find easy. He wants something that "just works," and, say what you will, Apple products do, in my experience, "just work."

The reason Apple can do this so easily is because of its closed model: Apple products work with Apple products, and everything that runs on Apple products is approved by Apple. Yes, it's almost an unfair advantage over other companies. But I don't buy electronics based on who's got the moral high ground, I buy electronics based on what works best.

A long time ago I bought a Creative Zen Touch because it was $100 cheaper than an iPod and had 5GB more storage space. I made it work because I know a lot about computers. The average consumer would have been frustrated and traded it for an iPod a week later. A few years later I bought an iPod just because the iPod experience is more pleasant. The same goes for phones: sure, other phones may be cheaper and get the same stuff done, but the iPhone is easy and neat.

[NorrisCell]

I would disagree with you on that.

I think Apple makes good products in the sense that everything is well packaged. You are absolutely correct in that there is little technological innovation in Apple products, but sometimes too much technology is unappealing to a customer.

Yes, there are many cell phones that will do everything an iPhone will do, and cheaper. For the more tech-savvy users, these are a better alternative. But John Q. Public gets frustrated when he tries to do what the readers of thinkpads.com find easy. He wants something that "just works," and, say what you will, Apple products do, in my experience, "just work."

The reason Apple can do this so easily is because of its closed model: Apple products work with Apple products, and everything that runs on Apple products is approved by Apple. Yes, it's almost an unfair advantage over other companies. But I don't buy electronics based on who's got the moral high ground, I buy electronics based on what works best.

A long time ago I bought a Creative Zen Touch because it was $100 cheaper than an iPod and had 5GB more storage space. I made it work because I know a lot about computers. The average consumer would have been frustrated and traded it for an iPod a week later. A few years later I bought an iPod just because the iPod experience is more pleasant. The same goes for phones: sure, other phones may be cheaper and get the same stuff done, but the iPhone is easy and neat.

I don't think that simplicity denotes a superior product. And simplicity exists in other forms too, even in the phone world. Look at the HTC Touch. It came out before the iPhone, and is one of the most simple, yet full featured phones available.

I've sold cell phones for over four years now, and I have seen so many iPhone owners that bought it because it was "cool" come in complaining about how much of a pain it is to use. These are people from all walks of life. As if I didn't dislike the iPhone enough, the first (And subsequently last) text message I sent on one sealed the deal. If you're male and over 5'7"-ish, good luck working that keypad with your thumbs. Composing texts or emails on a handheld QWERTY isn't exactly lightning fast in the first place, but doing it in a tiny touch sensitive keypad takes the level of accuracy to a new low.

Simplicity is good, but releasing a hotly anticipated phone with sub-par features before slashing the price $200 isn't exactly what people were hoping for.

I understand what you're saying about buying your products from Apple, but I don't see that as an unfair advantage. If anything, I believe it is the exact opposite. Without the option of multiple sources, there is no competition. When there's no competition, there's no incentive to change prices.

For example, you compare a customized T61 to a Macbook Pro and find the price difference. Both with 2.5 C2D CPUs, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB HD, and similar peripherals, and you end up with a Thinkpad that costs roughly half what the Macbook does. The MBP does have a nicer graphics card, but a lot of the parts are the same, or from similar sources.

Once again, having worked in cell phone for years, most user problems are self-inflicted. I think the same is true to a point with computers. Having worked on PCs for friends, most errors I see come from someone downloading software they shouldn't. Is that the computer's fault? Such malware exists in hordes for PCs because they are the dominant force.

My point with the above is that a properly maintained PC will run without errors 98% of the time, so there's no justification to spend so much more money for something that "just works" when PCs can work just fine with proper education.

It's not my intention to turn this into another Mac vs PC debate. My ultimate point is that the iPhone is a product of marketing, not innovation, and has yet to revolutionize anything in the cellular world like it claimed to do.

[muscleflex]

i have an 8gig iphone. this new one does not appeal to me because of the changes they made to the back. it's plastic now and i'm not a fan of the color scheme.

apart from 3g...they've not really done much to it that's different to my iphone now.
so i think i'll stick with mine still. if i can get a brand new 16gig version of the old iphone, i might be tempted to buy that and pwn it... but definitely not the new ones. not for the moment anyway but i might change my mind later on.

