Week in review: Apple of my ire

Apple dominated the technology headlines this week, as it typically does following highly anticipated product unveilings like the one held Wednesday.

But this week's news wasn't just about the shiny new iPods and related features CEO Steve Jobs introduced in his polished presentation at San Francisco's Moscone Center. It was about the huge price cut Jobs announced for the 8GB iPhone--from $599 to $399, and the resulting anger expressed by those loyal fans who were first to buy the product at the higher price point.

Following the uproar from customers--and in a rare admission of a mistake--Jobs on Thursday posted an open letter on Apple's Web site acknowledging the company shouldn't have treated its early adopters in such a fashion and offering them a $100 store credit.

"We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple," Jobs wrote.

Some commended Jobs and the company for what they considered a humble and fair response to the iPhone price flap. Others, however such as CNET News.com reader Jake Kushner, president of JK Media, said Apple's response didn't go far enough to satisfy those who bought a 4GB iPhone for $499, only to see the 8GB model become $100 cheaper. They should get a free upgrade to an 8GB model or a $200 rebate, he said.

"I feel wronged and misled by Apple. Such a quick price reduction indicates that Apple premeditated this reduction before the initial release," Kushner wrote, addressing Jobs. "I read your public response on Apple.com to this issue, but I still feel that the solution you are offering is not adequate."

"I feel wronged and misled by Apple. Such a quick price reduction indicates that Apple premeditated this reduction before the initial release. I read your public response on Apple.com to this issue, but I still feel that the solution you are offering is not adequate."
-- Jake Kushner, CNET News.com reader

Meanwhile, those who've been contemplating purchasing an iPhone might be interested instead in Apple's new iPod Touch, which is essentially a phoneless, camera-less version of the iPhone with the same 3.5-inch screen, multitouch interface, home screen and OS X. The iPod Touch has the ability to connect to the Internet with 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, comes with Apple's Safari Web browser and has built-in Google and Yahoo search.

Apple is also revising some of its previous iPods--the regular iPod, the Nano and the Shuffle. It will offer a new 160GB version of the regular iPod (now known as the iPod Classic) that's thinner than the regular iPod and has better battery life. It made minor changes to its iPod Shuffle line, which will come in new colors. And the new iPod Nano will now have video capability, though its screen is only 2 inches wide.

Jobs also announced the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, which allows consumers to buy songs wirelessly, and a partnership with Starbucks. People with an iPod Touch or iPhone who walk into a Starbucks coffee shop will see a button pop up on their screen. They will then have the option to buy the last 10 songs that have been playing in the store, as well as music from featured artists at Starbucks.

A few other non-Apple products worth noting were also announced this week. Still on the gadget front, Hewlett-Packard unveiled the HP Blackbird 002, a souped-up, flashy gaming PC that is the company's first joint effort with its Voodoo unit. In a computing niche that leans heavily on design, the Blackbird shows careful attention was paid to detail both inside and out, industry observers say.

[csg7]

Pricecut was quick but its the same for every tech product !

I am not asking for the price difference i now see for my LCD tv and phone i bought in the last year.
Maybe in case of iPhone 2 months was quick, but I was expecting it anyway by early next year.

All those crying about extra they had to pay just don't think iPhone was ever worth that price (and i agree !).

[AlienEric]

Better Than Scams!

I think it's good news generally to all the consumers. I was so into iPhones that my anxiety got the better of me, I was conned $600 dollars by a scammer by the name of Ava Derrick ([e-mail]). Further emails after payment has no replies. It was really painful. But I'm glad to have got an unlocked iPhone set from <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.iphone-singapore.com/" target="_newWindow">http://www.iphone-singapore.com/</a> in the end.

[krishna.raveendran]

Scam

What else did they tell you, the scammers?

[kiti2kiti]

Hey

I'm Ava Derrick , And i don't think i know you . why the **** in this world will you want to spoil my image.

