Analyst: Lower-priced Apple iPhones critical to success

33 Comments

“J.P. Morgan isn’t the only one predicting Apple will work up a $300 version of the iPhone. Gartner analyst Hugues de la Vergne says having a lower-priced follow-up to the iPhone is ‘one of the most critical things to Apple’s success,'” MarketWatch reports.

“‘The steady flow of new products will be what will determine Apple’s success, and they’ve shown they understand this concept,’ says de la Vergne,” MarketWatch reports.

Full audio report here.

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Apple gains on ‘iPhone nano’ rumor; market value now close to HP’s – July 10, 2007
JP Morgan analyst: Apple planning cheaper ‘iPhone nano’ – July 09, 2007

33 Comments

  5. ArsTechnica has an article about this rumor and a good comment thread. I see iPod Nano + a very simple phone as a winner. Syncs to your iTunes library and address book, nothing more, no data plan since the screen would be to small to be useful on the web. Should be unlocked to boot. Take that AT&T.

    Maybe a simple touch interface with virtual scroll wheel / dial pad.

    http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/07/09/nano-style-iphone-rumor-bolstered

    Reply

  6. How is a $300 price point suddenly “critical” to Apple success? They just sold 1 million of them for heaven’s sake! I think that the journalists are reaching after unanimously missing the electronic gadget success story of the decade.

    Reply

  7. I do not agree with this analysis. I know everyone is falling all over themselves saying that lower prices will increase sales. But price communicates value. The iPhone is seen as the elite of the smartphones and that’s where Apple wants it to stay.

    The high end iPod is selling for $250. And selling well. It makes no sense for Apple to offer a stripped down version of the iPhone for $300. I expect Apple to produce a large screen multi touch ipod for the holidays priced around 300-325. But I do not predict a fall in iPhone prices for as much as two years. However, the capacity of the iPhone may grow during that time making it an even better value at the current 500-600 price.

    Reply

  8. I predict that in the coming quarters, Apple Inc. will introduce one or possibly several new products that have electronic capabilities and allow user interaction with digital data. The first of these will be priced for the consumer/pro-sumer market, particularly focussing on the $79-$2,999 price range and will be differentiated by its design and ease of use, and possibly its use of manufacturing processes involving plastic, metal, or glass. This product will be critical for the success of Apple in the product’s emerging market. Apple will likely roll out a version for US customers first, with international markets following at a later date. Availability will initially be good, followed by a brief period of reduced availability, then moving to a larger availability as time progresses.
    Product specifications are subject to change at any time.

    -analyst

    (pay me now)

    Reply

  10. If Apple does anything to change the price of the iPhone they will follow the same strategic used with the iPod: they will offer a higher capacity unit at the same high price point, and offer the previous model for $100 less.

    Look for a 12Gig version @ $599, with the 8Gig dropping to $499 and the 4Gig dropping to $399.

    The margins are there to do it, but still, I would n’t look for this to happen until sales of the current 8Gig model show signs of weakness.

    Reply

  15. “If Apple does anything to change the price of the iPhone they will follow the same strategic used with the iPod: they will offer a higher capacity unit at the same high price point, and offer the previous model for $100 less.” @Gregg Thurman

    I think your right on. But, they also have 3 versions of the iPod. Most of us out here don’t need or want an iPhone with all of its data features. Some of us would prefer an iPod + Phone, just a simple phone in the Nano form factor. No data plan and unlocked.

    Just like the iPod Nano and iPod co-exsist, an iPhone and iPhone Nano will too. An iPhone Nano will kill the low end phone market. Why buy a crap Nokia, free or for $50, when you can get your iPod and a phone that syncs with your music and contacts?

    They will fly off the shelfs! While Nokia resorts to flying chairs!

    Reply

  17. The numbnut analysts seem hung up on upfront price; so I propose we give them the Verizon MotoQ price, which is about $150, with a $80 voice+data plan. Add it up over 2 years and you pay more than a $500 iPhone with $60 plan. That way you don’t need a iPhone nano, you just sell em an iPhone with the price subsidized since that seems to be what analysts want.

    Reply

  19. Wow. MDN forever! Stuffed with ads, pop ups, ad fetches that make pages take forever to load, and now shitty, retarded HTML taken from the early nineties.

    I think my first page hand coded in 1994 looked better…

    <FUCKED>Wecome to MacDailyNews</FUCKED>

    Reply

  23. This is bogus. Apple can’t get enough 8gb models to sell. the only reason the 4gb models are sold out is because people aren’t willing to wait for 8gb models. I bought my iPhone last week, and there were three people that had come back the next morning to buy the 8gb model even though the night before there were 4gb models available. Yeah, they need a $399 phone!

    Reply

  24. Apple has surely sold more than a million iPhones already, where the fuck do these analysts get off saying that the iPhone needs to be cheaper in order for it to succeed? Why are analysts such idiots when it comes to everything Apple?

    Reply

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