What is Digg?80 Comments
- BrentSpore, on 10/12/2007, -8/+34What! DEREK got an iPhone! He must be one of those friggin time-warp superheros or something. "Blink... Squint... Where's my sword?"
- nixonrichard, on 10/12/2007, -1/+22You forgot fees and taxes:
$40/month (service)
$3/month (local tax)
$2/month (state tax)
$1.50/month (FCC regulatory compliance fee . . . this ***** should be included in the $40/month)
$3.50/month (E911 service fee)
$2.00/month (because we don't have a land line to tax if you use a cell phone)
=$52.00/month - thefirelane, on 10/12/2007, -6/+26I always find cynicism like this fascinating, because it says more about the times we live in than anything else…
Think about electronics, and all that goes into them.. the refining of the raw materials into components, the creation of the resistors and capacitors. The manufacturing of the PCBs, the creation of LCD components, the plastics. All the amazing engineering that must be performed at all levels, then the testing.
I’m consistently amazed by the technology we are able to purchase without thinking much about it… It amazes me we can purchase it at any price at all
The cell phone example you cite is the same. Think about all the towers, the network, the infrastructure that is required to handle all the data… then on top of it, they keep all this going and actually *make* money
$1000 doesn’t sound like ‘too much’ over 2 years… sometimes I’m amazed we can do it at all - thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20@timogg
You don't have to sign up for iTunes.
I use their software (iTunes) for music management as it's one of the best ones out there. You only get DRM if you buy songs through iTunes and there's even non-official official how-to's on removing said drm.
Also, I have two iPods in my house. I have a mini(before they were obsolete) and my wife has a Video iPod. Bought them both refurbished on apple's website for $50-100 less than new. However, they still come with a 1 year warranty and I can get an extended one on top of that.
Sounds like good hardware to me if you can even get warranty on REPAIRED items. - sych0, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18You guys realize that ALL CELLPHONES HAVE CONTRACTS right? (no, I'm not counting pre-paid/pay as you go.) It's not just the iphone, so stop with the red herring ***** about the "iphone contract." I can get a ***** phone and still pay $960 in service over two years.
- enclaved, on 10/12/2007, -5/+18"I will never buy a iAnything
Not a fan of the expensive rubbish that is less functional than other models at a lower price.
Eg I got a creative Vision M 30GB. Is really good in every way and about £100 cheaper than the equivalent apple and with a better screen and no DRM and no having to sign up to iTunes."
Normally I'm not one to bother spouting off the reasons why I am in love with Apple around here, but your comment is indicitive of a much larger problem. Cluelessness. You are clueless. It's not just you, you are not the only idiot who thinks fairplay on an ipod is magically different compared to Plays4Sure on your vision. The fact that you think you have 'no drm' really shows us that's not all you're missing.
Contrary to your story, 2 years ago I purchased a 5 gig creative zen or something for 179, I thought it sucked so much I went out and bought a 2gig nano for 199. So you can pretend you're cool for spending less and getting more, but what does it say about creative when people are willing to spend more for what you perceive as 'less'?
What does it say about creative when their users are idiots who think they are drm free and that 'signing' up for itunes is required to use an ipod?
What does it say about you when your choices were based on faulty information?
You may not be a fan of 'expensive rubbish' but at least I knew what I was doing when I spent my money. - thepylongenius, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Steve Jobs already said back when the iPhone was first announced that the $499 and $599 prices were after a two year contract rebate with Cingular. So yes, you will be getting $150 off the price, but you will still be paying $499 and $599.
- Pliep, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9This is a clipping of a receipt, where is the context?
- thefirelane, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Furthermore:
"The phone hasn't changed much in 10 years. It has shrunk by 25% of its size and has earned us an extra $20/month "
$20 over 10 years... you have heard of inflation right?