Can you please provide your e-mail so i could search my database as i don't know you

Cheers

[tundraboy]

Big bunch of whining snotty babies.

Waah, waah! Papa Steve hurt my feelings. I thought I was special to him but I'm not the apple of his eye after all. Ooooh the pain, the pain!

[ckurowic]

Stop whining

Thats just how business is! I can't believe how many babies
there are out there! Do you complain every-time you buy a shiny
new car just to come back for an oil change a month later to see
the same model on sale? NO! This angers me to the max. Get a
life, and get over it. It's the end of the world isn't it? Yes, Apple
ripped you off so bad you should go burn your iPhone and all of
your Mac-gear. No, why stop there? Lets go burn down Apple
headquarters! Yeah! You freaking morons, LET IT GO, THATS
JUST HOW BUSINESS IS, STOP BEING BABIES, STOP WHINING, and
for godsakes what are you teaching your kids! ***** and moan
long enough and you get your way? Wow, you all disgust me.

[bob donut]

He's right

Even though the post heading this thread used somewhat colorful language, he is 100% right. Price concessions are almost unheard of in the tech industry. That Apple would do so is a sign that they want to keep and grow their customer base in this product line for a long time. And if they planned the rebate as a contingency for this kind of whininess, more power to them.

[ckurowic]

To sum it up...

How in the world is this article even news? Slow news day...again?
Price cuts are a fact of life, no matter what product you are looking
at. The problem is that people feel entitled when in reality a
company exists for one purpose: to make money the most efficient
way they can. Thanks for a useless article and thank you "offended
customers" for knocking down my faith in mankind another peg.

[gsmiller88]

Cry us a river...

If people had the time and money to go wait in like and shell out
$599 for it in the first place then they needn't be ******** about the
price drop! It's Apple, people! They drop prices and designs
quicker than Paris Hilton does men!

[bob donut]

agreed

I think the real reason they are upset is that the lower price makes it less of a status symbol. Kind of like how neighborhood associations get on people that sell their house too low.

[bob1960]

I'm sorry, I just don't get it.

