Category: Uncategorized

Rogers Wireless

There have been a number of reports that Apple has punished Canadian cellular provider Rogers Wireless in response to what most see as very poor value plans.  According to a number of sources, the Apple Stores in Canada will not be selling the iPhone, and most of the stock destined for Canada has been diverted to European countries instead. In what many see as swift turnaround, Rogers have announced a 6GB data plan for $30 a month.

stuff.co.nz 3G iPhone review

Fairfax’s online news site, Stuff, have reviewed the iPhone, and given the device 4.5 stars out of 5.  The review states the 3G iPhone is ‘the best way to surf the web on a mobile.’

Further reviews are out from Walt Mossberg | The Wall Street Journal, Edward Baig | USA Today, and David Pogue | The New York Times.

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In the wake of the huge furore regarding Vodafone New Zealand’s iPhone pricing, let’s look at what sort of price Vodafone would be purchasing the devices from Apple for.

The Original iPhone

iSuppli garnered a lot of press with their estimate for Manufacturing and BOM (Bill Of Materials) for the original 8GB iPhone at $264.85.  This figure was arrived at before the devices were available, and turned out to be accurate, with a tear down of an actual unit coming up with a figure of $265.83.   This figure subsequently dropped to ~$220 with decreases in component prices over the life of the first generation iPhone, and Apple are more than likely to have garnered advantage from these due to the buying power the firm holds.

The 3G iPhone

The 3G iPhone has been widely reported to cost Apple significantly less, due to several reasons.  The first is the drop in component prices brought about by lessons learnt from the first generation phone, and due to the price drops that progressively occur with almost all technology.  The second is reasons of scale – Apple have been widely estimated to sell 16-22 million iPhones in 2009, and possibly as high as 45 million units according to Wall Street analysts PiperJaffray.

So what does a 3G iPhone cost?

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