When Steve Jobs announced that Apple was dropping the iPhone's price from $599 to $399 on Wednesday, iPhone owners across the country groaned in unison. Apple soon relented, offering existing owners a $100 gift card. But PC Mag editors Lance Ulanoff and Dan Costa and lead analyst Sascha Segan have no pity. Take a look at this brutally opinionated e-mail thread Gearlog managed to pluck out of their inboxes.
From: Segan, Sascha
To: Ulanoff, Lance; Costa, Dan
Subject: Whining, whining, whining
I can't handle this whiny piling-on in all the press today of people who feel "betrayed" by Apple's iPhone price drop.
Face it. They bought it because they felt it was worth $600. If they didn't feel it was worth $600, they shouldn't have bought it. I don't see where the anger should come in here. Clearly, Apple sold an iPhone to everyone who felt it was worth $600, and now they're going to sell one to everyone who thinks it's worth $400.
What do you get for your $200? You get to be the first person on the block with a new technology. That's always the deal--new technologies always come out at exorbitant prices, and early adopters put up with high prices and lots of bugs so they can have the pride of playing with something new.
Then, if you wait a while, the prices drop. Maybe with most devices you wait longer than a few months. But you know what? If you bought the iPhone when it came out, you thought it was worth $600. Stop whining.
From: Ulanoff, Lance
I agree. In fact, I wish that every time the price dropped on some really cool gadget I bought, someone handed me the difference. But this situation, and Apple's ultimate response is, I think, a uniquely Apple thing.
From: Costa, Dan
Amen. After all, it isn't like anyone HAD to buy it. People think the PS3 is overpriced, so they don't buy it. Apple's rebate is just a PR move.
From: Ulanoff, Lance
I'm still surprised that so many people actually ran out and paid as much as they did for the iPhone, especially after we told them the price would drop by next year. Perhaps the stunner is that it happened so soon.
The practice of giving some sort of price match on a price drop is not unheard of, of course, but it's usually contained to, say, a few days or a week at most. Not two-plus months.
I will add that while much of the media thinks Apple stumbled badly on this, I'd say they finally got it right. They've right-priced the newest iPods (across the whole product line) and got rational on the iPhone.
Why did they do it? I'd say Apple realized that competition is only going to get more heated, and other manufacturers are getting much better at building elegant industrial design into highly functional and affordable portable digital media products. Plus, with the music service consolidation, it's only a matter of time before someone finally makes a Player/Service combo that actually competes with iPod/iTunes (sorry, I don't count the now stumbling Zune).
From: Segan, Sascha
Yes. Apple is being unusually nice here, not naughty.
I wouldn't be altogether shocked if early iPhone adopters are feeling some buyers' remorse. The device was very expensive. The device has some phone quality issues. Etcetera. But, c'mon, it's not just "we told you so," it's "everyone in the press told you so"--that you're buying a 1.0 product at its point of release. Never buy a 1.0 product at its point of release. Or, if you do, sit proud in the knowledge that you're going to overpay and work out some bugs. That's not about Apple; that's true of the entire technology industry.
From: Ulanoff, Lance
Totally agree. How did Apple get so many people to bite on a 1.0? It's like the advertising, marketing and attendant hype actually hypnotized people. Wacky.
From: Segan, Sascha
Did you read the Reuters story saying that the price drop makes Apple more of a threat to Palm?
First of all, everyone's a threat to Palm right now, because Palm can't seem to produce any decent new products. This isn't Apple's triumph, it's Palm's miserable flameout.
But I think that the price drop and the introduction of the iPod Touch may balance each other out. The Touch is a shiv in the back of AT&T. Before this week, anyone who wanted those sorts of features had to switch to AT&T. Now, millions of Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile customers will be sitting pretty with their existing service and enjoying music on their iPod Touch devices.
This will lower Apple's market share in the narrowly defined cell phone horse race. But Apple doesn't care so much about that, and nobody with a bigger perspective should care much about that. They care about getting their products, whatever products, into the hands of as many people as possible. I see Verizon users now carrying both Blackberries *and* iPod Touches and being very happy.
