Parky's Profile

In business you price products at a price you think people will pay to sell the numbers you want to sell. It is called supply and demand. If the price is too high then people will not buy it. If the price is correct then people will buy the product in the numbers you expect and therefore it is the correct price to sell at. It is about worth and value to the customer NOT about what a device costs to build. Many things cost next to nothing to make or certainly no more than a cheaper competitor, but people buy them because they are what they want. Good design and more expensive manufacturing and materials may not cost $300 more than the old version but if people are happy to pay for the MacBook then Apple have got the price right for them and their share holders.

Just a small point! The word is Preparations NOT Preperations. It is one of the Smart Albums shown in the image in the story. Ian

You said it yourself, most people don't know about it and never used it. Why must the majority of people pay for something they never use just to keep a few others happy. I have no use for Firewire anymore, bye, bye.

Pity that at least two of the list are only available in the US (Google, eBay).

Why do you seem to want to ridicule first generation buyers? Without the people who buy these products when they come out you would never have the chance to buy one at all. Unless a product is successful at launch it will not be developed and could just disappear. Early adopters are a must and should be thanked for making sure late comers have the chance to purchase at all. There is also no reason at all to suspect that the original iPhone will not work with the applications from the download store just as well as the new version. They will both run the identical operating system and applications, as far as I am aware the main processor has not changed either. The new version is only 'thinner' at the edges and in my eyes is worse off for having a plastic shell (required for the additional wireless options built in). Did you think yourself an early adopter of the iPod touch? What will you do when the new version comes out later this year, better, more memory and cheaper? I will keep my iPhone V1.0 has it does al that I need. Maybe when V3.0 comes out I might be tempted. I guess my V1.0 phone will continue to get better for many more months / years as Apple add more features for free (as they have said they will do) and as more Apps appear on the App Store.

There is one big flaw in your story, Apple still get the same amount of money for each iPhone sold, just not from the same people. The buyer of the iPhone pays $199 and AT&T;pay Apple $200 for every iPhone, it is called a subsidy and it the standard model for mobile phone sales. Apple will still get the same money for each phone sold, no loss to them.

The problem with this story is that you can burn DRM free CD copies of the iTunes purchased music (7 copies in fact, or more if you change the track order). These CD's are in effect are just like store bought CD's, no DRM, just music. Apple and the music companies can't take those away from you, nor can they prevent them playing in any CD player. In fact they can be re-ripped into any format you like (you may lose a bit of quality but the music is still yours). It seems you are trying to make a problem where one does not exist!