Also, the phone hasn't changed much? That might be due to the fact that its basic functionality is pretty much defined. However, much of the fees has gone into upgrading and improving the network to deal with increased capacity and range
Also, 10 years ago did we have:
- GPS
- MP3 players in cell phones
- web browsing
- 802.11
- VOIP
- Java
- Games
- 2MP Cameras
- Video
The answer is No… but to you, all these frankly remarkable technological advancements are dismissed as “not much”. - Quadcore, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@abhiroop, that's what's Digg for, and that's what's the whole Digg/Burry system is based on, nothing wrong with it.
- jonahan52, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Did anyone else find it funny that when you click on the pic to get the full reciept. It's from a store in Redmond, WA.
- nitrusoxyde, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Cingular offers a $150-$200 discount on all new activations and upgrades already - this isn't surprising.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Tehjre are also a lot of people who have no problems paying a lot of money who still have NO desire to have an iPhone. Most people actually. No one is talking about the iPhone except hte Apple fanboy sites. IT is NOT going to be the next iod. More like the next iPod HiFi.
- EtherGnat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Well, let's start with the Samsung SCH-i730 which is available for $100 w/ a two year contract from Verizon, and add on a 4GB SD card (I just saw one for $40). It's got 3G, wi-fi, physical keyboard/keypad/hotkeys (plus a number of on-screen keyboards you can use if you prefer), a removable battery (and the phone comes with a free second battery), memory card slot, web browser (with some great third party alternatives), slide to answer/end call/unlock, infrared, bluetooth, Remote Desktop capabilities, mobile office applications like Word and Excel, the ability to act as a computer modem via USB/Bluetooth, full Exchange connectivity with wireless sync for contacts/calendar/tasks/e-mail, a stylus*, and support for tens of thousands of third party apps.
My phone allowed me to stream crystal clear live TV from my home DVR yesterday when I was at a basketball game (nothing like personal instant replays). I can make VOIP calls using SKYPE. I've got the TomTom app for GPS. I've got a ***** load of games (many of them free). I use my phone as a universal remote application to control all my home electronics. I've got lots of third party codecs to play all my media files. I've got a multi-protocol IM application.
The iPhone will probably be a good phone with a great interface and some unique features, but stop acting like there are no other phones in its league.
* yes, a stylus is an advantage. Try sketching a drawing to e-mail with your finger, or using your phone when you're wearing gloves. - isdereks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4That particular store almost assumes you're with Microsoft citing immediate hardware discounts.
- LowRentDiggs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"I don't think the iPhone is a ripoff, I think it's got a high price for a reason."
I agree. I won't get one because I sit at a computer all day and don't need it but it is a very nice phone. I have a T-mobile prepaid phone and used about 400 minutes last year. If I was on the move a lot I would definitely get an iPhone. - Scott2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4come on, all that means is that the iPhone would cost 649 or 749 before 2 year contract.
common sense, people . . . - Metlprocker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Actually I believe the announced $599 price tag is WITH a 2yr contract, the phone would sell for $649 without it and thats what his receipt is saying. Save $150 by getting the 2yr contract.
- lonelycanuck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3We a pay a premium for having the luxury of saying with have the "IT" thing of the moment. Otherwise by your logic, an iPod would cost as much as a iRiver or Nomad etc. etc.
- michaelb1, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6For those of you concerned about the price of an iPhone here's how you can get one for free.
Actually every other iPhone customer will buy it for you.
1) buy $500 of Apple stock currently trading around $87/share
2) sell Apple stock 3 months after iPhone release at $175/share adjusted for split
3) buy iPhone with $500+ profit. - lambda, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4If you look up the profit margin of Cingular, it's between about 7 and 8%. So if one spends about $960 per year on a plan, we can estimate that Cingular makes about $77 of profit per year, or about $6.5 per month on that individual.
- Frankie4Fingers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The problem with Apple is that they don't really know their own demographics.
They actually have more of a low level, entry computer user market rather then a developer or advanced computer user. I will probably get dugg down, but there are more old people and novice college students with apple hardware then anything.
It used to be print media places and artists used them, but that changed years ago, now the print places and artists have both computer types.
