Now the dust has settled, and the excitement has waned, it’s possible to calmly reflect on yesterday’s iPhone announcements. Only the excitement hasn’t really waned, and the only reason the dust has settled is because I can’t run to the nearest O2 shop and grab an iPhone 3G yet.
Ultimately, Apple delivered. Most of the rumor bridge went away satisfied, with the revamp being lighter, more efficient, and including both 3G and GPS support. Yes, the camera is still rubbish, and the lack of a front-facing camera still irks some, but most people are happy with the upgrade. (Well, apart from the idiots web-wide who are rattling on about HOW UNFAIR it is that Apple had the audacity to release a new iPhone when they bought one JUST LAST WEEK, and how APPLE IS EVIL, and so on.)
Also, the pricing rumor turned out to be pretty much spot-on. The iPhone’s going to ship with a price-tag of just $199 (for the 8GB model—the 16GB model is an extra hundred bucks), and so even with the still fairly hefty monthly contract, it’s now a lot more affordable. Clearly, Apple is gunning for market share (its estimate of 10 million iPhones sold by the end of 2008 now looks remarkably achievable), to get its platform ingrained in people’s minds as the obvious choice for anyone after a smartphone.
From a British standpoint, things are looking even more rosy. I recently bitched about Apple’s over-the-odds charging in Europe, and it seems someone was listening. Not only is the new iPhone priced in a straight US dollar-to-Sterling conversion (I was expecting $199 to become £139, truth be told, not £99), but also Brits retain existing tariff pricing (reports suggest AT&T’s raising its prices), and get a new tariff at the £30 mark (even if its minutes and texts allocations are both utterly miserly). Handily, existing iPhone owners forking out £45 or £75 per month also get the new iPhone as a free upgrade.
The only disappointing thing is that I now need something else to complain about. Ideas on a postcard…
UPDATE: Confirmation about AT&T’s price-hike suggests that there’s still something to complain about, at least if you’re in the US. Despite the hardware price-drop, the overall contract cost for the 8GB phone is now an extra $40 over two years. If anything, this makes the pricing in the UK even more surprising. Still, perhaps Apple will actually be able to sell some iPhones in Britain now.
38 responses to “iPhone 3G: the day after”
Bluetooth? I haven’t heard anything, either way, about whether we’re still looking at a crippled Bluetooth implementation or not.
Still no 32gig. I’ll guess i’ll keep on waiting.
As far as I’ve heard, the Bluetooth in the 3G iPhone is just the same as the first iPhone’s implementation :-/
You could complain about the fact that existing iPhone owners get exactly the same deal as new customers. Thanks, O2. Way to reward loyalty.
Want something to maybe complain about (just a maybe). According to http://www.att.com/gen/press-r… AT&Ts press release. They do say they are subsidizing the iPhone 3G (hence the lower price). They state: “In the near term, AT&T anticipates that the new agreement will likely result in some pressure on margins and earnings, reflecting the costs of subsidized device pricing, which, in turn, is expected to drive increased subscriber volumes. The company anticipates potential dilution to earnings per share (EPS) from this initiative in the $0.10 to $0.12 range this year and next, with a 2008 adjusted consolidated operating income margin of approximately 24 percent and a full-year 2008 wireless OIBDA margin in the 39-40 percent range. As recurring revenue streams build without any further revenue sharing required, AT&T expects the initiative to turn accretive in 2010. ” So with that said and we know Apple isn’t gettign profit sharing this time around. Does that mean future firmware updates for the iPhone 3G (if not security or bug related) will “cost” users since they are not on a subscription model, which is why iPod Touch users always have to pay?
But why no MMS?? That´s a dealbreaker for me… I send/receive more MMS than SMS nowadays. And I use a 2.5 year old SonyEricsson.
Some naive questions ?
What’s the difference – or what is … MMS and SMS ….
And if you have an ipod touch …. do you need an account or does it connect like your lap-top … with airport card
With thanks ….
1) iPod Touch is exactly like a laptop. Wi-fi access in the same way.
2) SMS = Text messages only
MMS = Text messages with photos
The iPhone only has SMS. Apple says “use e-mail for photos, it’s better.” And yes, e-mail is better than MMS, but only if you’re e-mailing a computer. The majority of cell phones don’t have e-mail right now, so iPhone users can’t send or receive photos from most of their friend’s cell phones.
