Apple introducing cheaper iPhone on Monday?

There certainly seem to be a lot of people "familiar" with Apple's iPhone plans spouting off all over the place in these last few days before WWDC, and today they've chosen to whisper their sweet nothings to the Financial Times, which is reporting a cheaper iPhone will be announced on Monday at WWDC. Of course, that lines up with pretty much everything we've heard so far, including rumors of a 4GB iPhone model and cheaper AT&T plans, so it's not exactly a far-fetched rumor -- but then again, it's exactly what we'd say if we were just making stuff up. We'll just have to wait and see on Monday -- and from the looks of our Palm Pre poll, that's exactly what most of you are planning on doing.

[Mark Anderson @ Jun 5th 2009 6:58PM]

Is that cheaper as in 'reduced up front price' or 'reduced service charge'?

Because if it's just the former then it's a case of 'so what?'.

[Mark Anderson @ Jun 5th 2009 6:59PM]

Which is not to say an iPhone Nano (probably a small form factor dumbphone) on PAYG untied to any network wouldn't be awesome. Because clearly it would.

[m3tric @ Jun 5th 2009 7:07PM]

No it's cheaper as in cheaply made like the new shuffle.

[Paul a. Chapel @ Jun 5th 2009 7:12PM]

It would be interesting to see how many MS Fanboys would still bash the iPhone if they could get it free with a contract. It's easy to bash something you can't afford.

Conversely, how many people would still buy PCs if there were no price barrier between them and Macs? After all, you can still run Windows and OS X on Macs, but not the other way around without a lot of hacking.

[bondsbw @ Jun 5th 2009 7:12PM]

"So what?"

Please... $100 up front may only be around $4 a month, but it's a lot easier to come up with the extra $10 per month in contract than the extra $100 up front.

[Mark Anderson @ Jun 5th 2009 7:16PM]

Right.

You can afford a $70 a month contract but can't afford $199 up front?

OK.

[Paul a. Chapel @ Jun 5th 2009 7:18PM]

Agreed, most people already have a cell phone and are paying at least $50 a month for their subscriptions, so an extra $10 or $20 a month isn't so much for them to swallow as an upfront fee. It's a psychological thing, which is why Apple keeps changing the upfront price.

[Aaron @ Jun 5th 2009 7:19PM]

Does your savings account automatically reset every month or something? I can't see why you can't save those $10 a month.

Failure to see implied costs is a no-no taught in a basic economics class.

[Paul a. Chapel @ Jun 5th 2009 7:24PM]

@Mark Anderson, who said: "OS X can run Windows. Windows doesn't have to run OS X."

No, MACS run Windows, not OS X. Boot Camp doesn't have anything to do with OS X. All it does is kick start the Windows disk because Windows doesn't support EFI for booting. You can set up your Mac to boot in Windows exclusively if you want.

I have a friend that bought a MacBook Pro because it's just a better built computer, but he runs Windows exclusively on it. He cracked the case on every plastic lappy he's bought, so he was excited about the aluminum enclosure.

[Mark Anderson @ Jun 5th 2009 7:32PM]

Tsk. Silly me. I meant Macs and PCs.

I agree with your friend. There's no way I'm putting Windows on my Macbook as a dual boot solution because that would be stupid and indicate that I'd just made a bad choice if I had to cough up more money for an OS that I could have gotten included in the price. OS X works fine for what I use it for. There's no need to use Windows on it.

However, if it was my only computer then I'd wipe OS X and put Vista x64 on it because I need it for the apps I use. I don't need OS X and since there's a Windows version of every app I use on it there would be little point in cluttering things up.

[bondsbw @ Jun 5th 2009 7:34PM]

@Aaron:

I'm not saying it's good economic policy. But tell me how someone gets $100 up front by saving $10 every month *after* that? If they don't already have the money saved up, they don't have it.

Me, I have the money up front. So yeah... I'd rather have the monthly savings. But it's short-sighted to assume that everyone is as fiscally responsible as I am.

