14 DAY TRIAL // Now that WWDC '08 is coming to an end and Apple has made all the long rumored announcements, it's time to reflect on one of the most important pieces of Apple's business, the iPhone 3G. Steve Jobs had us going there for a few days, but carriers worldwide are now starting to reveal that iPhone 3G doesn't exactly hit that sweet spot for consumers.
In fact, the prices I'm looking at here wouldn't count as a sweet spot even for Tiger Woods.
Apple organized the "shenanigan" pretty well, throwing in iPhone software 2.0 with support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync (push email, calendar, and contacts), enterprise-grade networking with Cisco IPSec VPN and WPA2 Enterprise support etc. So it was pretty much everything they promised.
Two and a half hours into the event, Jobs took the stage again to reveal 3G network support, GPS, enterprise support, third party application support, more countries, a more affordable and better-performing device. He demonstrated faster download speeds over Wi-Fi and 3G, comparing them to EDGE, and even claimed iPhone 3G had a longer lasting battery. The new device is just a tad thicker, it sports the same display, black or white case color, flush headphone jack, improved audio capabilities and, according to information provided by macnn.com, it even "feels even better in your hand."
So, after lining up all this cool stuff about the new device, Jobs drops the bomb: iPhone 3G will cost $199.
Oh, really? What about the two-year contract AT&T has you signing so you can take it home? What about in-store activation? It seems that, with the new iPhone, customers are even more tied to carriers. $199 is actually what the 8GB model sells for, along with the AT&T contract agreement for two years. The 16GB iPhone 3G will cost you even more, $299, and you'll have to sign an identical two-year contract. Summing it all up, the real price for owning and using the iPhone 3G the way it's meant to be used (telephony, but also data) can go over the 1,000 USD "sour spot."
"Lucky" Europeans, although they too have to fork out almost the same amount of cash to grab the new device, can actually get it with pre-paid cards. That's no contract, no monthly fees. This is happening over in Italy, with Vodafone - iPhone 3G 8GB will cost 499 euros, while the 3G 16GB will cost 569 euros.
Tickets to Europe anyone?