From: Ulanoff, Lance
I love your perspective on how Apple's decided to distance itself from its brand new partner, but I'm not sure I buy all of it. Is Apple such a fluid company that it can make knee-jerk decisions based on current market fluctuations? Perhaps the iPhone price drop says yes, but you know that the Starbucks deal had to be months, if not years, in the making and the phone-less iPhone could not have been designed in two months.
Apple must've designed the two products at once and used the iPhone to seed demand for the iPod Touch. iPhone and iTouch should be additive. I expect the AT&T deal to continue on for years to come--maybe.
Agree with these guys? Disagree? Let us know what you think!
Mixx It
Digg It
Stumble
More...
September 7, 2007 5:40 PM
I agree with them. Whining that technology prices drop is a problem with the purchaser not the producer. I love technology, but I won't buy the latest and greatest. I wait at least 6 months after initial production before I buy a new tech. Why should I pay a premium to be a guinea pig?
September 7, 2007 7:38 PM
iPhone early adopter here. Sat with my finger poised over my mouse button at the Apple Online Store on release day. Can't say I have anything to complain about. I love my iPhone and would easily have paid more for it. And it was everything that Apple had promised. I have had no "phone quality issues" and really bridle when people claim it has problems without qualification or evidence to back them up. I think people should expect more from "1.0" products, which should work as advertized before even getting the 1.0 designation (unlike most software out there). And the iPhone really strikes me as worthy of that. Of course it's OS X which has been through the ropes on the Mac so maybe calling it a 1.0 product is glossing over some of the details a little. Well, anything to sell an article, right?
Question: If EVERYONE waited until 2.0, would there ever be a 2.0?
Point is: yes, I'm an Apple early adopter. And rarely ... wait, actually, never ... have I been disappointed. I will continue to be first in line (er ... well, maybe online) to show Apple support for their quality products so that all ye of 2.0 faith out there can continue to benefit from innovation.
September 7, 2007 10:41 PM
Agreed to a certain point but I'm not a Apple lover, I did my research and Apple holds its value or at least it use to on the hardware.. I have been in IT for over 25 Year and have seen major drops in price of RAM and CPU chips but nothing that fast... WOW never in my wildest dream would hardware drop in price that fast. It's all about the money for Apple which after doing my reviews of Apple I thought they were different NOT... They are just like any other Hardware / Software maker... If winning about a major price drop... then so be it... Maybe you're the ones that wine or maybe you need a glass of wine and think about the expense that you spent to beta test a product of Apple...
As that is what most of us did... Beta test the IPHONE without the benefits that BETA tester gets. I have been a beta tester for Microsoft and normally I get the product much cheaper than the release. Not here I get shafted by the company that makes it and then get shafted again on the price reduction.. For a Microsoft guy to switch to Apple and then switch back should be a clear cut indication that Apple screwed up... Heck look at the stock price
September 7, 2007 10:42 PM
I completely agree with Qbit9. I bought one on day two and I haven't looked back. I admit feeling stunned that the price dropped a mere 65 days or so after release. If the price is right now, why aren't these things flying off the shelves?i still love my device, it is worth $600. I don't even mind paying to quit verizon. You won't hear me whining. I'm going to buy SOMETHING with my store credit. Btw: I'm writing this on my iPhone right now.
September 8, 2007 3:39 PM
I agree with what they are saying. If a spoiled , self-indulgent brat can shell out $600 for a phone, he/she needs to just get over the price drop. I guess next time they'll think before getting so excited about bragging about being the first to purchase the latest electronic items. You don't even have to be a technology expert to know that prices always fall when it comes to electronics. Just be patient. Companies will work out the bugs and lower prices. Common sense should prevail.
September 8, 2007 6:26 PM
"If a spoiled , self-indulgent brat can shell out $600 for a phone, he/she needs to just get over the price drop."