[Boards of Canada @ Jun 5th 2009 7:40PM]

Paul, I have Mac's and PC's. My main workstation is a PC because I do serious 3D and 2D animation for a living. A computer is not all about the OS, its all about the softwares you use and how they run. Windows run my Adobe suit better than my mac. 3D is also way better on my PC, a lot faster in the GUI and no crashes unlike in OSX. I have both and tried both. As for Video Editing, FCP is cool but there are some annoying points making the whole operation a bit risky: The colors! If you have to go back to a RGB online station (Avid DS, smoke, flame...) after your FCP work, I would advice you to stay in the PC world.

Another good point for PC is you can get a gaming station for a cheap 700-800$. A lots of people prefer this than a fancy OS. And dont forget win7 got excellent reviews. Its a game-changer for the PC world.

[Maeztro @ Jun 5th 2009 7:42PM]

@ Mark and Paul: How 'bout you guys get a room.

[Mark Anderson @ Jun 5th 2009 7:47PM]

@Maeztro

And miss your witty and incisive comments? I think not.

[Paul a. Chapel @ Jun 5th 2009 7:52PM]

@Boards of Canada

Most post production studios use Macs exclusively here in the US. While there are some crappy consumer level software programs that don't run on OS X, all the important stuff like Maya, Avid, After Effects, Blender, Cinema4D, all that stuff runs on OS X.

If someone decides to go the Windows route, the biggest obstacle is the lack of Shake for Windows. Every major production studio uses Shake for compositing.

I remember when the guys at Quark decided to stop making Xpress for Macs several years back. People starting using Adobe's InDesign because most designers had Macs and weren't willing to switch. Now Quark has lost significant market share for that ill fated decision.

[Agent .25i @ Jun 5th 2009 8:28PM]

"It would be interesting to see how many MS Fanboys would still bash the iPhone if they could get it free with a contract. It's easy to bash something you can't afford." Paul a. Chapel

Paul, you know your phone is available at Wal Mart right? Yea, I remember all you fanbois bitching up a storm about that one. Th iphone has been obtainable for the welfare masses for some time.

Apple could be giving them away, I wouldn't want one.

[Eli @ Jun 5th 2009 9:54PM]

If you don't have $200 saved up to buy an iPhone, you should not be on a data plan, even with a free phone. You cannot afford it.

[jimmy @ Jun 5th 2009 9:57PM]

@Paul a Chapel, BoardsofCanada

Paul, I believe you are just not correct on this one. I work with three different high volume (and high dollar) production companies here in NYC, and not one of them edits on a Mac. (And I am exclusively and passionately Mac!)

We all use Macs in the office, and our lappys are Macs and we all have iPhones, but we edit on PC's running Avid and some proprietary software. There are some smaller companies that edit on Macs, usually because they think Macs are for graphics people and editors.

I love my Macs, (I have 5 personally (MB, MBP, Mini, 24" iMac, and a Mini9 Hackintosh)), but I would never do professional editing on one, because they are not the best tool for the job.

[JimboJones @ Jun 5th 2009 9:57PM]

"Most post production studios use Macs exclusively here in the US"

You talking porn studios? Where the heck you get your stats from?

[Twitchy @ Jun 5th 2009 10:17PM]

It's got to be cheaper than the Nuvifone or Garmins' getting my dollars.

[pete @ Jun 5th 2009 10:47PM]

@Jimbo Jones

He's right you know, macs are pretty much the only computers used in the film and tv world. Aside from the editors, which by the way make up a miniscule portion of the business, the majority of production houses use macs for everything. Why? Because apple is in love with the film business and caters to their every need. While the Avid system is still the main editing system for big budget movies, you do not need a PC to run it, which makes the number of PC users even smaller.

Think about it, if you could contact one company for all of your need, whether it is hardware, software, repair service, customer service, etc... (Apple, in this case), wouldn't you find that more appealing than the process of working your way through a long list of companies responsible for your broken PC?

