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It begins: Verizon slashes prices on all Android phones

Thursday, March 3, 2011 · 1:16 pm · 56 Comments

Multiple MacDailyNews readers have informed us that Verizon Wireless has slashed prices on Android phones across the board:

Verizon's Android phone liquidation

MacDailyNews Take: Successful platforms do not need to have prices slashed and perpetual BOGOF promotions.

The fact is: Apple’s iPhone [3GS] costs just [$49] and the [iPhone 4] goes for only $199 in the U.S. with a 2-year plan… As Apple’s iPhone expands onto more and more carriers, Android’s only real selling point (“I’m stuck on Verizon or some other carrier that doesn’t offer the iPhone”) evaporates. – SteveJack, MacDailyNews, December 23, 2009

[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]

Categories: News

Tags: android, verizon

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Comment Feed

56 Comments

1 2 Next »

MrMcLargeHuge

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:20 pm · Reply

But you just know that the Fandroids will use this as an opportunity to dig up the old and tired “Apple is more expensive” argument.
MacBill

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:23 pm · Reply

In theory, this is fantastic news for the power of the iPhone.

But in reality, a lot of people are really hurting for cash right now, and a COMPLETELY FREE Droid phone could be a HUGE SELLING POINT for — quite possibly — millions of people. I personally know a lot of people who would have a difficult time scraping together $200 at this point in time, due to the bad economy.

Hey, I’m an Apple fanboy and I personally hate the Droid, but I’m just trying to look at this realistically from a financially-strapped consumer’s point of view.
- Rhoytink
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:30 pm · Reply
  
  Puleeze!
- phxdoc
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:35 pm · Reply
  
  Only for consumers who can’t do math. If you are a consumer can’t scrape up $49 for an iPhone 3GS and is willing to sign a contract for 2 years to pay $60 per month for voice and data plan ($1440), maybe you shouldn’t sign that contract for any phone. So what would your rather spend $1440 and get a POS droid or $1489 and get an iPhone.
- Widerwake
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:38 pm · Reply
  
  You have a point, but who wants to develop apps for THAT crowd? The price reduction may help market share, but it’s a poor consolation prize. Everything that comes with it — devalued products, viruses, less and less development, decreased profit — just sucks for manufacturers and consumers alike.
  - Dijonaise
    
    Friday, March 4, 2011 - 5:32 am · Reply
    
    and now Goggles wants to give the fn creepy fandroid debs access to you wallet! What kinda fool would ever let those pieces of shit have access to ANY of their personal info?
  - stephen
    
    Friday, March 4, 2011 - 11:56 am · Reply
    
    yes it’s /profit/ not market share that’s important
    and there are few platforms that are more profitless than the android (linux comes to mind, I would have said minix too, put there are some neat ways to make money from that)
- unlvjacket
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:48 pm · Reply
  
  You got some broke azz friends
- castlebuono
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:49 pm · Reply
  
  You pay with peanuts…you get monkeys.
  Just sayin’
- KenC
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:49 pm · Reply
  
  Doesn’t Verizon do a credit check? If they can’t afford a phone, then how can they afford the subscription?
- *L*
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:28 pm · Reply
  
  Nothing is “completely free.”
  
  The difference between $2100 and $2200 (approximate total cost of two year contract) just ain’t that much. When you average it out over your two year contract, spending 100 bucks on the iPhone will have been well worth it.
- urlow
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:53 pm · Reply
  
  the evo is the only android i’d pick over a 3GS. I’m not sure what’s being offered for free on andoid, but i can’t imagine it’s anything great. I think most people no matter how frugal they are will end up frustrated.
- Only You
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 4:38 pm · Reply
  
  If I were a cash strapped consumer I would do something smarter with my money; and I would not get a Droid phone even if it is for free. I rather save whatever money I got.
- noodlesnoodlemann
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 5:34 pm · Reply
  
  If someone is financially strapped, then a smart phone is probably something they should just do without. We all got along without them before. Too many people spend money they don’t have or need to spend. If you can afford a smart phone, great. But if you can’t afford the $50+/month, just do without until you can. Life will go on.
john

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:25 pm · Reply

Not only slashing prices but giving them away too. That’s the only reason they have passed in market share. Yet what do you get, malware and spyware. Unsafe applications.
Not what I want at all on my phone or my Mac which is why I own a Mac and an iPhone. No viruses, malware or spyware.
Tetrachloride

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:27 pm · Reply

For a sentence or two, I’ll play Devil’s Advocate.

So, there’s some appealing stuff in the Android Marketplace. (although what, I don’t know) [/end of DA]

But do I really want to be stuck with an Android for 2 years ? (omits Ph.D. thesis on Android cons.)
buddabob

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:27 pm · Reply

Well I guess if you can’t sell it… Give it away !
Just more disposable junk. How many ‘droid phone models are they ? and why ? iPhones rules.
Cubert

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:28 pm · Reply

Buh bye Moto!
phxdoc

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:30 pm · Reply

I never knew that Moto didn’t even have a lock (trademark) on the DROID name. Why would a company spend money on advertising a product as “DROID” and then have the consumer buy “DROID” from a competitor like HTC? Even the name is fragmented.

