Apple preparing to refresh iPhone 3G with $199 16GB, $299 32GB models?

“Apple reportedly plans to build 14 million to 15 million iPhone 3Gs from a previous target of 18 million for 2008, according to a report from Pacific Crest,” Larry Dignan blogs for ZDNet.

“Citing ‘supply chain channel checks’ Apple’s is cutting its iPhone 3G buildout. However, analysts reckon that the lower build-out plan won’t hurt Apple. However, suppliers that make the guts of the iPhone may take a hit,” Dignan reports.

“Pacific Crest found that AT&T stores are seeing inventory drawdowns of 8 GB iPhones through late August and mid-September. The upshot: ‘The popularity of the 8 GB model reinforces our concern that smartphone demand has shifted to a lower price point. We are also concerned that if Apple chooses to refresh its lineup with a 16 GB model at $199 and a 32 GB model at $299, this could put additional price pressure on the handset industry and, by extension, the component suppliers,'” Dignan reports.

“There is a caveat to that aforementioned point. Pacific Crest analyst Adam Hargreaves said in a report that the shortages of 8 GB iPhones could be an intentional drawdown as Apple plots a lineup with more capacity,” Dignan reports.

More in the full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]

23 Comments

  1. How about Apple knew about the plug recall issue around that time and needed production and shipping time to get the new units out. I was told that my 8gb 3g’s was one of the first with the new plug to come in the packaging. I bought mine 10 days ago. It had a cute green dot on both the plug and the box.

  2. Anything that comes out of the pc camp is to be taken as bs at most. We have been students a long time and have learned not to trust a word they say. They will go to any length to throw a wrench into the Apple machine. Who writes their paychecks – MSFT, RIMM, NOK, V, MOT, etc – all scum of the earth.

  3. Is there an app that’ll let you use the iPhone as a flash drive? Or did Apple kill that feature for good?

    —————————-

    Yes, there are many apps that allow you to use the iPhone as a drive.

    It’s my theory that Apple intentionally left this feature out because they knew it was a feature that many users would use and it is easy enough for developers to implement.

    This method creates more of a demand for applications from the app store and creates additional revenue for developers and Apple (with their 30% cut.)

    That being said, I agree with the above posters that Air Share is the best app for this purpose. It will cost you $6.99, but it has the nicest interface and is easiest to use of the similar apps that I’ve tested.

  4. You shouldn’t need an app to use the iPhone as a flash drive. Why can’t I just hook it up to my computer and use it like an iPod rather than these crazy and limited jerry rigged over-the-air schemes?

  5. No memory bump till Jan-feb, Apple doesn’t give a damn to put out before the holidays. they know people are going to buy no matter what. just look when they release the 16gig iphone after the new year, 6-7 months after launch.

  6. R2: You shouldn’t need an app to use the iPhone as a flash drive. Why can’t I just hook it up to my computer and use it like an iPod rather than these crazy and limited jerry rigged over-the-air schemes?

    The main reason is probably that Apple doesn’t want people to mess around with the device’s system files any more than absolutely unavoidable. Jailbreaking is still a significant hurdle to that, but access to the file system would make it a lot easier.

  7. R2: You shouldn’t need an app to use the iPhone as a flash drive. Why can’t I just hook it up to my computer and use it like an iPod rather than these crazy and limited jerry rigged over-the-air schemes?

    Because you also need an application to view and manage the files on the phone. The functionality is more advanced than using your iPhone as a USB thumb drive.

  8. my sprint contract is ending on Oct. 7th. i’ve been waiting since they announced the iphone in 2007 to get one. but i may just wait at least until the rumored Oct. 14 mac event to see if they roll out 32gb models at the $299 price. and i’d get my wife the 16gb one.

    if they don’t announce them then, i’ll just get the current 16gb one. and i’m not sure if to get my wife the 8 or 16gb. may have to get the 16gb there’s no more inventory of the 8gb.

    it’d sure be nice if they announce before the 7th, that way i don’t have to wait longer than that to cut ties with Sprint.

    but 32gb would be a sweet spot.

    does anyone know if apple offers a “price guarantee” on the iphones like they do on their computers, if the price changes in the first 2 weeks of when you purchase?

    if so, is that only if you buy at an apple store? what about at an at&t;store? the att stores are close, the nearest apple store is 3hrs away.

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