What Would a Free iPhone Do for Sales?

How much difference will dropping the price of an iPhone from $199 to $99 make in Apple’s sales?

If you are being rational, it shouldn’t make that much of a difference, given that the $30 per month data plan costs $720 over two years. In other words the $100 price cut only reflects an 11 percent reduction in the total cost.

But since when were people rational? A year ago, Apple dropped the upfront cost of an iPhone from $399 to $199, but AT&T increased the monthly data plan’s cost by $10 a month (leading to a net increase in cost of $40 over two years.) The result: sales in the United States doubled, according to an analysis by Gene Munster, the analyst at Piper Jaffray. (There’s more to the increase of sales of course. The second generation iPhone was much faster and the App Store has been creating lots of new reasons for people to buy an iPhone.)

Mr. Munster continues to believe that this year’s price cut will help drive iPhone sales even higher. Indeed, he predicts that Apple will sell more of last year’s 3G phones at $99 than it will this year’s 3GS models, which are faster and have video recording capability, at $199 and $299. (I know you, Bits readers are early adopters and would likely spend the extra $100 if you were in an iPhone-buying mood, but not everyone takes gadgets as seriously as you do.)

“Ninety nine dollars is a magic price point,” he said. That’s on the low side for top-tier smart phones. AT&T is currently selling a refurbished Blackberry Curve at that price, and Verizon has the aging Palm Centro at $49.

Apple is also throwing a sharp elbow at Palm, Google and anyone else that might be tempted to compete with Apple by undercutting the iPhone’s price.

[via NY Times]

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Verizon Hopes to "Kill the iPhone" With Voyager

Verizon's murderous thoughts toward the iPhone are manifest in its shiny, faster Voyager phone

Verizon's new LG made Voyager, unveiled on Wednesday, is just in time for the holiday season. The new phone is going up against Apple’s popular iPhone and carries with plenty of ammunition for a full-on assault of Cupertino’s best.

This "iPhone killer" features a strikingly similar design to the iPhone, but it has something that the iPhone doesn't: a faster network. The LG Voyager also hinges open to feature a full keypad and a smaller screen, for users who dislike the iPhone's tactile keypad. Other features include full Internet browsing, V CAST Video and Music access, 2MP digital camera and support for .mp3, .wma and unprotected .aac files.

"We think it'll be the best phone ... this year. It will kill the iPhone," Verizon Wireless Chief Marketing Officer Mike Lanman said in an interview.

Analyst Avi Greengart thinks this homicidal claim is a bit outlandish. He thinks that the Voyager will likely attract many at Verizon who don't want to switch providers. Greengart doesn't see the Voyager as hurting the iPhone's red hot sales though.

Read the whole article @ Daily Tech

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Verizon to Launch IPhone Look-A-Like

In time for the holidays, Verizon Wireless is launching a cell phone that looks a lot like the hottest phone so far this year: Apple Inc.'s iPhone.

Like the iPhone, the LG Voyager features a large touch screen, a camera and extensive multimedia, Web browsing and e-mail capabilities.

However, it one-ups the iPhone by folding open lengthwise to reveal a QWERTY keyboard and a second, non-touch sensitive screen. The lack of a hardware keyboard has been one of the main complaints about the iPhone.

The Voyager will connect to Verizon Wireless' latest data network, providing speeds much higher than the AT&T network the iPhone uses. The Voyager also has direct access to Verizon Wireless' online music store.

Read the whole article @ Google

Get a Free iPhone! Yes, that is correct! Stay away from the hassles of earning enough to pay for it for you can get it the simple way .... straight to your doorstep! Free! Interested? Then find out how to get a Free iPhone!

Chocolate is nearly as sweet as the iPhone

Lots has been made of the 1 million Apple iPhones that have been sold over the summer. But even if Apple keeps it up, such sales are not unprecedented. The LG Chocolate phone from Verizon Wireless has sold 3.4 million units since its launch a year ago with hardly any hype.

Granted, LG has had 12 months to rack up those numbers. But that still works out to about 850,000 units per quarter, which gives Apple a pretty good run for the money.

The Chocolate comes in three colors (blue mint, black cherry and, of course, chocolate brown), sells for just $129.95 (with a two-year contract) and works with the Verizon V CAST music system and its 2.1 million song library.

The test model I've been carrying around for a couple of weeks has impressed me for audio quality and sleek design -- with a sliding number pad that makes for a very compact unit. It easily fits in a shirt pocket.

Read the whole article @ FreeP

Get a Free iPhone! Yes, that is correct! Stay away from the hassles of waiting in long lineups for you can get it the simple way .... straight to your doorstep! Free! Interested? Then find out how to get a Free iPhone!