This quote from Tracy pretty much sums up the view of you jealous punks that didn't have the wherewithal to buy one. Now your smug asses act like we (the loyal customer base that Mr. Jobs just screwed to the tune of 200 dollars) should have foreseen an unprecedented 33% price cut within two months! Since you people seem so willing to bend over and take it when somebody's stickin' it up your a__ that might explain why you didn't have the funds to get one. Well you know what ,I'm tired of you a__holes whining about the "whiners". Go buy some Enron stock and lick Mr. Jobs boots you corporate toady lemmings.
Phuck U
September 8, 2007 10:10 PM
I must respond to Chuck. Guess what ? I hardly feel envy for egomaniacs who feel that their self-worth is wrapped up in buying the latest technology. Most wealthy people became financially solvent by avoiding making impulse purchases just to impress their friends. Think about that fact the next time you accuse someone of being jealous. A sure sign of financial security is not having to show off your money with trendy purchases. I feel pity for anyone who is so worried about their social status that they panic if they don't have every new trendy toy.
September 8, 2007 10:17 PM
Chuck, I would be remiss if I didn't make this observation. I managed to make my point without sinking to profanity. Gee Chuck, do you want some cheese to go with your "whine ". Look at it this way, I guess the "looks of envy " from people who didn't buy an iphone were worth the extra $200 you shelled out !! ROTFL !!!
September 8, 2007 10:49 PM
I bought my iphone a week after its release for the $600 price tag -- not to be cool, but because I have always loved how Apple products are so easy to use (I could barely check voicemail on my old Verizon phone). My husband told me to wait two months because he knew the price would drop, but I couldn't hold out more than six days. I have NEVER regretted my purchase, yeah, cheaper is better, we are all willing to spend the money on the things which seem important to us (and what is important to me is not necessarily important to anyone else). The $100 store credit is an unexpected bonus -- one that I am going to enjoy because I was not expecting to get it!
September 9, 2007 12:55 AM
Guys, lemme give ya'll parachutes, cause yer horses so high, the fall might knock some sense into yesef's ifn ya leap offn 'em.
Scuse me, but I thought we liked, supported, and--brace yourselves--*encouraged* early adopters. Of course, all I know is what I read in magazines and on Web sites that unrelentingly bang the tech drum. Now maybe my memory's going, but I could swear I recall some PC rag or another consistently repeating this mantra: Early adopters allow new technologies to get off the ground. Oh, yeah, and that early infusion of cash also makes it possible for envious journalists to afford those technologies when the prices drop.
Don't get me wrong--I realize we're superior beings because we don't often rush out and buy fancy gadgets that make us so hot our bandaged glasses steam up, and I'm sure it has nothing to do with not being able to afford them. Oh, wait a minit. I forgot. We're kinda sorta *seriously* early adopters, since we get to see the stuff before--okay, *well* before--the they-deserve-it suckers we seem to disdain. I wonder if that means that, without paying, we get the "I've got it before anyone else" rush those other lesser life forms are stupid enough to pay for? Nawwww.
Okay, we don't pay penny one, it's true, but golly, we have to give it all back, don't we? I suppose we might still get bragging rights that those "whiners" can't touch, but we're all professionals. We don't flaunt our access at, say, every chance we get--unless some comment happens to slip out accidentally because we've had one Shirley Temple too many. But then, everybody knows nerds can't hold their drink any better than they can bathe. And we don't get to keep the stuff for, um, extended loans that often, right?.
Now I can't argue that people should think for themselves, so of course it's not our fault if they get over-excited by floods of gadget-flogging copy. Anywho, we're just covering the news. Aren't we? So here's a modest proposal to encourage independent thought in the mindless masses. We'll exhort them to spend more time gathering their own information, doing their own comparisons, and debating among themselves instead of reading...oh, wait. Um, never mind.
Anyway, how *did* Apple get so many people to bite on a 1.0? And, after all, it isn't like anyone HAD to buy it. C'mon guys--you pretend we have nothing to do with lines that snake around city blocks when the latest iHype-it comes out. Where did all those gullible fools find out about the iLust? Are we really blaming readers when they madly rush for the gadgetry we keep in the headlines--and that we madly desire ourselves? How many "leaks" about closely guarded Apple secrets have we run the instant our beady little eyes spotted them? You know, and iKnow--Apple plays us like an iFiddle. Dropping the hammer on gadget maniacs? We're talkin' glass houses, boys, serious glass houses.
