iPhone landing on five US regional carriers today

4. shadowcell posted on 20 Apr 2012, 10:16 1

Wut? Their retail prices are the same as AT&T. You can even buy the phone from Verizon and not be forced to sign up for a 2-year.

5. kshell1 posted on 20 Apr 2012, 10:52 3

Im talking about their other phones. I think verizon is selling them at $299 to make up for the iphone.

9. shadowcell posted on 20 Apr 2012, 11:21 2

interesting conspiracy theory but,

the only non-apple phone I see that's priced at $299 for a 2-year is either the Droid Razr MAXX and the Galaxy Nexus (although it's priced $250 for VZW upgraders).

I'm sure Verizon will start lowering these prices later this year and/or offer promotional sales like the HTC Rezound & LG Spectrum went through.

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10. kshell1 posted on 20 Apr 2012, 11:25 4

The rezound started at 299. thunderbolt starting price was 299 as was the revolution, the droid charge, the razr, and nexus. The spectrum and the lucid are the only ones so far to not start at 299 then get price drops.

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12. shadowcell posted on 20 Apr 2012, 11:52 1

Well Verizon is known for having higher subsidized prices compared to other carriers and I read somewhere in an article that the cost of build has increased over the years.

Also, if you don't want to wait for promo deals Amazon can get you the phone for dirt cheap but you're forced to keep the phone for several months and not terminate your service. Otherwise they charge you a hefty fee.

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20. taco50 (banned) posted on 20 Apr 2012, 13:46 1

Shadow I agree with you droid phones always go on sale so their prices aren't higher than they have been. Rezound was just 49.99 a couple of weeks ago.

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21. remixfa posted on 20 Apr 2012, 16:24 2

its been reported multiple times that VZW is raising the cost of the 4g phones by 100 bux to pay back the apple subsidies. Apple charges among the highest per device to the carriers and demands they sell the 16 gig version at 200 or less. That is one of the main reason why LTE phone prices skyrocketed and upgrade fees went up. To recoup costs.
Also, ATT and VZW like to be in lock step with pricing. When one makes a move, the other matches it. They cant keep raising their rates because they would be too far above sprint and Tmobile, so they raise all the fees and upfront costs instead.

Tmobile cant afford the iphone with its current price structure. It would have to raise rates to stay viable. It put sprint in the red for what.. 4 years.. just to offer the iphone. Sprint charges either 100 or 110 (i dont feel like looking it up ATM) for a smartphone with unl everything. Tmobile charges 60. They would be in the red for like a decade if they bought an iphone contract.

Tmobile says they are happy to "support" the iphone, not to "sell" the iphone. Get the benefits without having to raise costs.

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6. PimpStrong posted on 20 Apr 2012, 10:56 3

...but these smaller carriers can afford it?

7. taco50 (banned) posted on 20 Apr 2012, 11:10 4

So how can these tiny regional carriers afford an iPhone? If you think about what you said it makes no sense.

11. othello_bad posted on 20 Apr 2012, 11:39 0

T-Mobile UK has them. I wonder why T-Mobile USA does not?

Source :http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/pay-monthly/apple-mobile-phones/

13. gwuhua1984 posted on 20 Apr 2012, 12:02 3

T-Mo USA has different 3G frequency bands than UK.

8. taco50 (banned) posted on 20 Apr 2012, 11:11 2

What are you trying to say?

15. darth8ball posted on 20 Apr 2012, 12:34 1

my point is if the larger carriers are breaking even on the iPhone sales and making their money on data and new customer iPhone followers, how will the smaller market carriers, who can't charge the same as the larger companies, make money when they are offering the iPhone for less then the larger companies.

So is Apple overcharging the big boys and their subscribers, or is this a ploy just to boost their sales numbers even if it hurts their bottom line?

17. taco50 (banned) posted on 20 Apr 2012, 13:39 3

You said Apple is full of crap. How is that exactly? They're trying to make money, which is the point of running a business.

Your beef should be with the big carriers and their prices. See how you try to spin everything to be a negative on Apple. Grow up.

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22. remixfa posted on 20 Apr 2012, 16:26 0

maybe they charge a surcharge to offer the iphone on the "first wave" before other carriers can have it. It would kind of make sense since the big boys all got the i4 at the same time, and now we are seeing small carriers get the phone at the same time.

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16. nb2six posted on 20 Apr 2012, 12:38 1

The subscribers will be loving those increases in monthly pricing.

19. taco50 (banned) posted on 20 Apr 2012, 13:44 1

AT&T has had an iPhone since 2007 and since then their prices have dropped substantially.

23. remixfa posted on 20 Apr 2012, 16:29 0

that was due to market pressure from companies like Tmobile, Sprint, and even Metro. Their "minute" prices have come down. Their text pricing is the same, and you actually get less data now. Bye Bye unlimited for $30 bux. Now its what.. 2 or 4 gigs for that? When I first started, 3000 minutes was like 200 bux for 2 phones.. without texting on VZW, which pretty much mirrored ATT's pricing.

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18. taco50 (banned) posted on 20 Apr 2012, 13:43 1

Think logically for a second netdood. AT&T has had the iPhone since 2007. They have been doing just fine and leading the industry in smartphones and data revenue. As soon as there was an opportunity VZW and Sprint jumped on board.

Now why would these companies keep dealing with Apple if it wasn't good for business?

T-Mobile has stated publicly many times that they want an iPhone.