Jobs answers questions about iPhone pricing and other topics

[lci3341]

My guess is if they had sold 3 or 4 million in the first couple of months they would have reduced the price by $100 if anything. Supply demand basic economics. Why reduce the price if they are the biggest thing since sliced bread. Not selling so well, lets make less per unit and sell millions more.

I doubt this was planned from the day the iPhone came out, although there are a lot of skeptics out there.

According to the NYTimes Jobs had this planned from the start, so they knew that when they launched they would dramatically reduce the price and screw those who bought it 2 months ago:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/technology/06Apple.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

On Wednesday, Apple executives insisted that the price cut had been planned long ago and that the strategy had been conceived in part to keep the iPhone’s pricing in line with its new iPod Touch, a music player that looks like the iPhone but lacks the phone-calling ability.

 

[ZiggyPop]

According to the NYTimes Jobs had this planned from the start, so they knew that when they launched they would dramatically reduce the price and screw those who bought it 2 months ago:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/technology/06Apple.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

On Wednesday, Apple executives insisted that the price cut had been planned long ago and that the strategy had been conceived in part to keep the iPhone’s pricing in line with its new iPod Touch, a music player that looks like the iPhone but lacks the phone-calling ability.

So they conspired to rob tens of thousands of people out of untold thousands of dollars.

Nope, no grounds for a class action lawsuit there!

 

[Tutumiles1]

It seems Apple has little concern for loyal Apple customers. We should and must return the favor.... This stinks

 

[iCheez]

I'm not buying the "it was the plan all along" bit.

Their sales numbers dropped dramatically after launch and they are reacting. They want to be a success in the mobile phone market no matter what.

If they are great at cutting cost where is the price cut on the rest of their products, especially the iPod. Do you think they haven't figured that out yet?

Oh yeah, where is the 16gb iPhone for $599?

 

[aknightstale41]

I've never seen Microsoft drop the price of anything by 1/3 after two months. They intentionally preyed on us and they're so full of themselves that they think we won't mind. I used to think Microsoft and Palm were bad; they are saints compared to these ego maniacs. No more Apple for me, thank you.

Maybe we are alittle upset too because now more people will have an iPhone and we won't feel as unique. Part of the fun of the iPhone is you probably haven't seen anyone else with one, and its fun to show it off and think nanananana i got one and you don't, kinda like a cabbage patch doll lol.
Also there is a lesson in patience here, not running out and giving in to a want so quickly, as the Buddha says, the cause of all suffering is wanting. Be the Buddha

 

[Mark Booth]

Steve Jobs: That's what happens in technology!

In a USA Today interview, Steve Jobs says to early iPhone adopters: "That's what happens in technology." Basically, "That's the way the cookie crumbles."

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2007-09-05-jobs-qanda_N.htm

The iPod touch was a real product (and probably in production) on June 29. Apple already knew the price point for the iPod touch. Nobody can convince me that Jobs didn't also know he was going to reduce the price of the iPhone when the iPod touch was announced. And, with that in mind, it feels like early adopters were INTENTIONALLY taken advantage of. And with many (most) of those early adopters being among the MOST faithful Apple customers, the whole situation feels like a knife in the back.

Job's words to USA Today don't make that feel any better.

Mark

 

[jviphone]

YOU THINK YOU GUYS ARE PISSED!

I'm not at all worried at the loss of $200, but rather i'm down on my AAPL stock by over $3,800! It's going to take some time to digest that tonight before I go to sleep.. Infact, I don't think i'll get much sleep.

For those who aren't following wallstret or AAPL stock. Apple is under Major Major pressure from its investors to meet these crazy sales figures. One little hickup and their stock will fall off a cliff. On one side, I see that they are really trying to meet expectations and this might of been there only way. Look at today's losses.

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:AAPL

I'm no marketing major, but by dropping the price of the iPhone that much didn't they just compete against the iPod touch, for the same price as the 16GB i touch you can get the iPhone with a phone and camera, and internet on the go not just wifi? Also a lot of the reason for stock dropping is loyal Apple customers selling stock since they were so miffed at Apples businesss process during this announcement..

 

[jviphone]

Maybe we are alittle upset too because now more people will have an iPhone and we won't feel as unique. Part of the fun of the iPhone is you probably haven't seen anyone else with one, and its fun to show it off and think nanananana i got one and you don't, kinda like a cabbage patch doll lol.
Also there is a lesson in patience here, not running out and giving in to a want so quickly, as the Buddha says, the cause of all suffering is wanting. Be the Buddha

People that don't have one or waited will not understand this feeling, and that is exactly who is telling "US" to stop crying, well you don't know how it feels so stop trying to tell us how we should. Im so glad everyone can afford the iPhone now, it's a great product, but to me now the iPhone is like a civic, an affordable gadget that everyone will own and it loses some of that luster.

 

[Dawgfan]

From the Wall Street Experts...

Hargreaves added that the sudden price cut - which is unprecedented for Apple, as it tends to add features to products while keeping prices stable - might make customers think twice about becoming early adopters of its products.
"When people are waiting outside the store two days ahead of time it becomes a story and they get, essentially, free marketing out of that. If all those people decide they don't want to wait outside the store because they got burned last time, Apple loses that marketing," he said.

