Josh Ong
Unlocked iPhone 4
Hints that Apple would release a factory unlocked iPhone 4 in the U.S. this week emerged over the weekend, though there was some initial confusion with the source. MacRumors is now reporting that unlocked iPhones have "shipped to Apple Stores this week" and will be priced at $649 and $749 for 16GB and 32GB models, respectively.
Though unlocked iPhone 4s have been available internationally, this would be the first time that Apple sold an unlocked iPhone in the U.S. With an unlocked iPhone 4, users could switch between AT&T and T-Mobile for calling, but 3G data would not work on T-Mobile. The unlocked iPhones are expected to be the GSM model, with the Verizon iPhone 4 remaining unchanged.
Apple has seen unprecedented success with the iPhone 4. In the March quarter, iPhone sales grew 113 percent year over year, reaching an all-time quarterly record of 18.65 million units. According to Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, iPhone sales were "off the charts in the U.S" with 155 percent year over year growth.
iCloud.com
MacRumors also reported on Monday that a reader had discovered that Apple is mirroring some MobileMe functionality on iCloud.com. By sending a calendar invitation in the pre-release version of iOS 5, a reader received a link to the iCloud.com domain that appeared identical to MobileMe invitations, with the addition of iCloud branding. Links to iCloud.com invitation error messages have also been discovered.
Apple's announcement that it will shutter MobileMe on June 30, 2012 has caused concern among users of the service. One user reportedly received an email reply from Apple CEO Steve Jobs stating that Apple's iWeb hosting services would indeed be shut down next year.
MobileMe got off to a shaky start when it launched in 2008. Jobs admitted during last week's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote that the service was not "Apple's finest hour."
Jobs also made it clear that iCloud is a new product. When it arrives this fall, the free service will replace many of MobileMe's existing services, store App Store, iTunes and iBookstore purchases and offer seamless backups of iOS devices.
Apple will also offer an iTunes Match service for $24.99 that will scan a music library and make available in the cloud any non-iTunes purchased songs that match songs in Apple's music store.
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40 Comments
Why can't a person who's already bought an iPhone 4 unlock it when their contract is done? Or buy an iPhone 5 unlocked.
Can someone explain to me how they can make and sell the iPod Touch (with a healthy margin) at $229 and an unlocked iPhone will sell for $649? Surely the iPhone doesn't need another ~$400 worth of added parts to support making phone calls!
Can someone explain to me how they can make and sell the iPod Touch (with a healthy margin) at $229 and an unlocked iPhone will sell for $649? Surely the iPhone doesn't need another ~$400 worth of added parts to support making phone calls!
It is not only parts. There are many other factors such as licensing fees that comes into play for the iPhone. Beside, there is more to pricing than parts cost. Economics 101.
Which carrier discounts the cost of the iPhone off the monthly charges if it is purchased unlocked?If the carrier does not offer such a discount what on earth is the point?
well the iPod is $299 with 16gb of flash like the ipHOne has. So $350 to go.
The iPHone has a nicer screen than the Ipod touch. IPS vs TN difference.
the iPHone has the cellphone/3g radio. 3g on the iPad is a $130 option.
The IPhone has the nicer camera and a flash for it.
MOre money goes into designing, writing software and testing a cellphone/data phone than an iPod touch I'm sure.
I believe the iPhone also has more gps functionality than the iPOd touch.
I think the body of the iPHone is more expensive than the Touch's.
Add that up and a few things I forgot and then factor in Apple's usual rich margin and that's the $350 difference.
Granted paying $650 now after it's been on the market a year means Apple (most likely) makes a larger margin than a year ago. As with all their hardware the price is most competitive at launch.