The $99 iPhone 3G: Apple's Most Significant Announcement

On Monday, Apple pulled out all the stops at its 2009 Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), introducing additions and enhancements to its operating system, Mac OS X, the MacBook Pro laptop line, as well as a brand spankin' new iPhone. But it's not the new iPhone 3G S, Snow Leopard or the beefed up MacBook Pros that really piqued my interest...it's the old iPhone 3G, which Apple is now selling for less than $100. And here's why.

Apple products are Expensive--yes, with a capital E. Everybody knows that. If you want a MacBook, you've got to be willing to pay more for it than, say, a comparable HP or Dell notebook running Windows. Want a cool matching Apple display to go with it? Sure. But it'll cost ya more than double the price of a similarly-sized ViewSonic or LG LCD. In fact, this "gouging" is actually part of Apple's sales strategy; the company knows its products are a sort of status symbol.

My point: With Apple, you gotta pay to play. That's just the way it is, right?

Nope, not any more...at least when it comes to iPhones. Apple's decision to drop the 8GB iPhone 3G price from $199 to $99--the 16GB version will also get a price reduction from $299 to $149--represents an unprecedented move from the Cupertino crew. A $99 iPhone is actually affordable. Furthermore, the price is comparable--competitive even--with offerings from the other handset heavies, like BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM).

Sign up for ITworld's Daily newsletter
Follow ITworld on Twitter @IT_world

• Email
• Print
• Share
  • Slashdot
  • Digg
  • Stumble
  • Reddit
  • Newsvine