OK. I guess if I had been one of the people who stood in line for days and forked over all their hard earned cash on the iPhone the first day it was available, I might have more empathy for those who are upset about the price cut. (and yes, I read the letter Jobs wrote to his fans) However... I doubt very much if it was a premeditated plot to rape the loyal Apple consumers. I think that it evolved out of the whole process, and I actually commend Apple for doing it. PDAs and smartphones cost about $500 first time out. I bought a Nokia 6620 for $400 two years ago, and bought my daughter a Razor for the same price when it first came out. Now I have a $200 modern version of the Nokia, and the Razor is practically being given away for free. So... initially pricing the iPhone at $600 was not unreasonable, INMO. However, after reading TONS of email bashing the price and the at&#38;t service costs, I fully understand why Apple might want to revisit pricing structure. Add in the new iPods into the scheme of things, the fact that something needed to be done to placate the at&#38;t haters and new-to-Apple crowd, and it makes even more sense. How could they have sold the iPod Touch for $600, or even $400 without adjusting the iPhone's price? And I totally buy the Holiday season push. Apple may not reach the projected 1 million target iPhone sales by the end of the fiscal year (September), and the press on that small failure would have been more fodder for those wanting to bash everything iPhone. With the biggest part of the sales year rapidly coming up, I could easily see them outselling both the iPhone and the iPod sales from the summer. With the price restructuring, it seemed to almost be guaranteed. Now.... Add in the pricing war with Apple and NBC/Universal on music, and Job's hard-lined promise to iTune users that Apple would not raise prices, and the new iPhone and iPod prices make even more sense. Add in the factoring that European and Asian sales of iPhone are soon to come, and a $600 iPhone there (even with 3G) would seem very excessive to that market. So... on a business level, I totally understand Apples position. Also, take into account that Apple products have always been priced higher than the competition, and it has sometimes cost them sales (Apple II and MACs were always more expensive by far than Atari, IBM, or Commodore computers, but slated as more durable and powerful, so accepted by many but not all). Just look at the accessories for iPods compared to non-iPod music equipment. Remember that boomboxes dropped to under $75 for basic units, and you can't even get speakers for iPods for that price... I even spent $50 for a leather case for my Video iPod, which is much more than I spent on my leather wallet. So, IMHO, Apple prices needed to drop to get the attention of the non-loyal consumer. Think of that fact that parents struggle every day to get their kids cool things so they can be popular, but still must work two jobs per family in most cases just to have a decent living. When Christmas comes around and every kid wants their own Wii, iPod, iPhone, and whatever else is screaming hot, and Daddy wants to upgrade to Vista, and Mom is trying to keep the peace, seasonal sales can be very helpful. Does Apple, or any corporation, really care about this? Not really, but if seen to seemingly care by dropping prices, helps sales. With that said, I think that reasonable people would not be upset at dropping the price of the iPhone, but more over the timing of only a few months after the introduction of it to consumers. Yes, that was gutsy and probably a mistake, but how long is acceptable to have waited? Christmas 2008? And how many people would have bought the iPod Touch this year if it had been priced say at $499 and the iPhone price left alone? It is all perspective, IMHO. Did you pay the extra $200 for the priviledge of getting the jump on everybody else, or did you get ripped off by not being a savvy consumer and waiting for the second generation device (which I think can be debated that the iPod touch is at least a 1.5 gen) I am not a loyal Apple fan nor an Anti-fan. Maybe that is the issue here. I fall into that small category of trying to see the whole picture and not pushing my own agenda or ego. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs don't know I even exist, yet I have been in the computer field over 25 years and had the pleasure to work on both Apple and Microsoft early products... I don't owe them anything, and they don't owe me anything. If I use their products, all I expect is truth in advertising and a good warranty plan. Both companies meet those criteria, and I don't take them to task for not reading my fan mail...

[Nodack]

Spme get it.

I am pleasantly surprised by the sane number of resonses here
today. What happened to all of the whiny people?

[rcrusoe]

You just can't please some people

I paid $599 for an iPhone and I was glad to see the price cut (I plan to purchase another one before Christmas as a gift).

When the $100 rebate was announce that was just icing on the cake.

A rebate like Apple is offering is almost unheard of these days. Those of us that paid full price thought the iPhone was worth it then, and nothing has changed.

So I plan to accept the rebate with a "thank you". But then I'm an adult, apparently some who purchased an iPhone early are not.

[lanceuppercut123]

I am also an adult....

And guess what I don't feel like one now...That is so cool that Apple is actually giving you 100.00 on top of what you spent. More company's should be like apple.

Too bad I will never shop at apple again maybe I am adult enough to know that I have been fleeced. :)

[DougDbug]

HA! HA! HA! HA!

I laughed when I heard about the price cut. I KNEW all of those people who stood in line would be upset. I mean, it was funny enough watching those people (on the news) standing line waiting for the phones to go on sale at midnight. But, this is REALLY funny!

These are the same people who bought plasma TVs for $35,000, and who paid too much for their Blu-Ray or HD-DVD players.

I've even done it! I bought a CD burner for $1000 when blank CD-R's were $12.00 each. But it was worth it to me, and I wasn't upset when I had to replace it several years later for less than $100, or when I bought my first DVD burner for $100.

[deskelton]

I think Apple has gone to far to give these knuckle heads any money back.

Thats how it works. Consumables get cheaper. Stores put stuff on sale all the time. I guess when I buy my next suit and the next month they put it fifty percent off I should complain and say I will never buy anything from you again. Boo hooo. SO you payed too much, not Apples problem. People are nuts if they thought it was never going to come down in price. I think Apple has gone to far to give these knuckle heads any money back.