So those silly gits who bought the iPhone for $600 dollars thought it was worth $600, end of story, right? Well, no. They didn't just buy a gadget. They bought this formerly well-respected convention: Even in the age of nearly instant obsolescence, when you pry out six Benjamins for version 1.0, you get more than two months of bragging before a 30-percent price drop. How many times do you think Apple can pull this stunt before people start saying "Ya know, I think I'll wait two months." Hmm. Wonder what that'll do to the tech market we so love?
And unusually nice Apple? For its heartfelt generosity in giving $100 cards most people won't use (are there significant Apple products that cost that little)? I'm sure the cards will display cutting-edge design, though and be suitable for framing. Still, why do I get the feeling that when the few people who go along with this hoax pull those cards out of their pockets, a significant chunk-o-change will be clinging to that plastic, too?
By the way, did you read our Uncle Stevie's heartfelt letter to his dear, dear, fanatically loyal subjects? Truly touching. Lemme give you some examples:
"I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price..."
"Being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy.... This is life in the technology lane."
Boy, if that's not deeply felt empathy and contrition, I don't know what is. Okay, I admit that Stevemo didn't say anything like, "Gosh golly, did I ever make an incredibly arrogant and stoopid decision," but I'd be the last to ever accuse the Apple head of trying pull off snow jobs. I'm moved by his feeling for the poor souls buffeted on that bumpy tech road he has no part in creating. And I'm certain that even though "Details are still being worked out" there won't be any hoops to jump through for using those regal gifts. And of course, they won't have expiration dates.
Will they?
September 9, 2007 8:39 AM
hi again. I would like to add that in case anyone hasn't noticed, we live in a free market economy. We all make choices about what we value by paying for something or opting out. I am still the only person i know who has one of these phones. Therefore, i haven't heard people whining. What I do hear is, " aren't you pissed? " by people who don't have an iPhone. I guess I'm as pissed as a person who just drove her new car off the lot thereby lowering the resale value of the car by thousands of dollars.
I also want to point out that I'm not an egomaniac. I'm a single person who doesn't own
a car, who makes her own $3 latte at home, I clip coupons for food and I buy most of
my clothes on sale. I was simply looking for the best tool on the market and I was willing
to pay the price.
I've read enough articles and blogs to get a measure what peoples attitudes to the
iPhone are: if you didn't have one before the price drop and you bothered to comment
about it or read the blogs, then for some reason you hate the iPhone and people who buy iPhones. I'm not sure why you care. Why do you care? If you are reading about
people whining, then don't read about it.... Or do you have swarms of iPhone users around you driving you crazy with their lamenting?
if you DO own an iPhone then (most of) you smack yourself on the forehead and get
over it and continue to lie in bed typing away on your iPhone.
Tracy, I think Chuck was responding to you calling him (and iPhone users in general) a
self indulgent, spoiled brat, egomaniac. Boy that is some opinion! You read about my
spending habits...how do you like me now?
September 9, 2007 11:46 AM
"Tracy, I think Chuck was responding to you calling him (and iPhone users in general) a
self indulgent, spoiled brat, egomaniac. Boy that is some opinion! You read about my
spending habits...how do you like me now?"
Thanks Nikki for your thoughtful post. Very good points. I wonder if Tracy ever went out and bought a nice meal,a nice car ,nice clothes or any name brand goods. If so I wonder if there's somebody out there in a homeless shelter calling her a spoiled self indulgent brat?
"Chuck, I would be remiss if I didn't make this observation. I managed to make my point without sinking to profanity"
Tracy, I would be remiss if I didn't make this observation. You don't have a point. All you've got are names and false ASSumptions about people that have bought the iphone just like the countless other whiney bitches that have made similar comments on this and other blogs.Hey Pot, meet Kettle.
By the way,how 'bout the computer that you use to make your ignorant posts? How much did that cost? What's it worth now? Feeling a little self indulgent? Are we? Brat.
