Dogfather
Altitude is your friend
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join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA
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edit:
March 31st, @08:30AM
| reply to davoice
Re: How many iPhone Edge users will bite bullet & upgrade to 3G?
All the major cellular companies lock people into contracts and the AT&T data plan is competitively priced.
My Verizon Treo 700W was $599 with a 2 year contract and service is $10 more than I pay with the iPhone. And when the price dropped significantly I didn't see Verizon offering up a store credit like Apple did. I also don't see Treo ponying up any discount for a new phone. Verizon on my biz plan expects me to pay retail for any upgrade and I'll only be eligible for a subsidized phone when my contract is up for renewal. When I spoke with them, they wouldn't even give me a discount if I extended my contract.
What cellular phone manufacturer offers rebates for upgrades?
All technology evolves and all these companies come out with new products. Anyone who wanted a 3G iPhone, should have waited for it just like anyone who wanted a Penryn should have waited for it.
Meanwhile since the full functionality of the existing iPhone will be intact for many years, no compensation is warranted. People are getting exactly what they paid for and Apple and AT&T are living up to their agreements.
If they want a discount, they can take it in the form of selling their old phone on eBay. |
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davoice
join:2000-08-12
Saxapahaw, NC
·RoadRunner Cable
edit:
March 31st, @08:30AM
| Historically, Treo users always got a discount on an upgrade to the latest version from Palm/Handspring. You just had to order from their site and enter your serial number.
When Palm basically "died" and started offering Windows Mobile devices, that policy disappeared.
Carriers wanted to force complete control of devices into their own hands. That's when upgrade discounts disappeared.
}Davoice |
|
Dogfather
Altitude is your friend
Premium
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA
·Cox HSI
·MegaPath
·Verizon FIOS
·Cox VOIP
·Verizon west (ex G..
·ViaTalk
·Time Warner VOIP
·RoadRunner Cable
edit:
March 31st, @08:45AM
| So I ask again, what cellular phone manufacturers are offering discounts to upgrade? Why is Apple the only company expected to do this?
Reasonable prices are prices that the market tolerates. Given that iPhone is soundly outselling all the Windows devices combined, it seems that the current contract terms and pricing is plenty reasonable.
Just because someone doesn't want to pony up $400 for a smartphone with a 2 year contract, doesn't make the price or terms unreasonable. Their choice is to buy this one device or not buy this one device and buy any of the other zillion that are on the market. Every other choice rightly belongs to Apple and AT&T.
And whether there will be discounts for upgraders remains to be seen. Apple did after all take the unprecedented step of offering store credits when they dropped the price. I saw no such credits from Treo or Verizon when the price of the 700W dropped shortly after I bought. My guess is that Apple will sell both phones, just dropping the 2G phones price further and introduciong the 3G model at the 2G's old price.
If there is tethering, I'll buy the new 3G phone and sell my old one on eBay and that will be my "ugpraders" discount. |
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