Tech NowiPhone 50% cheaper? Not Really!
Posted by telcobizpedia on June 9, 2009
Abhimanyu Radhakrishnan Tuesday June 09, 2009
Before you just skim the headlines and jump for joy at the sight of “50% iPhone price-cut”, take a deep breath and remember that the devil is in the details.
Sure, the iPhone 3G is currently priced at $200 in most markets and today, Apple, while announcing a newer model, the iPhone 3G-S, also decided that the older one’s price will be slashed to $100.
Simple math suggests that the price has been halved, but the truth is that it’s only been reduced by $100. You have to remember that the $200 price is only for users who signed up for a 2-year plan from their mobile operators who charged hefty monthly rental fees for data.
In fact, in the US, AT&T offers the iPhone 3G without a 2-year contract for $600 and $700 for the 8GB and 16GB versions respectively.
That’s pretty close in rupee terms to what Airtel & Vodafone charge in India, without subsidizing the handset in lieu of a 2-year contract. Thus the only impact of the price-cut is likely to be a Rs 4,500 to Rs 5,000 (approx $100) cut in the price of the Indian iPhone 3G.