I’m complaining about no copy and paste and no MMS. Jeff is spot on with his comment. Most of my friends don’t have iPhones and so cannot get email on the go.
In fact some mates, only check their email once a week! :-O
I’d really like to have an answer on the cut & paste issue. I’m an Apple pseudo journalist (have my own Apple blog) and even I can’t find a firm answer as to WHY no cut and paste yet. I can “assume” that it will be in an update by July, but that doesn’t put current iPhone users to ease.
Enterprise was spotlighted big time yesterday – and I doubt that enterprise would go without cut and paste – I really wish someone, Steve or otherwise would answer this gnawing question.
I really really hate the fact that existent users don’t get the iphone free on a £35 contract.
I would swap my old one for a new one and get a 2 year contract, gladly.
But the fact that in less than a year, I have to upgrade to a £45 contract, plus 18 months, just sound unfair, when I paid £295 when it come out, just seems like taking advantage of existing users.
In the end, everyone of us will be paying £395 and staying with the iphone for around 30 months. That’s a bit much.
I would really like to know what you guys think of this?
Hope that makes sense.
“Also, the pricing rumor turned out to be pretty much spot-on. The iPhone’s going to ship with a price-tag of just $199 (for the 8GB modelâ€â€Âthe 16GB model is an extra hundred bucks), and so even with the still fairly hefty monthly contract, it’s now a lot more affordable.”
– Not true, since you’re forced to sign a two-year contract with AT&T, and the 3G data plan costs $30 per month instead of $20 (as it was w/ EDGE). Added up over 24 months, the total cost is actually $40 more than it was with the EDGE iPhone.
10 million looks “remarkably achievable?” I’d say that with deals already inked in 70 countries (including Japan) for distribution to begin “later this year” (as the press releases inevitably say), I’d say that figure is actually looking kind of conservative now.
The iPhone is still not there for me. I will wait for gen 3.
Huge Apple fanboy here, but not to the point of losing all perspective…
Pluses:
1) 3G
2) GPS
3) Price
4) 3rd party apps
Still on wish list:
1) Cut and paste (!!!)
2) MMS
3) Flash support
4) Better Bluetooth support
I’m +/- on a better camera; that could seriously hurt the low price point. But the other things seem quite doable, at no/little added cost.
I have to say that in the light of the next day, I’m disappointed — this will be great for new users and certainly will gain new marketshare, but… I won’t be standing in line like I did last June and won’t be upgrading. And surprisingly, neither will my fellow early-adopter friends.
The truth is that there are only two new reasons to update: 3G and GPS. Frankly, I’ve done just fine without those features for the last year.
But there are plenty of reasons to not update. AT&T’s price hike for service — and that extra $240 a year doesn’t include any text messages, so there’s another hidden price hike. Don’t like the plastic back, I prefer the aluminum non-scratch and non-fingerprint surface. Doesn’t come with a dock, so there’s another extra cost. Doesn’t have more memory. Doesn’t have something really compelling like a forward-facing camera for video chatting over 3G.
The truth is that everything I wanted in a new phone is coming through the 2.0 firmware to my old phone — new apps, syncing via the cloud — so Apple has done right by me. I’m not gonna lambast them for not making the iPhone 3G a wonder device, because they’re going to make my original iPhone better than it ever was without my having to give AT&T yet more of my hard-earned money.
with the iPhone being $200 dollars now we should all go out buy iPhones, and forget about MMS. Email is much better, I receive about one MMS message every two years compared to about 20 emails a day every year. For those who love MMS I’m sure a 3rd Party will come up with some sort of a solution, if not you can learn to code and do it yourself! hah
I love my first gen iPhone. The only complaint I have is not being able to save emailed items to the hard disk. Still waiting for the day I can email a PDF to the phone (or transfer via iTunes) and save it for easy reading at anytime – without EDGE or Wi-Fi.
If I read the rumors on the new ATT pricing in the states, the “3G TAX” over a 2-year contract will be $240, not $40 as this post states.
I have read that ATT users will not have to re-up the contract but will be able to simply replace the phone with the new one, so if you bought it day one, the 3G TAX would be $120.
In either case this seems like a money grab for ATT and is one big reason I won’t be upgrading until my original iPhone dies. While 3G will be faster, that and GPS aren’t enough for me.