As far as the iPhone, they definitely aren't going to get the business people to buy because we need exchange access, they aren't going to get the kid, unless he is rich, and they aren't going to get the college student looking for something with a good discount. What market are they really shooting for? It doesn't exactly replace the full sized iPod because of storage capacity. Hopefully they will come out with a full screen, touch version of the iPod video now. - Frankie4Fingers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeah, Apple is all about no competition. Notice how their hardware and software is overpriced, because there is no one that sells it other then them. Cingular and other carriers have tried to do it as well by making phones locked to one provider for years, but they have failed now and as long as the phone uses the same technology, most can be unlocked and used across carriers.
The consumer really needs to decide what happens. We should all just not buy an iPhone for about a month because of the ridiculous price and then they will lower it and put out incentives. Otherwise, they will just catch the early adopters and the people with tons of extra money buying anything at any price. - isdereks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Or as a commenter pointed out, people are just hungry for iPhone.
- Frankie4Fingers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I won't touch the Creative comment, but Creative devices do have features that iPods don't, such as FM radio and recording capabilities. These things would be easy to implement, I don't see why Apple doesn't add them.
Secondly, you didn't like your Treo because you didn't need it. If you used the device for half of what it is for, you would have found it useful. I use Windows Mobile devices, but I actually don't like the software much either... it is still essential. It does things the iPhone will never do.
Also, MacOS is nothing special... Windows and it are about the same now. Not much difference except for the price. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3They can charge $1 for the phone.. Cingular service will still suck compared to Verizon, TMobile or Sprint.
- EtherGnat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Steve Jobs has stated (although it could change) that the $500-600 is WITH a two year activation. Here's another difference--the iPhone will be available only from Apple Stores and Cingular stores, which will eliminate many discounts. Compare your prices with what's available from Amazon.com Cingular store right now:
Blackjack: -$25.01 (yes, you actually make money)
Blackberry 8800: $99.99
Blackberry Pearl: -$24.99
Grand total for all three through Cingular: $899.97
Grand total for all three through Amazon: $49.99
A little bit of competition is a good thing. - pasher1221, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Didn't we already know that there was going to be a discount? Steve Jobs said the price will be $499/$599 with with a 2 year contract?
All this is telling us is the IPhone will cost $649/$749 retail. We could have guessed that.
I buried this story because it is a waste of time. - tmach, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6So what's the big deal? EVERY cell phone company (Cingular included) offers a $150 rebate for signing a 2-year contract. It has nothing to do with it being an iPhone. After all, Cingular (like every other cell phone service) makes its money from your monthly fee, not the phone.
Look at some other prices from Cingular's site:
Samsung Blackjack: Price $449.99 2-yr Contract Price $299.99
Blackberry 8800: Price $499.99 2-yr Contract Price $349.99
Blackberry Pearl: Price $399.99 2-yr Contract Price $249.99
Why should the iPhone be any different?? - yacks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2You do realize you just come out sounding like an Apple fanboy and by claiming everyone who disagrees with you is a Anti-Apple Fanboy still doesn't make Apple a better product because you said so, right?
As for the Treo.. never used one myself but then never had a need for one nor do I see any sense on spending $400+ on a cellphone. The features really don't justify the cost IMO.
As for Ipods, I feel they are an inferior product that is really only successful because they are the "in" item.. pretty much like Microsoft, I'm sure you can relate to that analogy. Creative Mp3 which you wish to dismiss are superior. Lets see.. No need for "special" software.. You can simply plug it in and drag music and files onto it. Voice Recorder without the need to purchase a "special" adapter. Supports more file formats. A good variety of Creative mp3 players have a easy user removeable battery that the user can replace with risking damaging the product. But if you like an Ipod, buy one. To me, they just are an overhyped product that is popular yet inferior..
As for Apples, I do like them and would personally buy one myself.. Imacs in general are nicely designed.. though I would problaly still load Linux on it jsut because it's my choice and is what I am used to.. - EtherGnat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"iPhone will be a nice third party platform with the embedded OSX."