Time is money in the business, and you don't have time to wait for Avid, Dell, Lenovo, HP, Microsoft, Adobe, and Cysco while your machine sits there with an error that is preventing you from getting work done. That's what matter most in these types of industries where everything happens on very tight schedules. And the majority of people have figured out that calling one company (apple) for everything that goes wrong on their system is the best solution hands down.

So before you go spouting off how you know plenty of up-and-coming production houses that use PC's for the use of Avid or 3D graphics technology, consider that they small fraction of the people responsible for the end product.

[Boards of Canada @ Jun 5th 2009 11:06PM]

Sorry Paul, I dont think post-prod companies use mac at all in the post-production process. Its all PC really. There is few Mac of course especially if the boss is a mac guy but for the production, Its all PC workstation. I did freelance for a long time in north america when I was Flame artist and I talk from experience. As for Shake, its dead. Totally dead. All the company I know still use their old Linux licenses. Apple dont update the software anymore. I remember Apple making publicity about WETA using it on King Kong but there were only few seats. Now Fusion have take the lead in PC post-prod, the rest is Nuke and After Effect with a lot of Unix Shake left over.

Mac is strong in graphic departements. Not 3D or compositing. And dont forget 3D studio max and Softimage not working on mac at all. I use Softimage personnaly as I prefer it to Maya mainly because of the neat user interface and the new ICE feature.

[JimboJones @ Jun 5th 2009 11:19PM]

Pete, seriously stop this Apple talk.

[Paul a. Chapel @ Jun 6th 2009 12:33AM]

3D Studio Max is big for gaming developers, not in Hollywood. Someone using Blender is not going to be using 3D Studio Max. It's the same situation for Softimage. It's big in the gaming industry, but not in Hollywood. Even in studios that don't use Macs exclusively, don't use Windows instead, they'll use Linux because it's more reliable. When you put an effect into render, you can't have it crash half a way through when a big movie production has already nailed down the release date. For instance, Industrial Light and Magic uses Linux in their render farms and Macs in their art department.

Just off the top of my head, there are quite a few influential people in Hollywood who use Macs. Walter Murch, the guy who edited Apocalypse Now and is one of the lead editors, if not the lead editor in Hollywood uses Macs and stated that Final Cut Pro was the future. The Coen Brothers use Macs and Final Cut Pro. David Fincher uses Macs. Lawrence Bender, the producer for Pulp Fiction, uses Macs and Final Draft. Roger Avary, the co-writer for Pulp Fiction, uses Macs. Tom Clancy uses Macs.

The Harry Potter Movies and Lord of the Ring movies and the Dark Knight and a bunch of other movies were composited using Shake.

The movie 300 was done almost entirely on a Mac and as you probably know, that movie was completely CG. Here's a list of a few big production Hollywood films that were edited with Final Cut Pro.

* The Rules of Attraction (2002)
* Full Frontal (2002)
* The Ring (2002)
* Cold Mountain (2003) (Academy Award nominee for Best Editing – Walter Murch)
* Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
* Open Water (film) (2003)
* Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
* The Ladykillers (2004)
* Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
* Super Size Me (2004)
* Corpse Bride (2005)
* Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (2005)
* Happy Endings (2005)
* Ellie Parker (2005)
* Jarhead (2005)
* Little Manhattan (2005)
* Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)
* The Ring Two (2005)
* 300 (film) (2006)
* Black Snake Moan (2006)
* Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
* Happy Feet (2006)
* Zodiac (2007)
* The Simpsons Movie (2007)
* No Country for Old Men (2007) (Academy Award nominee for Best Editing – Roderick Jaynes)
(Academy Award winner - Best Picture)
* Reign Over Me (2007)
* Youth Without Youth (2007)
* Balls of Fury (2007)
* "The Tracey Fragments" (2008)
* "Traitor" (2008)
* Burn After Reading (2008)
* The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
* Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
* Alien Raiders (2009)

I have been in production studios that used Avid Media Composer and Pro Tools, instead of Final Cut and Soundtrack, but even those editors and sound designers were using Macs. I personally know a sound designer that uses Pro Tools for sound design and Apple's Logic for synthesizing. He couldn't do all that on a PC.