" So those silly gits who bought the iPhone for $600 dollars thought it was worth $600, end of story, right? Well, no. They didn't just buy a gadget. They bought this formerly well-respected convention: Even in the age of nearly instant obsolescence, when you pry out six Benjamins for version 1.0, you get more than two months of bragging before a 30-percent price drop. How many times do you think Apple can pull this stunt before people start saying "Ya know, I think I'll wait two months." Hmm. Wonder what that'll do to the tech market we so love?"
Great point Gary. What "Blue Jean Boy" Stevie did to his loyal customers,his company and indeed to the market is unprecedented. Notice how Apple stock is tanking. How many observant people are not going to buy an Apple product at launch after this debacle? How many people will never buy an Apple product again? And all Stevie can come up with is "Oh well. That's technology." Oops ,I almost forgot his promo/apology letter. Five parts promo-One part apology. And his "grand" offering of $100 to spend in his store which one can probably assume will be full of restrictions ie You can only use it on our high mark up accessories that you don't need/wouldn't want to buy and not on our ipods.
September 9, 2007 5:02 PM
Nikki, I have no problem with people who buy new technology because they enjoy it. I am just sick and tired of the whiners who feel that they are no longer " envied" and they don't feel as cool since the apple iphone isn't as exclusive anymore. If you enjoy your iphone and you have no problem with the $600 price tag,you have the right to spend your money as you see fit. It seems as though you make wise decisions about your money. I have a problem with the idiots who say that they can no longer brag about feeling superior . There is a difference between people who buy technology because they enjoy it and people who buy the newest technology because they have a pathetic need to be envied.
September 9, 2007 8:56 PM
Oh. I didn't read the iPhone users complaints that they weren't able to brag anymore. I have been reading blogs ABOUT people who whined. But I haven't actually heard or read any actual whining from actual iPhone owners about bragging rights. I assume that the emails to mr Jobs don't count as public whining and complaining.
September 10, 2007 7:50 AM
I've been saying this since day one of the cuts. This whole thing is stupid ridiculous! (seems everything else has already been said)
September 10, 2007 6:19 PM
I still feel superior to people that don't have iPhones.
September 11, 2007 2:05 PM
Well I guess they're right , we were fools for being early adopters. Next time we should wait 6 months before buying , then Apple can't make fools of us and they will not have anything to write about.
September 11, 2007 3:24 PM
I agree that early adopters should not whine when prices drop, however I can' recall a time when the price of a new product dropped by 33% within a few weeks of its release (and with no changes/fixes). Kinda makes you wonder if Apple had already planned to drop the price significantly, but wanted to see how much it could make from the early adopters and mac zealots with the original price. Seems a little greedy to me.
September 11, 2007 3:25 PM
I agree that early adopters should not whine when prices drop, however I can' recall a time when the price of a new product dropped by 33% within a few weeks of its release (and with no changes/fixes). Kinda makes you wonder if Apple had already planned to drop the price significantly, but wanted to see how much it could make from the early adopters and mac zealots with the original price. Seems a little greedy to me.
September 11, 2007 3:26 PM
I agree that early adopters should not whine when prices drop, however I can' recall a time when the price of a new product dropped by 33% within a few weeks of its release (and with no changes/fixes). Kinda makes you wonder if Apple had already planned to drop the price significantly, but wanted to see how much it could make from the early adopters and mac zealots with the original price. Seems a little greedy to me.
September 11, 2007 3:28 PM
I agree that early adopters should not whine when prices drop, however I can' recall a time when the price of a new product dropped by 33% within a few weeks of its release (and with no changes/fixes). Kinda makes you wonder if Apple had already planned to drop the price significantly, but wanted to see how much it could make from the early adopters and mac zealots with the original price. Seems a little greedy to me.
September 11, 2007 4:05 PM
I can see both sides of this. When I bought my 20 inch Cinema display at $999 a few years back, I thought it was worth that price - still do, in fact. However, when they dropped the price to $799 a few months later, I would have gladly accepted a $100 credit from Apple. I'm not holding my breath, though.