 

[SpongebObiWan]

I watched Steve Jobs keynote address in January with AWE, after discovering that Apple had a new cellphone coming to market, and was informed it would be the best thing since sliced bread. I remember thinking while I watched, "this is incredible. I can hardly wait for the release of this product." Steve Jobs had me in the palm of his hand. By the way, I had never bought an Apple product before. I had always steered clear of Apple and bought PC products. But now, Mr. Jobs "charm" had me considering venturing into the Apple arena for the first time.
So I, like many thousands of others, axiously awaited the iPhone release. I also touted the "wonders" of the iPhone to my friends and acquaintences throughout this time. On iDay, I went to 3 different iPhone outlets (AT&T stores) and was finally able to purchase my phone at one of these stores. I was in heaven. Thus began my "love affair" with Apple and the iPhone. I began talking, reading, and web surfing anything iPhone or Apple. I looked forward with great enthusiasm to the release of the new Mac computers as my next purchase of an Apple product, but decided to wait until the release of Leopard to make that purchase.
Dateline: Wednesday, September 5th, 2007, a day that will live in infamy, iDoomDay. Announcement of a $200 price reduction for new purchases of iPhones hit the airwaves after 68 days since its release on June 29th. Tidal waves of angst flooded the internet, and new medias. I began to read through all the varying opinions, most of which were comments of betrayal, anger", and disillusionment. Once again, I now found myself watching Mr. Steve Jobs keynote address in San Francisco on the release of new products and the price reduction announcement (found on Apple website). No longer, did I watch with AWE and AMAZEMENT as I had during the January keynote address. I found rather, that I watched with skepticism and indifference. Sadly, Mr. Jobs and Apple had lost their allure to me. Thoughts raced through my mind "I guess I won't be buying that iMac after all, or any other Apple product for that matter."
This really is not about the price reduction per se, it is about REPUTATION and PERCEPTION. Mr. Jobs had me in the palm of his hand (as I am sure he did many others). Unfortunately, his status as my "hero" has now been dashed. He and Apple will not gain my product loyalty, unless by some huge change of heart or strategy, a decision is made to do something to remedy this and a gesture is made to restore goodwill.

 

[trojan21]

I believe it....

I believe it. Feature-wise, compare the iPhone to the ipod touch. Mostly similar except for a few applications and the call feature (and some speculation about bluetooth). 8/16gig versions retail for $299/$399 respectively. While the iPhone was priced at $499/$599 for the 4/8 gig version. For double the capacity of the 8gig phone, you get an ipod with no calling features (plus you can probably hack the ipod to include the missing applications but that is for another thread) at $200 less. Now, there are phones out there that do more/less for less than $100 (minus the Apple exlcusive features like multitouch screen, etc.). From the get-go, the iPhone was just overpriced, and this analysis is reasonable because we're only looking at a 2 month time period here...there is no reason why we couldn't have had a 16gig iPhone for $599 or less...that would be more reasonable but I think Apple saw the pricing point and knew that the inital sales would be based upon hype so lowering the cost of the iPhone to it's true price was only the right thing to do. Can you blame them? No, they are just playing the game called businesss...but this is pissing a lot of people off.

 

[Hawk]

Latest response from Mr. Jobs

http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiPhoneletter/

I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.
First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to 'go for it' this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone 'tent'. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.
Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you'll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.
Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.
Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple's website next week. Stay tuned.
We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.
Steve Jobs
Apple CEO

 

[mlass]

I can't even begin to express how sick and tired I am of all you whiners out there claiming you were "robbed" by this price drop. GET OVER IT! You paid to have the latest and greatest technology. It happens so deal with it. It was no secret when the iPhone hit the streets that Apple was making money hand over fist off the thing. It was fully advertised that they only cost around 250 or 300 to make the thing and yet we paid 499 and 599 for them. You had to know that if sales started sluggish, Apple would not hesitate to drop the price to further penetrate the market. Its called businesss because you run a businesss and yes, the point of a businesss is to make money and keep your share holders and customers happy. So quit your damn whining and take solace in the fact that we own the coolest cell phone ever invented. How many of you are so quick to forget that the first generation iPod was a 10GB model and cost $499? It wasn't that long ago and now today a 160gb classic was released for just $349. So please, get over it, move on with your lives, AND SHUT UP.

So, you are saying that a person who purchased the iPhone 15 days prior to price drop should not be upset?

All those whiners are getting me a rebate and that makes me happy.

For those who are bashing the whiners, please feel free to send me your rebate. You seem not to be upset over $200 and I will be more than happy to spend it.

Now, I can get me that iTV.

 

[hoits2000]

They complained that we complained, and look what we did for them. I will be happy with the 100 credit. I tried calling and emailing but got nothing, so this will make me feel a lot better.

And just when I was beginning to get over it, haha.

I finally looked at the bright side. Hopefully more people will buy it, and that will force Apple and hook up the iPhone with more of what we want on it.

 

[iMeth]

all i could see is that i feel really bad for the 4GBs early folks...

glad i dropped my iPhone yesterday so i went back to aT&T and wanted a new iPhone cause of the scratches and dents I caused. Now i got a new iPhone and 150 bucks credited back.

 

[HELPmepLox]

i got a price adjustment haha but i didn't get back the money from tax so i was still kinda piss and didn't give up with a fight had them throw in a 29.99 case to make up for that $17-18 dollar i dind't get back haha

 

[Leed]

I mean.. the thing about it is it seems like Apple/ATT went out of their way to charge us the premium. We couldn't use our typical businesss discounts on hardware or services and we had to sign a 2 year contract without added incentive. All of that just to turn around and drop the price after approx. 2 months. It just seems a bit too steep to me.

 

[Orion]

Well a $100 Apple credit isn't good enough for me. After reading people are getting refunds after the 14 days from ATT I called them up and was told it's now 14-20 days after and to go to the store and get my $200.

I wrote out my ordeal there, so far I've gotten $25 towards my wireless bill for having to call back and a note on my customer service account to the store that I'm supposed to get a $200 refund. We'll see what happens tomorrow, but I'm expecting a $200 refund.

 

[iLLGT2]

i'm confused.. I see mentioned on Apples site a 100 dollar credit for the early iPhone owners.. Some people are posting 150, 200 so what is it, and what do you say when you walk in lol?