Now the phone is priced right and I will pick one up. Thats the price you have to pay to be first with a new gadget.

Good for Apple wanting to sell tons of these for the holiday season.

[mikegraham]

Your right...

...these morons sound like little kids crying over who got the
biggest piece of candy. The battery in my old iPod has been
dead for years, but instead of suing Apple, I leave it plugged in
and connected to my old stereo in my office and play my music
from it. I bought a car a month before employee pricing went
into effect from GM, do you think I called the dealership and
cried over it.
A matter of days after I bought my last laptop, CompUSA
decided to go out of business in our area and dropped the price
on the same laptop by a few hundred dollars, who do I cry to
about that, CompUSA went out of business, Compaq made the
computer, and I bought mine at Best Buy.
These fools really need to get a life and to go back to suing
McDonald's for selling hot coffee.

[Ron Stark]

You knew the job was dangerous when you took it!

I couldn't get an iPhone fast enough. I threw away two like-new
Palm Treo 650's and couldn't get rid of them fast enough. We ALL
have to pay for technology. We MUST support it. Steve did respond
valiantly.
The iPhone is a gift at $599 and even bigger at $399. Don't believe
me? Try calling Palm's tech support. The price will always be
cheaper tomorrow. Buy today and be happy. I do and I am. Thanks,
Steve.

[chirpthiscricket]

lighten up guys

i bought an iPhone when they came out and have no complaints about dropping the price (I'm also a stockholder). Those that could afford it can also afford their 'perceived' loss in its value. Its now priced fairly so that more can enjoy the technology. Premeditated? Who cares!

[digiprod--2008]

Wait Until the new iPod buyers find this out!

The new iPod do not support video out to a TV unless you buy a
new $49 cable from Apple. This breaks many peoples accessories.
Plus the games you bought from the iTunes Store will not work on
the new iPods! This is worse than the price drop of the iPhone

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.reelsmart.com/2007/09/07/bad-news-apple-locks-" target="_newWindow">http://www.reelsmart.com/2007/09/07/bad-news-apple-locks-</a>
tv-out-on-new-ipods-breaking-video-add-ons/

[mikegraham]

Awww...

You mean my nearly eight year old iPod is broke. The one with the
dead battery that has to be plugged in all the time and has been
hooked to my surround sound for nearly 4 years is no good any
more. The 10 GB 2001 model I paid nearly $400 for isn't any good
any more. That darn Steve Jobs and his dang upgrading features
and dropping prices. What the heck does he know anyway?

[Mac User Too]

"Loyal Fans???"

Can we please stop calling the people who bought the iPhone
prior to yesterday 'Loyal Fans'. 'Early adopters' - maybe. 'Gadget
freaks' - maybe. 'Having a lot of disposable income' - probably.
'Loyalty' has nothing to do with this. Back when Macs were
available from a multitude of mail order stores and Apple was
hurting financially, a good friend of mine told me he was only
going to purchase Macs directly from Apple. He suggested I do
so, also. We are both in the graphics business and we bought a
lot of Macs. He was worried about Apple's bottom line at a time
when Apple's future was, by no means, secure. I would classify
that as 'loyalty'. He paid a little more so that Apple could keep
an even bigger slice of the retail price. Even that was a selfish
act in the end. Neither of us could imagine doing what we do on
windows computers and we had a real interest in Apple's
continued existence.
I doubt if there was even one iPhone purchase (not counting
apple employees or share-holders) where the buyer was
purchasing to HELP APPLE and thus qualifying as a 'loyal fan'.
Where were all 500,000 of these loyal fans when the Cube was
for sale?

