A $99 iPhone At Walmart? Good Idea (AAPL)
Apple is in the first stage of a smartphone platform land-grab against companies like Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIMM). So far, none of these companies have made a phone as good as the iPhone. But they're getting closer.
By the end of next year, there could easily be a smartphone running Google's Android software that's good enough for most people -- and priced at $99 or less.
So Apple wouldn't be foolish to lock up as many customers as it can now by making its market-leading gadget even more affordable.
In October, we made the case for a $99 iPhone by the middle of next year -- a simple $100 cut from today's models. But that was before the economy really went sour. So if Apple could cut costs a bit and offer a 4 GB iPhone for $99 sooner than next summer, as Boy Genius Report suggests, we think they should. (But not just at Walmart -- everywhere.)
Late last month, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster estimated that Apple could lower the iPhone's price by $150 in the next six months and keep its margins the same, due to cheaper component pricing. If Apple could lower the price by $100 in the next three months to boost market share in a platform race where market share matters, we think it's a smart move.
As Apple CEO Steve Jobs said on the company's last earnings call, "...I think we have to be the best and I think we have to not leave a price umbrella underneath us."
See Also:
Will Apple Sell A $99 iPhone Next Year? Yes
Should Apple Make More iPhone Games?
Another Apple iPhone Advantage: Mac Software Companies
Sony Ericsson: Xperia
Nokia: N 5800
HTC: Touch HD G1
Samsung: Omnia
Apple: iPhone 3G
Sorry.
Yes, there is. ATT's voice network is terrible.
Dumb pipe two will charge me to cancel a contract to change to dumb pipe one. (which doesn't work)
The iPhone is cool but...it's the network which limits their sales. If Apple had done a deal with multiple carriers, then their sales would be higher. But wait, they are being paid by AT&T as a subsidy so AT&T can get people on the network for recurring revenue. Even the business model is geared towards the network. Brilliant move by Apple actually.
For whatever reason many people are either unwilling or unable to switch to AT&T, and *that* will be the iPhone's real Achilles heel.
Where's the smugness of owning Apple products? There's an "IN" factor that one must consider.... when you allow EVERYONE to afford an iPhone, they lose their exclusiveness.
So good im assuming you are talking about user interface. Feature wise, the iphone is nothing better then a prepaid phone. It lacks most features found on a prepaid phone.
He's right. It's not just that it's AT&T, though. Also, the inflexibility of the plan, the requirement of two years' service, the high price, the difficulties of using the phone with non-Apple computers -- even if the phone were free, these issues exist.
The option to pay more for the device but with a more lenient contract would be appreciated by many. Also, freeing up the device so it's less locked... would be especially sweet if could have it on other networks. Something T-Mobile allows at least in some cases: they allow unlocking of their phones.