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Price rape?

Snow_Fox

Snow_Fox

Android Expert
is anyone else here scared that at&t may try to rape us on the price of this phone with an upgrade?

I am not trying to be a doom and gloom kinda guy here. Or perpetuate anti at&t propaganda or anything..

However, this phone is going to have a better processor than the 629$ 3g Ipad. I mention this version because, it is a cellular network capable device.

The Samsung Galaxy S tab is 650$ which again has a worse processor than the olympus.

The olympus is going to be the first dual core phone here guys.. It outspecs the tablets which are far bigger.

Has anyone else stopped to think about the fact that at&t could try to charge 400$ for this phone? they could easily make claims like "The first laptop in a phone!"

And while there are those who will pay any price for it.. 400$ is too steep for me WITH a contract. 200$? sure go ahead, 400? not with a contract ontop of that.

The more I start thinking about it the more I do worry because, lets face it.. this thing will blow the iphone 4 out of the water in terms of specs and they charge 299$ WITH contract for the 32 gig version. (I am not going to debate what the better phone is.. because, that is irrelevant)

Is it a fools dream to hope this thing is less than or equal to 200$? maybe, I don't know.

But, Knowing at&t.. I think we should all start kinda mentally preparing ourselves for some inevitable catch... After hearing all the good things about this phone... seems like price could be that big elephant that somehow managed to squeeze in the room without anyone noticing it.
 
Iphone 4 cost 299$ on contract, and isn't anywhere near as impressive in terms of specs.

Even at 16 Gigs of memory... its going to have an extra processor over the IP4.

At first I assumed (because captivate is 199$ as well) that it would be in that ball park.

However, even if olympus has 16 gigs dedicated.. its got 2 cores...

So.. it does stand to reason they are going to do their best to milk that fact for whatever it may be worth.

Again all speculation.. but, feel free to correct any logical fallacies you may see.

Or give us some insight as to why you think it won't be over 199$ on contract.
 
Snow_Fox said:
Iphone 4 cost 299$ on contract, and isn't anywhere near as impressive in terms of specs.

Even at 16 Gigs of memory... its going to have an extra processor over the IP4.

At first I assumed (because captivate is 199$ as well) that it would be in that ball park.

However, even if olympus has 16 gigs dedicated.. its got 2 cores...

So.. it does stand to reason they are going to do their best to milk that fact for whatever it may be worth.

Again all speculation.. but, feel free to correct any logical fallacies you may see.

Or give us some insight as to why you think it won't be over 199$ on contract.
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The iPhone 4 is in a slightly different class. You argue that the 32GB iPhone 4 is $299 but it also has twice as much storage. As you may know, the cost for flash storage rises exponentially as size increases. Just look at the 32Gb micro SDHC cards. They just came down to below $100 (for the slower class) so that would put it in the class of the iPhone. Honestly, I would not look too much into the dual-core pricing. To be competitive and to be with the rest of the market, the phone would need to be priced at $199.

On another topic, I have been waiting for a decent Android phone for well over a year for AT&T but the recent ad leak shows something that may sway the decision for the Olympus: the HTC Inspire 4G. HTC make great phones with a great UI. It looks like a Desire HD which is nice but it will be a hard decision comparing that to a dual-core phone, specifically a Motorola device. Motoblur would be a disappointment making the Inspire 4G that much more appealing. If only the Inspire 4G (well, HSPA+ so more like 3.5G) had a dual core processor, the decision would be simple.
 
I think your holding out too much hope in at&t.

You were mentioning different classes of device.. and yes 32g iphone does use incredibly expensive nand storage.. (DAMN YOU JOBS! QUIT WHORING THE NAND CHIPS OUT, I WANT A CHEAP SOLID STATE DRIVE YOU ******).

Anyway. now that thats out of my system.. outside of memory being more expensive...

Keep in mind the first dual core is going to put the olympus in a class of its own.

And while the Inspire 4g may be coming out.. its most likely going to have snap dragon which is older than hummingbird.. and "4g" is something I won't get either way... Possible 3.5g mebbeh... but, I'm not holding my breath.

Htc makes some amazing phone's I am not going to lie.. they did a hell of a job with N1 and Desire.

But, they have been so quiet in regards to at&t I've pretty much given up.

They may get a phone... but, tbh We have been waiting on another HTC phone since the aria.. rumors have gone crazy more than once over it as well.

It is possible that it will be within 200$ range.. but, I wouldn't be surprised if it was higher.. heck the samsung epic on sprint was 250$ when it debuted.
 
