This and That About the 3G iPhone
After letting the media and blogging frenzy subside just a little, here are a few thoughts on the new iPhone:
1. At $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model, it’s a no-brainer for a growing number of people. If you ever wanted a smart phone but were deterred by price, you have absolutely no excuse now.
2. The iPhone will be a red-hot product but CNet’s John Reisinger’s suggestion it “may have killed the Blackberry” is just dumb. Before Reisinger proclaims the Blackberry to be dead, maybe he should watch and see what the Bold and Thunder do in the pro-sumer market.
3. As Loren Feldman bluntly states, it’s a bit of mystery why the iPhone isn’t equipped with the ability to record video. We’re in the midst of a user-generated content revolution. Then again, Apple doesn’t have a blogging tool (a la Live Writer) either.
4. It’s great to see that the iPhone will be launched in Canada on July 11 (almost a year after it originally hit the market). The $64,000 question will be how hard Rogers will squeeze iPhone users for data? Unlike AT&T in the U.S., don’t expect Rogers to come through with a consumer-friendly, reasonably-priced all-you-can-eat plan. This, after all, is Canada where ARPU rules the day.
Speaking of ARPU, here’s a great candidate for stating the obvious from UBS analyst Jeffrey Fan in a research on the iPhone launch.
“We expect Rogers will benefit in the 2H through higher gross subscriber additions, higher market share and higher ARPU. Even with the higher than average handset subsidy, we believe the higher ARPU should generate a higher lifetime value per sub compared to the average Rogers subscriber.”
More: VentureBeat has a good post about how lower prices for the iPhone will attract consumers, who will then become a captive audience if and when AT&T decides to raise data prices. It’s the old razor/razor blade business model. In fact, it’s a brilliant move by Apple and AT&T. Apple sells millions of iPhones, AT&T takes a short-term hit by providing subsidies, and then more than makes it up later by raising data prices for iPhone-crazed subscribers. Meanwhile, GigaOm has a Q&A looking at how much money the iPhone will it make for Apple and its carrier partners.
June 10th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Actually, the data plan for the iPhone in Canada is going to run you $65 per month with unlimited data and 200 minutes of talk time.
Spread the news! Shout it from the rooftops! It’s a reasonable price! $65 per month for your very own iPhone including unlimited data and voice!
June 10th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Ted,
Make it 400 minutes of talk time and unlimited data for $65, and you’ll have yourself a deal.
June 10th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I’m very excited about the iPhone 3G. As a certified Apple fanboy, I’ve been awaiting the iPhone’s availability in Canada since the day it was announced.
I can only hope Rogers announces pricing soon, so that I won’t have too much time to build my excitement before July 11 in case their pricing is completely unreasonable!
June 10th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
That’s the spirit, Ted. We spread the $65CDN price point before Rogers announces one, and they can take the PR hit when they come out at $125 a month with a gigabyte cap!
June 11th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
[...] What I was finding though was that people like M.G. Siegler’s, Cyndy Aleo-Carreira, Ed Bott and Mark Evans (for the Canadian viewpoint) were really calling AT&T’s part in this the real financial [...]
June 13th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
http://www.htc.com - the diamond and the touch pro, now THERE’S some things (not kill) but perhaps hit Blackberry with a small stone.