How confusing is this for the consumer and why would they not just get an iPhone 3GS for $49 or a iPhone 4 for $199?
- MrMcLargeHuge
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:35 pm · Reply
  
  George Lucas has the trademark. Or, more precisely, Lucasfilm.
- kenC
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:53 pm · Reply
  
  Verizon pays Lucas for Droid. That’s why Apple couldn’t strike a deal with Verizon originally. Verizon is the gatekeeper. They want to control the manufacturer. They want to control the brand. They want to turn your phone into a Verizon phone. That’s why their logo is on the phone. That’s why their brand Droid is on the phone.
  
  It’s a loser’s bet, when Verizon decides it is moving onto something else. Blackberry was their puppy in 2008, then Droid replaced it, mostly with Motorola phones, which revived Motorola, but now they’re being replaced. Motorola has already guided to a loss this quarter.
Davewrite

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:43 pm · Reply

potential droid users should think hard:

if the OEMs and Verizon are so desperate to get rid of these at razor thin profits how much effort do you think they will have in customer support or OS updates etc. ? They’ll go broke to try to offer Apple’s level of support (through Apple store, phone support etc) and to survive they’ll try to make you buy a new phone.
unlvjacket

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:47 pm · Reply

ahahahah Marketshare at all costs
HD Boy

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 1:51 pm · Reply

I think it is Verizon that licensed the Droid trademark for cell phone use from Lucas Films…
Mark

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:04 pm · Reply

Reminds me of the old Volkswagon print ad created when lots of car manufacturers were offering “Cash Back.” The headline went something like, “When you make the right cars, you don’t have to pay people to buy them.”
Derek Currie

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:05 pm · Reply

BLOOD ON THE FLOOR

Where is a REAL competitor with the iPhone and iPad? We’re still waiting!
- stophobophobia
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:48 pm · Reply
  
  Apple’s only competition is itself. Apple is the only one that can one-up Apple.
bezoar

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:05 pm · Reply

I don’t follow the Droid family, though I’ve heard of some of these names. Are there any Verizon Droid models that are NOT being discounted, or is this ‘the whole shebang?’
NHL

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:07 pm · Reply

“Apple is so doomed!
Apple MUST slash prices immediately to match this, or they’re going to lose their market share!”

Of course I’m being sarcastic here, but I’m also simply repeating the exact nonsense that “analysts” (stock manipulators) and Apple-haters have been spewing about Apple’s prices since the dawn of the company.

Let everyone else race to the bottom.
Apple rises without effort.
- ditchdoc68
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 3:02 pm · Reply
  
  Th cream always rises to the top.
James

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:10 pm · Reply

@MacBill “COMPLETELY FREE Droid phone”

Really, what’s the cost of the contract compared to the iPhone?

Considering how you pay over the life of the contract, the cost of the phone is a drop in the bucket.

Pay $200 more now and save yourself the hassles of an OPEN virus ridden platform.
AlfieJr

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:13 pm · Reply

so Verizon “sells” 9 different Droid phones? how is any average consumer supposed to figure out which to buy? people hate being confused and left to the mercy of slimy salesmen.
MJMJ

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:14 pm · Reply

I’m an apple fan and stock owner. However, as a consumer I want there to be serious competition in the smartphone market. I want Apple to have to keep on its toes and I want the market to remain competitive and I want people to have real choices of vendors. I don’t want any company to have a monopoly.
- Think
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:38 pm · Reply
  
  Think about what you just said.
  
  What great phones were there before 2007?
  
  The iPhone is so far above and away from all the rest, Apple could just sit around for another year or two.
  
  But they won’t. Apple competes with themselves. That is their competition.
  
  Some people whine about why Apple waited to put certain features in the iPhone. Why didn’t they do it all in the first one?
  
  Too many people with no technology background. What Apple did in 2007 was pushing the envelope for the size of what they produced. Look at how long it took competitors to try to match the iPhone. They still fail.
  
  It is not just throwing the electronics in a cute case. Apple has some of the best engineers in the world working together. Engineers that worked on computers for decades. Engineers that worked on operating systems for decades.
  
  The saved data and history of prototypes and experiments over all that time, no one else has that. Too many people forget that Apple has existed for over 30 years.
  
  Most of the other cell phone companies do not have their skills.
  
  They might be better at something with phones, but we haven’t seen it yet.
MacinScott

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:24 pm · Reply

@MacBill

Consumers should know their limits. If they aren’t in a position to buy a $199 phone, then they probably shouldn’t be spending $85+/mo on a cellular bill.

That’s why the average American is so in debt and our country is in serious trouble. Live within your means.
ken1w

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:27 pm · Reply

Step ONE: Apple releases iPhone with exclusivity to ATT.
Step TWO: Apple allows Android to grow dominant on Verizon, to help marginalize the rest of the competition (RIM, Nokia, Palm, old Windows Mobile, etc.), leaving perception of “it’s iPhone versus Android.”
Step THREE: Apple invades Verizon and marginalizes Android.
Step FOUR: iPhone domination in U.S. market complete.
DMac

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:28 pm · Reply

The Jawa Superstore is slashing prices. Everything must go!

But, Uncle Owen, this one has a bad motivator! These are not the droids we’re looking for…
- 24january1984
  
  Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 2:41 pm · Reply
  
  Laughed my ass off!
  
  Their phones are a bad motivator.