Apple Iphone at $199

Computer world

One of the side effects of the arrival of Apple Inc.'s iPhone 3G will be a flood of original iPhones on the used market, according to a company that specializes in refurbishing Apple's electronics. And that's going to push down prices of the older phones.

The move also spells an end to most of the "gray" market in unlocked, or hacked, iPhones, argued Aaron Vronko, service manager at Rapid Repair, a Kalamazoo, Mich.-based company that buys and repairs used iPods, iPhones and Zunes.

"There's going to be a large push on the used market," he said. "A lot of the early adopters for the original iPhone are going to be the same people who want to be the early adopters for the second generation." And many of those people will want to fund part of their iPhone 3G purchase by selling their now-unnecessary iPhones.

"Even if you only get $50, that brings down the price of a new phone to $150 or so," Vronko said.

The price for a fully-functional used iPhone will fall from last week's price of around $200 to the $75-to-$90 range, Vronko said. Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the new iPhone 3G on Monday and announced it would go on sale in 22 countries, including the U.S., on July 11.
more...

Iphone @ $199

Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs kicked off his company's developers conference today by unveiling a new iPhone that connects to faster 3G-based networks, includes built-in GPS and costs half as much as the current lowest-priced model.

The new iPhones -- $199 for one with 8GB of storage space, $299 for 16GB of storage -- will be available starting Friday, July 11 in 22 countries, including Canada, Germany, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. By the end of the year, said Jobs at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, Apple expects to be selling the iPhone in 70 countries.

In the U.S., the new iPhone will be sold at Apple-owned retail stores as well as the stores operated by its network partner, AT&T. As of Monday, the Apple online store was not taking pre-orders.

"We've learned so much with the first iPhone," said Jobs near the end of the 105-min. keynote. "We've taken everything we've learned and more and created the iPhone 3G."

He called out a number of things that Apple needed to add to the iPhone to take it to the next sales level, including 3G, enterprise support, wider availability, third-party applications and a lower price. "Everyone wants an iPhone, but we need to make it more affordable," he said.

At the new price points, the future iPhone will cost less than a comparably-equipped iPod touch, which currently sells for $299 for an 8GB device, a fact not lost on Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research. "There's nothing to be lost buying an iPhone then, is there?" Gottheil said, who added that he expects Apple to revamp or re-price the iPod touch line soon.
more...