The EVO was the first 4G phone and at the time of it's release it was in a class of it's own yet it was $199 on contract after the rebate. The prices of phones have remained pretty consistent. Most high end phones are usually between $199-299. Since the 3G the iPhone prices have not changed. Compare the iPhone 4 to the 3GS the iPhone 4 has an upgraded camera, double the RAM, a better processor, LED flash, a front facing camera, etc yet it was the same price as the 3GS and the 3G were. Dual core or not if AT&T tries to price the phone too high they will price themselves out of a lot of sales. People have been waiting for a flagship Android phone on AT&T but I don't think enough people will pay more than $199-299 if it comes with a 2 year contract.
 
This may not be relevant but I would imagine comparing it to the iphone is not exactly fair considering the iphone is considered the 'cool' device. I think they could charge whatever they want for that damn thing and people would pay it so maybe a price to specs comparison would not be entirely accurate?
 
striketrue said:
This may not be relevant but I would imagine comparing it to the iphone is not exactly fair considering the iphone is considered the 'cool' device. I think they could charge whatever they want for that damn thing and people would pay it so maybe a price to specs comparison would not be entirely accurate?
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I agree with this which is why I think if the iPhone sells for $199 and $299 and it could sell for more and still sell well then the Olympus won't be priced any different.
 
I still believe it will be $199 but it may cost $249 at most. I think AT&T is going to try to benefit off of all the accessories: the dock and Nettop dock.
 
Well as a sells man.. I can tell you they are suppose to push accessories no matter what..

I wonder if they may try some wanky "its a requirement to purchase the phone, that you get the laptop dock as well" :/

249$ with an upgrade is still too much for me.. I guess that does sound cheap of me..

However, just because something is infact worth 249$ (I think that may actually be a fair price considering what you are getting).

It is still more than I am willing to spend on a phone..

Plus.. no telling if these phone's won't have some new data requirement.

"oh you gotta pay the 4g premium!"

"but, I don't even have 4g in my area!"

"Too bad! you should consider moving!"
 
Snow_Fox said:
Well as a sells man.. I can tell you they are suppose to push accessories no matter what..

I wonder if they may try some wanky "its a requirement to purchase the phone, that you get the laptop dock as well" :/

249$ with an upgrade is still too much for me.. I guess that does sound cheap of me..

However, just because something is infact worth 249$ (I think that may actually be a fair price considering what you are getting).

It is still more than I am willing to spend on a phone..

Plus.. no telling if these phone's won't have some new data requirement.

"oh you gotta pay the 4g premium!"

"but, I don't even have 4g in my area!"

"Too bad! you should consider moving!"
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I highly doubt they will charge a 4G premium as they are just rebranding their current 3G as 4G. Once they introduce LTE will there be any possibility of a price hike. Also, I doubt they will make accessories mandatory to purchase. If they do, I would just purchase it through AT&T's website and not have to deal with the hassle of the store's salesmen.
 
Snow_Fox said:
Accessories are probably gunna be steep.

Even if the brain isn't in the case itself.. that laptop and desk dock look like quite a bit of r&d went into them along with the phone itself.
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I hope it won't be too bad. You can get a netbook fairly cheap so in would not expect to pay much more for a dock with a screen, keyboard, mouse, and battery.
 
Well.. there in lies the problem a netbook is about 300$

I could see the dock being 150$ which isn't bad but, its still more than I would want to pay.

Hell most regular "media docks" which have very little function sell for 30$.

With that said, it is a very cool device.. Seems like a great alternative to tablets..

Thin plus college kids can sorta get by with it as needed.

Use phone.. Switch over to typing to take notes...

Go back to phone after.
 
Snow_Fox said:
Iphone 4 cost 299$ on contract, and isn't anywhere near as impressive in terms of specs.

Even at 16 Gigs of memory... its going to have an extra processor over the IP4.

At first I assumed (because captivate is 199$ as well) that it would be in that ball park.

However, even if olympus has 16 gigs dedicated.. its got 2 cores...

So.. it does stand to reason they are going to do their best to milk that fact for whatever it may be worth.

Again all speculation.. but, feel free to correct any logical fallacies you may see.

Or give us some insight as to why you think it won't be over 199$ on contract.
Click to expand...


299 is an apple price. Not att price. Apple law with be more "clear" when iphone cdma is released. Iphone fanboys will realize att isn't calling the shots. Verizon wont call the shots either. Hint.
 
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