[dlowe402]

Don't lump everyone into the same category

My wife and I have been "Loyal" to Apple going back to the 80's
and the IIe. We have gone thru many a Mac in our days. Her
family has had Macs as far as she can remember. After we got
married we got a Performa PowerPC and fell in love with the
Bondi. We have had every iMac made (with the exception of the
Flower Pot). We went through the Dual Core G4 tower. I have had
4 Powerbooks going back to before they were Powerbooks and
more recently, Wallstreet (which I used for quite some time) to
the 12" G4 (loved the compact size) and I'm typing this on my
Mackbook Pro. My wife is behind me on an Intel iMac and the
kids have her old G5 iMac. Out of 4 in our family, we have 6
iPods and the latest is my wifes iPhone which we got on June
29th for her b-day. Why did we get it then? Not to have the
latest and greatest...but because we were tired of crap
cellphones and have known and trusted Apple for years. Yea,
there are alot of people out there that are early adopters but we
did it out of love for a company that makes good stuff. I have
been planning to get one of my own but was trudging along
with my treo till now. this will definitely push me over the edge
as i can actually afford a second now. Call me a Fan-Boy or
whatever you want but I like my Apples.

[bob1960]

Brand Loyalty to me means...

Liking it enough to have a positive biased opinion toward it. This can mean many things from buying all the products, choosing them over comparable (not necessarily better or worse) products,to supporting them financially or any other method. And the shear number of Apple vs Microsoft vs. Nokia, etc... tels me that the bulk of the early buyers were buying because it was from Apple. I don't want to get into nits here, but other than the UI, there are many other phones tat do what the iPhone does. We have all heard about them in iPhone discusions, but NONE were snatched up on first release like the iPhone. Now if it was shown that the majority of the people purchasing the iPhone also got a Wii, then I might reconsider the bulk being early adopters...

[mikegraham]

Well said

Most of the people replying on this message board are not loyal
fans or even iPhone owners, they are just a bunch of whiners whose
daddys wouldn't pay for an iPhone so they have to complain about
how bad it is.

[barbinator2]

No TV-OUT - deal breaker for me

I'm really glad I read the comments about having to buy a proprietary $50 cable to get video out from the new iPod to display ipod video on the TV. Forget that noise! I was about to go buy the new iPod touch, but now I'm sticking with my old video ipod. Apple hit the ball way out of the park on the user interface, but is losing the game with mis-steps with consumers. We should be able to use a standard video cable to connect the ipod to another video device. That is totally bogus. Get with the program, Mr. Jobs.

[bob1960]

Apple and innovation and standards?

OK... after spending $400 on a "toy" (meaning that you could get something with the same features with less money and flash) you won't put out for a $50 cable? If Apple is synonymous with innovation, then they will sometimes have to break the standards... And while your at it... why not cry and whine about the sync and docking port being a standard mini-USB port? How do you suggest they solder the RCA jack into the thing anyway? Or maybe you want a USB to RCA adaptor for the sync cable? How much would that cost?

[bjlevine]

check your facts

I believe the usual Apple AV cable for the 5G works in the "Classic" as well. The higher res video requires the Dock connector.

[mikegraham]

Wow you're stupid

That's it. By the way, forget that noise was a statement from nearly
a decade and a half ago. Are you still wearing parachute pants,
too?

[thriftyT]

iPhone: new lower price!

I don't know if the $200 iPhone price cut was unprecedented,
but I do know that the negative response surrounding a 33%
price cut on a desirable product is unprecedented.

In my book, any price cut at any time for anything is a good
thing.

I do understand that the timing of the price cut (after
approximately 2 months, in this case) was a bit shocking, but is
there a more correct time? Is 87 days OK? How about 143? Or
144?

And what were Apple's alternatives? Would people really have
been happier if they withheld a price cut until December 26th? I
know a lot of the people shopping in Apple stores and AT&#38;T
stores today who most certainly would not be happier.

How about a graded deflation? Aug.1st price of iPhone: $599,
Aug. 7th price of iPhone: $579, Sept. 6th price $519, etc. A
good idea perhaps,but not at all practical or realistic.

[bob1960]

Amen.