Unfortunately it won't, as Steve Jobs himself has stated the iPhone won't be open to third party developers. Locking them out is unforgivable, and allowing a chosen few to sell approved apps through Apple is no substitute. - abhiroop, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3what i meant was, this made the front page? I've posted plenty of interesting articles and they don't make the front page, or even get many diggs. Sometimes I feel that people just digg without actually reading the article itself, and that completely defeats the purpose of digg.
- wayback09, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't think Cingular will classify it as a "regular" phone that will be eligible for company sponsorship discounting. My guess is they will list it as a "data" device like the BlackBerry, Treo, 8525, etc that don't get percentage discounting.
Highly unlikely Cingular will allow any percentage discount on the iPhone (they will probably make the iPhone exempt from being discounted), just like they did when the razr V3 came out in late 2004. Very few people were able to get it discounted with their company sponsorship. People still paid $500 for the razr with a 2 year agreement. - SwabTheDeck, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I say it's neither hint nor error. It was made clear at the iPhone announcement that it's going to be $499-$599 w/ 2 yr contract. The $150 savings probably just means that the iPhone really costs $649-$749 and then you take that amount off with the contract to get $499-$599. The hardware subsidy for most wireless carriers with a new contract is usually ~$150, so this should be no surprise.
- thefirelane, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5>Get a clue.
You’re only proving my point. The reason I made the post I did, is because I indeed do “have a clue”. I was simply taking a moment to step back and appreciate what we today so blithely dismiss as ‘common’. The fact that such technology even exists, let alone for such a relatively cheap price, is quite amazing… when you honestly stop and think about all the various components, manufacturing, engineering, and testing that must be performed.
Sorry, your cynicism does not win out.
Considering you think that the technology in a phone is anywhere similar to a calculator watch, it is quite apparent who needs to “get a clue” - znicket, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I think you guys are not really the demographic that Apple is after. If you are concerned about call rates and contract rebate... then you should not be buying such an expensive phone. Luckily, there are a lot of people to whom these concerns are mere monetary distractions.
- topnotchnet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2apple stock will be 110 at the most this year sorry to burst your bubble
i throw phones around to much plus i like flip phones to ever what or get this thing just seem like something you'll have to handle with white gloves
but if it's what you want this is america go on a head
diff strokes
and a split does nothing but make the price cheaper (more affordable)
instead of 1 share @ $1 you now have 2 shares @ .50 - randall814, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I actually did not know that you could do THAT much stuff with a smartphone. I am impressed and intrigued.
I do think, however, that the iPhone will be a nice third party platform with the embedded OSX...there are a lot of developers that make some truly remarkable apps for OSX already. - EtherGnat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Oh, come on broomett. Almost everybody thought the HiFi was a joke. A lot of people are excited about the iPhone. I agree that it's not going to be that successful, but I think a more proper analogy might be to Macs. The iPhone will have a small but extremely loyal group of fans, plus a lot of people who say the iPhone is great but choose other phones for practical reasons.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I don't understand why anyone is surprised. The iPhone is going to be subsdized just like any other contract plan phone. It still is going to cost $500 minimum, even with the subsidy.
If anyone thinks that Cingular is suddenly going to discount their PLANS, you are fools. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3jeck...? block...
- thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Or could this be a guerrilla advertisement campaign? The current uproar surrounding the iPhone mainly centers around price. Now that it appears likely you'll get a $150 discount, you might be more likely to go look at the phone...
Maybe I'm just too cynical. - goldenman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Actually, every phone purchased at Cingular with a 2 yr. contract comes with the $150 discount. That is the standard at Cingular. Just thought I'd let you know this is nothing special. I am being told this from a close friend who works at Cingular.
- brstilson, on 10/12/2007, -8/+7How can you really call the iPhone overpriced? There isn't one smartphone out there that has any similar features, so what basis does anyone have putting a price on it to begin with?
- Avalontor, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Apple fanboys for the win.
- mikehill33, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3wait, i thought according to the article last week, discounted or free phones suck?
i'm confused now...
:( - DangerMouse9, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2The iphone is the PS3 of cell phones
- Marking, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Who cares. I don't the service will still be with Chingular because they still know how to chingala you.
- pieinthesky, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2As in Tow Mater?
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