iPhone for 1 Euro?
Reuters reported that T-Mobile will sell Apple Inc's new iPhone for as little as 1 euro ($1.54) for the 8-gigabyte version together with a 69 euro monthly contract in Germany. I've already had a conversation in a Hungarian blog's post, in which people convinced me that the most important number most buyers look at is the entry fee that must be paid at the time of entering into a contract. Aftermath (i.e. how much it will eventually cost) is of less importance.
Could someone enlighten me why the (new, old - the same) iPhone makes people go crazy? Why do network operators contend for selling it? Besides the UI (which is very compelling & user-friendly, I admit), what else is in it that is not available in other high-end devices? What could Nokia and others learn from Apple so that people would fight for their devices, too? Or is this just another bubble that will explode when other phone manufacturers catch up soon?
Tote
4 comments:
iPhone is simple while it solves the top problems - that's the whole point!
There is no iPhones in Finland yet, but I borrowed iPod touch for a week to play with in on a home WiFi. I always thought that touch screens are not for me, but Apple managed to throw away enough features to have place for BIG buttons and controls that I don't have to search for and only few choices to make. Limited - yes. Simple - yes. Powerful enough - for many people.
In fact once they've got the enterprise integration, there are only three reasons that stop me from starting to use it:
1. Keyboard - I am still typing on ITU-9 faster than on iPhone and good keyboard means much for me
2. No Opera browser yet. iPhone's Safari is nice, but I don't want any scrolling in 95% of cases
3. My company gives me phones of another brand for free and cheap iPhone is significantly more expensive, than free brand-X phone :)
Artem, thanks for your comments! Note that I didn't claim that I wouldn't use an iPhone (dare to say, regularly?), however, to buy one? I'll see ... The whole point of my blog was to ask why other manufacturers cannot achieve the same result with their products: people are in queue to purchase an iPhone, network operators proudly announce they sell this device, etc.
I honestly don't own an iPhone out of choice though I REALLY love their interface. I guess it's the fact that they made it first that's why people are clamoring for something like it. And try hard as other manufacturers can, they simply cannot replicate the responsiveness of the Apple UI. However, if manufacturers can replicate or make an even better UI, people will now move on from the iPhone.
Apple is a very strong brand especially in the US and was able to sell the idea of the first really easy to use smartphone. That's why the hype is so strong.
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