Much better comment than my tome

[lanceuppercut123]

So let me get this right...

So how do you think those people that are shopping today feel if the price was cut to 125.00 on Dec. 26? Or maybe if by Dec. 26 the iphone was free with 2yr contract? How do you think those people would feel. I know how I feel and I will never forget.

[piercenb]

Didn't we all see this coming?

The big deal about getting an iPhone early is to have it early. If you
don't think it is worth the high earlybird price then wait. Thats how
it is with all tech. Come on!

[lanceuppercut123]

I agree

Now I know that the iphone was never worth that much...so should I just say well I was the first one with it? No I don't really care about being the first with something and I will never ever be again thank you apple for saving me hundreds of dollars in the future...:) I so happy...This is a good thing.Right????

[bjlevine]

Too bad; now go get a life.

Would you have preferred that Steve drop the price $2 per week over the next year so you could get used to the new pricing and not feel like such a dork for standing on line for 27 hours to get yours on day 1?

Jeez; take the $100 store credit, buy a Shuffle, and chill out.

[bizzup.net]

Bad for early adopters (bad for Apple)

I was extremely happy with my iPhone until 17 days after I purchased it Apple announced that they were reducing the price down $200. I brought the 4GB version since I thought the 8GB was too much money and now 2 weeks later I learn it's actually less than what I paid (and the model that I purchased is discontinued). I don't normally complain about purchases that I make but this is too obvious that I was duped. This would have been fine if I purchased an outdated product or a product that was not in demands but this was not the case.

Apple purposely targeted early technology adopters and their loyal fans because they know that nothing would stop them (even price) from getting their hands on what was the best piece of technology introduced in a while. While this may sound like a good business plan (to milk the customers who are willing to pay a higher price and later introduce the fair price to everyone else) I don't think you considered who those early technology adopters are. These are the individual who were willing and able to make this an extremely successful product and at no cost to Apple. There are many companies including Amazon.com, Facebook, and Meebo who launched iPhone only websites to show support for the iPhone. I don?t think the $100 discount off a new product from Apple that they are offering to early adopters makes it any fairer. What I would like to see happen is that I can upgrade to the 8GB version for free.

Aside from my complaints above I still believe that this is the best product I have purchased in a long time. As a matter of fact if I didn?t have an iPhone in my hands right now I would have argued with anyone that this technology will not exist for at least another 3 years. Apple read my mind with this product. I would have loved to see Apple dominate the phone market just to push other phone manufacturers to stop ?jerking? around and make better phone products. But with this first blow from Apple I?m not sure I feel that way anymore.

[OS11]

Yeah, but you did get the $399 price /$100 back.

Yes, but keep in mind you are getting $100 back, so really there isn't anything to complain about. Cell phone prices drop quickly and since Apple wants to become a major cell phone provider, they are moving faster than most.

I'm getting $900 back! So I'm going to buy 3 more of the 4GB iphones, such a deal!

[bob1960]

what new tech features are you talking about?

I hate to be snide, but in my observation, the only really "New Tech" that is available in the iPhone and not on any other cell phone is the two finger touch screen. And maybe the accelerometer to automatically rotate the screen. And plenty of phones have the ability to rotate photos and some even have touch screens. If you are talking about the larger screen, I guess I have to give you that one, but that is not new tech, just design.

In all actuality the iPhone is not a real tech advance at all. The advance goes into the design features that are savvy, sexy, and attractive. An accomplishment in itself, so I don't have any complaints about it. But the iPhone is not Star Trek advanced...

[mikegraham]

Quit whining

Oh, I was happy with my purchase until 17 days later - get a
grip. I was happy with my car until 30 days later and they
offered employee pricing.
I was happy with my laptop until a week later when the price
went down a couple hundred bucks.
I was happy looking at my wife until I saw Shakira.

Quit whining, get a life and realize prices drop, things go on
sale, original models get discontinued and even if you have a hot
wife, Shakira probably looks better than her, too.