[Sean @ Jun 6th 2009 1:50AM]

I thought this was a fucking iPhone discussion.
Macs are good computers, PCs are good computers, OSX is a good OS, Windows is a good OS.

If I could get an iPhone for $100, and *not* end up spending more money on it because of an increased monthly fee, I would seriously consider purchasing one.

[iphonerulez @ Jun 6th 2009 3:34PM]

They're not offering a cheaper iPhone, they're offering a less expensive iPhone. Cheaper is the stuff that Windows users purchase because the build quality is subpar. These are merely less expensive models of the last year's well-built iPhones.

I'm sorry to say that a $149 iPhone will put a huge dent into Pre sales. I really wanted to see Palm stay in business for at least another year. But with 50,000 apps available compared to Pre's 30 or so, it just doesn't seem the Pre can survive against those type of odds.

[pete @ Jun 10th 2009 12:27AM]

@jimbo jones
thats not apple talk. thats people-who-dont-read-geeky-blog talk. you want to talk about the smarter choice in terms of flexibility? go ahead and convince the world that somehow windows is the best option!! but until then, people who arent computer whizkids like yourself will flock to macs because they are easy to use and easy to fix. anything else is just a waste of fucking time

[zapk00l @ Jun 5th 2009 6:59PM]

zZZ

[Argot @ Jun 5th 2009 7:18PM]

Agreed, it was a polished turd when it was introduced and it will be a polished turd when it leaves.

Just buy a real phone instead.

[Richard Lai @ Jun 5th 2009 8:17PM]

@Argot: Define "a real phone".

[derX @ Jun 5th 2009 8:56PM]

Basic imaginary numbers.

iPhone = non-real phone

Phone = real

(I have no qualms with the iPhone, it just seemed relevant.)

[jon @ Jun 5th 2009 9:24PM]

@ derX

Of course, what else would you get from a reality distortion field than an imaginary phone.

[pete @ Jun 5th 2009 10:53PM]

@argot
hmm, a real phone being a blackberry with an interface that makes you cringe? or do you mean the real phone that takes a second to respond to simple menu navigation (motorola)? or wait did you mean the kind of real phone that feels like carrying around a brick in your pocket (g1)?

[creepinshadow @ Jun 5th 2009 7:01PM]

My predictions:


Apple will really introduce 2 iPhones

one iPhone 3g successor with all the fancys, better camera, faster CPU, compass etc..

and one iPhone 1 successor, which will only have edge and wifi, and will be cheaper, and have the cheaper AT&T plan, cheaper camera, everything cheaper, practically a remake of model 1 with extended battery life and gps


lets see if i'm right!

[bondsbw @ Jun 5th 2009 7:08PM]

I highly doubt they will produce an EDGE-only phone. It is obvious that AT&T is not keeping their EDGE network up-to-snuff. It's become painfully slow in my area (and many others).

But the rest, I think is true.

[Cy Starkman @ Jun 5th 2009 7:29PM]

I reckon your close. But...

New one and an iPhone with 08 specs, 3.0 software, less storage. Then they get two years out of each model . The first edge version was a local beta with limited roll out to help Apple learn about something they were clueless about; carriers/cellular issues.

Regardless it's all good. Palm, Apple and Google making a mess of Nokia and friends who made us suffer their -never fix- -never improve- business model, I mean people still rave about S90 on their N96 , urrr, buy a 6120, same OS

Let's all look forward to the new overlords who will split the market up via secret meetings. LOL. At least we will get good gadgets for a few years until they win and can't be assed fighting each other cause they are so rich.

