Markoff reports, “Steven P. Jobs, the chief executive, said in an interview after the announcement that Apple would have been able to hit its publicly declared target of a million iPhones sold in the United States by the end of this month, even without a price cut. ‘We’re a high-volume manufacturer, and we’re pretty good at getting costs down,’ Mr. Jobs said. ‘It’s very clear we have a breakthrough product on our hands, but it’s also clear that many can afford it, some can’t. We’d like to make it affordable to even more folks going into this holiday season.'”
Markoff reports, “Mr. Jobs said that if the company had waited past the Christmas buying season to reduce prices it would have been forced to delay for another year reaching a broader consumer market. ‘We’re feeling like being more aggressive,’ he said.”
More in the full article here.
In an interview yesterday with CNBC’s Jim Goldman, Jobs said, “We want to get more aggressive for the holiday season. So, you know, we know a lot of people want an iPhone. For some, it’s out of their price range. We want it to be affordable for more people as we head into the holiday season. We’ll launch the iPhone in Europe next quarter…. [In] Asia, probably 2008. I think we’ll start to see it in some countries in Europe next quarter.
Full interview transcript here.
Jobs also spoke with USA Today’s Jefferson Graham and Edward C. Baig:
USA Today: What do you say to customers who just bought a new iPhone for $599? Sorry?
Jobs: That’s technology. If they bought it this morning, they should go back to where they bought it and talk to them. If they bought it a month ago, well, that’s what happens in technology.
USA Today: To do this, are you taking a hit on costs? Or have prices really come down?
Jobs: We’re in high-volume manufacturing, and we’re pretty good on the costs side. We’re also willing to be more aggressive. We think we have a real winner, and customers love the iPhone. The product’s been extremely well accepted; we want to put the pedal to the metal. A holiday season is approaching; we’d have to wait another year for another one.
More in the full interview here.
Good for Steve. So can I get me $200 back now, since Apple can afford the price cut?
Mr. Jobs,
As an early adapter and user of Apple products for over 20 years I an very upset by such a rapid price drop for a newly introduced piece of hardware. You owe the early adapters who paid premium prices for the iPhone at least an acknowledgement of their loyalty and an incentive to continue buying Apple products.
We f’d you.
apple’s liquidating there iphone stock. the 4GB is inn tune for low inventory by the end of the month and the 8GB needed an extra push to deplete its stock.
Why? because they’re coming out with the 16GB possibly 3G iphone on sept 25th in Paris — price will be $599.
so we’ll have
$599 and a $399 iphone.
That’s the price of being an early adoptor. Same with those who have to have Blue Ray DVD player the moment it ships. Nobody gets a refund.
early adopters got pwnt.
Please Steve bring the iPhone to Belgium really quick.
I’m getting more aggressive here.
“16GB possibly 3G iphone on sept 25th in Paris — price will be $599”.
Correct.
So my dear early adopters <sheep> save you bleeting, you have yet to learn what it means to be fully shanked.
SJ
OK, don’t start a bunch of “I got screwed crap”. If you knew what you were buying, and you knew the price, suck it up. Move on. They had to make sure that the kind of volume that they had projected was being achieved before they put a big cut on the margin. Smart moves. They are running the iPhone like an individual business (in the monetary sense), smart move.
STFU you self-righteous moron.
Man, I remember trying to buy a Wii… driving around day after day, waiting outside in the cold… if only Nintendo had charged an extra $200 for a few months at the release, maybe I could have found one in a store. Would have saved money on gas for sure.
The price cut put the iPhone in the range of a lot more people.
I hope too that Apple cuts the price of the accessories like the wireless headset.
Let’s face it, $129 for an Apple brand headset is too high and anyone who will pay $349.95 for the Bang &Olufsen;headset has more money than good sense.
For all those early adopters that used a credit card, you might want to look into your credit card’s price protection program to try to recoup all or some of the $200.
Stop whining. This sort of thing happens all the time.
Early Adopters, stop bitching and moaning, this was clearly coming.
I’m a real Apple Fan, but you’re 100% right.
drbyers says:
“early adopters got pwnt”
No, sir. They definitely got iphowned
From the article:
“On Wednesday, Apple executives insisted that the price cut had been planned long ago.”
That really bothers me because it’s clear that they planned on price gouging the early adopters and their biggest fans from the outset.
I don’t see that as good business. Trust me when I say there are a lot of people who are upset about this and regardless of whether you feel they have “a right” to be or not, they are.
Apple had to have known there would be backlash.
Does anyone else remember the Macintosh IIvx?
Great specs, OK price. Replaced in a few months with a better Mac at a much lower price. People felt shafted by that one too.
Welcome to the wonderful world of technology.
@Thao Dang
If you bought the iPhone two weeks prior to yesterday’s announced price cut Apple will refund the $200 difference.
Thorin, nicely put (and please OTFU if you want).
If some people do not want their technology purchase either becoming “outdated” of lower in price, then these people should not buy technology.
Those who made the decision to buy an iPhone at the $599/$499 price point were obviously prepared to spend the money and from all accounts have been incredibly happy with the product. If for some reason your more expensive phone is now not performing at the expected level, then you have a beef with Apple.
Otherwise: STFU. It was your decision to be an early adopter.
Big props to all you early adopters (and a mega shoutout to all you peeps that dance to da beat of that ol’ skool vibe, bait-and-switch).
Whatevs, please send me you names and e-mail addresses. We want you in our marketing databases. Do it right now, dont’ think just trust.
Peace out.
Dave, check the cereal box, you might still be able to get a refund on your diploma.
The price of being first. No use complaining.
It happened to the early buyers of the 15″ MacBook Pro. I know cause I am one. Not long after my purchase I could have got a 17″ for the same price.
That is the way it works.
Did I line up to be one of the first buyers of the iPhone. No way baby. But I’ll get one now.
Maybe I’ll hold out till Christmas for the 16 gig iPhone. Sweet. You know it’s coming.