[polar lim]

sigh~

sob sob i jz bought an ipod few months ago... now??!! coming out with new generation... T.T

[Claire Gaeta]

Cute Story

Having just bought a new shuffle for my daughter 3 weeks ago, and taking her old one, my immediate reaction was "OMG - the Nano is now selling for the same price we paid for the shuffle".

A normal thing in the mind of any single mom.

When I told my daughter I had read that Apple was considering collaboration with VW on the "I-Car" She said "Mom ...it will fall apart" "I-Rack" Mom - referring to the spoof video!

[manusharma]

Here's what it means and why Apple did it

Apple gave away nearly $2 billion to past and future customers with this price cut.

Short explanation:

What it means:
Unprecedented wealth making with margins and volumes unseen in the industry

Why Apple did it:
To preempt future competitors such as Google and others.

Long answer:
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://orangehues.com/blog/2007/09/iphones-200-price-cut-2-billion.html" target="_newWindow">http://orangehues.com/blog/2007/09/iphones-200-price-cut-2-billion.html</a>

[bcroner]

$600 is too expensive, $100 store credit is damned cheap

Jobs better do something about his pissed off customers. Maybe Apple is too greedy or something. Or maybe they're in financial pain so bad they can't take a big enough hit to appease their fan base.

[cwkoller]

New Territory for Apple - Users willing to cut some slack

Hundreds of thousands willingly paid $600 for the iPhone, and
many waited in line for hours on the day of its release to do so.
That's their choice. Apple, who is brand new to the mobile
phone market, is now seeing the strategic landscape more
clearly and is obviously making an aggressive move to bring on a
larger audience. That's their choice.

There's a lot of nervous players out there who have a lot to lose
if Apple succeeds. Apple, in turn, is adjusting its game in AGAIN
this brand new space for them. My read on the feedback so far
is that Jobs scored major points with users via his $100 store
credit offer. I'd like to see how any other major company would
have handled this play...

[bob1960]

Oh come on.... This is not SG1!

I normally remain silent on these blogs, but I am totally amazed at the anger expressed by those who a few weeks ago were more than willing to snub anybody who had "regular" cell phone. It reminds me of the commercial for Comcast and the guy with the tiger stripe tattoos... The iPhone is just a phone.

Listen folks, we are in a new era of technology where new ideas and amazing products are coming out every day. Most times Sales and Marketing departments slow down the process or kill it entirely by not believing in the product. I f designers could put to market everything that they came up with or could put together, we all would suffer from "Future Shock". IMHO, Steve Jobs talents are in strongly believing in a concept and product and pushing it to market. Whether that be by offering a sexy product or targeting it to existing fans of Apple. Or cutting prices so that there is an iPhone and/or iPod in every Christmas stocking... For the first time I think that the rest of the consumer market understands Jobs, while the Fanboys are crying foul.

Is the iPhone sexy? Yes. Is it savvy? Yes. Is it a good phone? Yes. Is it worth $600? Maybe. But people! IT IS JUST A PHONE!

I hate to use such a tacky SciFi reference... but let's put this all into perspective and not act like Jaffa just finding out the Goa'uld are false Gods.

OK... Now that I was taunted into SF-speak, I will shut up...

[mikegraham]

...or you're an ill-informed moron

The company has a huge market cap and enough cash reserves to
buy Gateway. Do you just make stupid comments in your spare
time or is it your full-time job?

[beemrdon]

suckers!

First of all, those that buy this stuff mostly want to be thought of as "hip", "cool", "with-it", etc.
They need tacit approval from others in their group and Apple products seem to give them the status that they so long for. Steve Jobs has done a masterful job of plugging into this group and creating a ready market for whatever expensive electronics of questionable value he sells. In short he has his sheep that he shears on a regular basis and laughs all the way to the bank.
Poor status seekers just got burnt for two bills...tisk, tisk.