[j-dawg]

I understand what you're saying about buying your products from Apple, but I don't see that as an unfair advantage. If anything, I believe it is the exact opposite. Without the option of multiple sources, there is no competition. When there's no competition, there's no incentive to change prices.

I don't think I was too clear about what I meant here, sorry. What I meant to say was that Apple has the "unfair" advantage of being able to design all its own bits for maximum workability instead of hoping that software and hardware from many companies will work together. So yes, there's no incentive to change prices, but they seem to have a product that people will buy at higher prices.

Once again, having worked in cell phone for years, most user problems are self-inflicted. I think the same is true to a point with computers. Having worked on PCs for friends, most errors I see come from someone downloading software they shouldn't. Is that the computer's fault? Such malware exists in hordes for PCs because they are the dominant force.

My point with the above is that a properly maintained PC will run without errors 98% of the time, so there's no justification to spend so much more money for something that "just works" when PCs can work just fine with proper education.

Right. This is my point. For you and me, a non-Apple product is superior because we know how to make it work. It's cheaper and just as effective, if not more so. But most people don't want to get the "proper education" to which you refer. Whenever I tell people, "You can get a PC to do the same thing, you just have to do this and then this," they grumble and say, "I wish it just did it." A Mac is frustrating to you and me because we want to do more with our technology. For most people, basic, intuitive functionality is a more desirable quality. That's why Apple products sell, and why I believe they have a "good" product lineup.

It's not my intention to turn this into another Mac vs PC debate. My ultimate point is that the iPhone is a product of marketing, not innovation, and has yet to revolutionize anything in the cellular world like it claimed to do.

I agree with you, except that I would say: marketing and packaging.

[NorrisCell]

I don't think I was too clear about what I meant here, sorry. What I meant to say was that Apple has the "unfair" advantage of being able to design all its own bits for maximum workability instead of hoping that software and hardware from many companies will work together. So yes, there's no incentive to change prices, but they seem to have a product that people will buy at higher prices.

That is very true. The compatibility when all parts come from one source is very friendly to the average user.

Right. This is my point. For you and me, a non-Apple product is superior because we know how to make it work. It's cheaper and just as effective, if not more so. But most people don't want to get the "proper education" to which you refer. Whenever I tell people, "You can get a PC to do the same thing, you just have to do this and then this," they grumble and say, "I wish it just did it." A Mac is frustrating to you and me because we want to do more with our technology. For most people, basic, intuitive functionality is a more desirable quality. That's why Apple products sell, and why I believe they have a "good" product lineup.

I agree with this as well. My issue is that people can't be bothered to take the time to learn anything outside of their comfort zone, and badmouth the products as a result. There is nothing wrong with catering to these people as Apple has done, but if an idiot says a product is bad, how much merit does it have? (Not saying Mac people are idiots, just making an example of people who badmouth without a good reason) I cannot count the number of times I've had someone enter the store, claiming that their phone is a piece of junk and not working, only to realize they let it die and need to turn it back on after charging it. It's not the manufacturer's fault, but I'm sure that person has already told as many people as will hear him that (Nokia/Motorola/Samsung) phones are garbage and not to buy them. I get very tired of people who can't help themselves and choose to bash the product, not their own inadequacies.

The problem doesn't lie with Apple, but more so with some of it's users. Not all.

[j-dawg]

The problem doesn't lie with Apple, but more so with some of it's users. Not all.

Heh, this is also a large part of why I avoid Apple products. I try not to worry about what other people think, but the Mac guy from the I'm-a-PC-I'm-a-Mac commercials irks me.

[NorrisCell]

Same here. I don't think I would have such a beef with Mac users if so many of them didn't feel the need to explain why their Macs are superior. I often feel like they have something to prove, but they always bring up arbitrary reasons. I think PCs are better, but I don't go around blasting every Mac user I find.

[dsigma6]

Apparently this time around there will be no unsubsidized price. You pay $200 (if you're eligible for an upgrade), and have to activate at the store or within 30 days.

If you want, you can buy the phone for $200 with a new contract, pay the ETF, and sell it on eBay for boo-koo bucks.

I'll be holding onto my "1st gen" since ATT 3G doesn't work with T-Mobile and I don't need GPS on here...and I'd prefer my metal backed iPhone to a plastic one...ugh...