[logicbomb.de @ Jun 5th 2009 7:33PM]

Oh, I'm pretty sure Apple will release an EDGE only model for the China/Taiwan/Hong Kong regions, but not for NA/EU

[Kero @ Jun 5th 2009 7:36PM]

@logicbomb you are delusional China/Taiwan/Hong Kong region are almost all 3g and have been for years. No one wants a edge only phone.

[logicbomb.de @ Jun 5th 2009 8:39PM]

Kero,

you can't be serious

China didn't even get 3G licenses until Jan of this year.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008589988_btchina05.html

I'll save you the trouble:

"After years of delays, the Chinese government said last week that it would issue licenses for next-generation 3G wireless services, which could fuel growth in what is already the world's biggest market for wireless services."

"For much of the last year, China has been testing its 3G networks in limited areas, including Beijing and Shanghai. And some Chinese companies have developed special phones to work with the Chinese standard. The move could be a huge lift for some Chinese companies, including ZTE and Huawei Technologies.

To prepare for 3G, China earlier restructured its telecommunications industry into three major players."

[logicbomb.de @ Jun 5th 2009 8:42PM]

http://www.chinadaily.net/cndy/2009-01/08/content_7376310.htm

[logicbomb.de @ Jun 5th 2009 8:55PM]

I am wrong about Hong kong/Taiwan tho.

Not even sure why I mentioned them.

Triple post FTL.

[Kero @ Jun 5th 2009 9:51PM]

@logicbomb

what's your point? The major cities in China currently have 3g coverage yes they achieved that in less than 6 months.

Hong Kong and Taiwan have had 3g coverage for years.

[jimmy @ Jun 5th 2009 10:07PM]

as long as we're talking predictions...

$99 for 8GB, 2MP camera, 3G, WiFi, no Exchange support, current style glossy shell

$199/299 for 16/32 GB, 3.2 MP camera with video, Wifi, A2DP bluetooth, 2MP front facing camera, Exchange support, matte finish with induction charging (just threw that one in based on matte back and Pre Touchtone ;-))

[Puggs @ Jun 5th 2009 10:37PM]

No exchange support? You are kidding? They would be VERY foolish to do something like that.

Come on, get real!

[ZER0Hz @ Jun 6th 2009 1:30AM]

my prediction:

hype everyone up then don't release anything iPhone related. save it for it's own conference (2.0 anyone?)

[absolutc @ Jun 5th 2009 7:02PM]

From what I have been reading and some comments posted on other sites - the 4GB iPhone (if it's real) is an entry level phone. The casing, front and rear will be different from it's "higher end" cousins. This does make sense in terms of all the rumors floating around and all the photos of the matte black case and black bezel. Who would want their more expensive 16/32GB phone confused with a 4GB $99 dollar phone?

I can't wait to see what info is released on Monday. I hope it's good and worth it.

[Sam @ Jun 5th 2009 7:03PM]

I dont know if anyone reads T3 (the magazine), but there was an article about an iPhone nano with some artists rendition. It didnt have 3G or anything but I actually thought.. yeh Id buy one of those. I mean I'm a student, so I would love a 3G phone but couldnt afford a £35/month contract. An "iPhone nano" on a £15-20 contract though.... deal

[Light Speed @ Jun 5th 2009 7:04PM]

Oh wow, the new apple compass. thats so useful on a PHONE. so revolutionary and must require all the press because a compass is so revolutionary.

Cant wait to see microsoft's iphone killer and windows mobile 7 so the iphone gets destroyed.

[pete @ Jun 5th 2009 10:57PM]

actually a compass is handy. if you are walking around a city, it can be hard to tell which way to turn when you reach an intersection. instead of it saying "turn left" whichever way you are facing, it will be able to simply point at the correct path to walk no matter what.

[diulei @ Jun 5th 2009 7:05PM]

If it's true, it definitely won't help the Pre. And the Pre is one sweet machine from what I've seen.