Report: $99 iPhone 3GS in Time For the Holidays

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dextermat

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mah, im tired of those damn cell phone companies selling their easy to break phones with 30 $ plans witch ends up costing 90 $ because of this and that witch wasn't include in the package you took....

gotta love thoses crooks
 

dtm4trix

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no not until its offered on some other service provider. AT&T blows and I would not get locked into a 2 year commitment to bad service and shitty reception, not to mention most dropped calls of any network.
 

silky salamandr

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Apple is getting very scared. Android devices just reached sprint. Me and my girl got moments and what ive seen with these android devices, they have a real good reason to be scared. People are starting to get smart and want a phone that ur not chained to a closed platform. Anything apple just needs to go away because their closed business model does not fit in the way people are going.
 

guess who

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Irrelevant

What is the relevance if a $299 vs $199 vs $99 iphone then the total cost for the contract is a few thousand bucks. Are consumers really that stupid?
 

zirbmonkey

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First, give it a conservative estimate that the phone's retail value is 2x the value to actually make the phone ($200 phone = $100 profit). Second, figure that at least 15% of a phone contract goes to the cell phone makers... which is why you get a $200 for free when you switch carriers (1440*20% = $216)

Suppose a 3GS costs $200 to make. Apple is trimming costs to make a measly $100 on an 8GB iphone instead of a whopping $300 per 32BG phone. Hey... marketing costs a lot of money guys.
 

itadakimasu

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It's not irrelevant for people who have AT&T. Sounds like a great deal compared to the $325 I payed for my 3G a month after it came out.

If they had it for $99 I'd buy one for my wife for xmas.
 

beergoggles

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When does Apple do its iPhone refreshes, July? Buy in now and you'll be locked in to a 3Gs when the new hardware rolls around. At this point, 7 mos away, I'd pass and wait to see the new hardware will offer (March? April?) then take the $99 and 2 yr contract offering if the new hardware is not compelling enough to make the jump at $199 plus 2 yr contract.
 

Luscious

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I don't think it's just the droid Jane. With HTC ready to drop their HD2 "superphone" and some TP2 models already going at $199, Apple is no longer in the position to charge premium price. Competition has them cornered with better handsets, at less expensive prices, running on a better network.
 

hakesterman

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They can offer a $69.99 and a $49.00 and $19.99 Iphone and i still won't buy cause ATT STINKS. They way over charge for their phone services. Why should i pay an extra $ 30 to $40 for the same service i can get anywhere else. Charging 30.00 a month for phone internet is like charging 4000.00 for a root Canal. Given the choice, I'd rather have the root Canal than give ATT my hard earned money for mediocore srevice at best.
 

thejerk

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[citation][nom]guess who[/nom]IrrelevantWhat is the relevance if a $299 vs $199 vs $99 iphone then the total cost for the contract is a few thousand bucks. Are consumers really that stupid?[/citation]

Exactly why I left AT&T, and gave up smartphones, period. I can wait to get back home to check my email or my facebook or tweet or however else people waste time. My plan saves me $1920 over the next two years.
 

MattBauer09

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Why is it that everything TH mentions Apple it has to call it the "Cupertino-based" company? I personally think it's getting annoying...
 
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I'm not a fan of apple, but I'm already locked into AT&T (work cell) and I'd gladly pay $99 to get something more functional than my POS HTC Diamond... :( Anything for a phone that doesn't battery drain in 6 hours of literally doing nothing, just being in the holster turned off...
 

jsc

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Even with the kickbacks from AT&T, it just goes to show how expensive it is to make these things once R&D costs have been amortized.
 
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