Common sense trumps any rumour on this - it was obvious. Frankly, I'd prefer if they dropped the 4 too. And let the entry level iPhone be an 8 GB iPhone 4S. Would simplify the lineup.

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Originally Posted by Ireland 

Common sense trumps any rumour on this - it was obvious. Frankly, I'd prefer if they dropped the 4 too. And let the entry level iPhone be an 8 GB iPhone 4S. Would simplify the lineup.

Agreed--and further, allow more upgrades to more users. Upgrading to the latest iOS isn't worth much if features are disabled based on your older hardware.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ireland 

Common sense trumps any rumour on this - it was obvious. Frankly, I'd prefer if they dropped the 4 too. And let the entry level iPhone be an 8 GB iPhone 4S. Would simplify the lineup.

I would love it if they dropped everything but the current model and concentrated on making a cheap off contract phone for $100.  It seems like a much better strategy to me than keeping three year old products on sale in such a rapidly changing industry.  

The "long tail" on iPhone ownership is holding back new features for all and generally confusing consumers who can't really grok the differences between three almost identical devices with similar names.  With the additional confusion of only adding new features to US phones until the second year, what they have is such a hodge-podge that one needs a paper manual to figure out what's supported on what devices in what country.  

Dropping the 3GS in "rich" countries makes sense. But it would also make sense to keep it around at a lower price in developing countries. 

I also think they should simplify the 5 lineup to only 16GB & 64GB models. They should sell the 64 for $100 more (same as current 32), they'll eat a bit of profit margin, but overall I think they will come out ahead in terms of inventory, logistics, manufacturing simplicity, not to mention producing vastly more quantities of the 64 will help with the economies of scale and slightly lower profit margins on that model. Its what I would do anyway. 

Oh, and I would love a cheaper 8GB 4S, same price as current 3GS. Would eat that up in a heartbeat. Still an incredibly fast, capable phone and should get updates for another year or 2 at least. 

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Originally Posted by Blastdoor 

Dropping the 3GS in "rich" countries makes sense. But it would also make sense to keep it around at a lower price in developing countries. 

That's not how Apple operates, and it seems like they know 'how' to operate. It'd be more their style to have a newer one at the same price than an older one even cheaper - it'd be 4 generations old if they kept it around, which is not their style.

My money is on keeping the 3GS 1 more year as the free phone, and perhaps sold globally as long as Apple will support it. Verizon gets an entry level 4S, but has to wait until 2013 for a free one, perhaps offering the remaining 4 for free to clear inventory and drawn in a lot of new customers. The iPhone 4 will be discontinued to simplify the lineup. This may not be Apple's style with respect to the relatively new iPhone line, but they did exactly this with the White MacBook, after the MacBook Pro line was announced, and I recall Steve jobs specifically saying that they would be around "for a long time".

The iPhone 4 can be had for free on contract in some places. Yeah, it just makes sense the 3GS going away. At this point, it can't be that much cheaper to produce it than the 4.

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Originally Posted by Gazoobee 

 

I would love it if they dropped everything but the current model and concentrated on making a cheap off contract phone for $100.  It seems like a much better strategy to me than keeping three year old products on sale in such a rapidly changing industry.  

 

The "long tail" on iPhone ownership is holding back new features for all and generally confusing consumers who can't really grok the differences between three almost identical devices with similar names.  With the additional confusion of only adding new features to US phones until the second year, what they have is such a hodge-podge that one needs a paper manual to figure out what's supported on what devices in what country.  

and what would a 'cheap off contract phone'  be compared to a 3GS?  I doubt it would be much different.  

I agree with the long tail stuff, and I do think the 3GS should be retired, as it's non-retina, and non facetime.   The 4, without Siri makes for a 'transition' phone, but I don't think you'll see that phone be $100 off contract.  $200 maybe.

I don't see the 'long tail' that you see... I see fragmentation of the OS functions.  New features are not being held back due to the 3GS, but due to Market Demand/maturity (NFC is a great example), and ability to implement in both a cost effective and design pleasing way

As to what's supported on each country... welcome to carriers (and in some cases, countries) who have their own agendas.

As much as I'd like Apple to depreciate the 3GS (with it's ancient display res, slow CPU, etc.), if R&D from over 3 years ago is still paying off in different areas of the world and as long as it doesn't impact current model production, I see no reason not to keep calm and carry on.