They want iPhones, but aren't buying them (WSJ)

[samintx]

http://blogs.wsj.com/biztech/2008/11/12/...d=yahoo_hs

interesting demographics...and iPhones ARE selling but.....

[vision63]

If Apple owned the cell network, they'd be rich like an oil company.

[comaplate]

Lose the $60/month plan and/or the ATT requirement, and they'd sell more.

[deckeda]

from the WJS piece wrote:
“reflects an interest amongst some consumers for the iPhone, based on surrounding buzz, etc., but the eventual realization that, for many subscribers, getting the iPhone would mean switching carriers.”

It's easy for me to discount the potential necessity of switching to another carrier as being a sticking point for many people. That's because I've already chosen AT&T as my carrier even though I don't have an iPhone.

So my conclusion is different. To me, what makes iPhone truly different is indeed the buzz surrounding it. That draws the interest. The roadblock is the realization that you can't get a $40 or whatever plan for it, and I speculate THAT's what most people would be migrating from.

Nothing against the iPhone or even the plan costs necessarily, but it's not just "a phone" and so it and the plans are priced accordingly. That turns away the masses who aren't used to smartphones etc.

[incognegro]

i'm ready to dump Verizon for AT&T, but the initial outlay for activation + phones is keeping me where i'm at for the moment.

i wish they'd waive those fees for someone changing carriers...

[sekker]

It's still an expensive phone.

The RAZR is no more / month than a cheap Nokia phone.

The data plan cost is preventing me from getting one for my wife.

[jdc]

you think thats bad, try being a current customer with time life on your contract

its $100 more for the phone + transfer fee = about $450 to start...

[Silencio]

Yet the iPhone is still the #1 selling handset in America. So what's the problem here?

[guitarist]

you think thats bad, try being a current customer with time life on your contract wrote:

What does it mean to have "time life" on your contract?

[jdc]

sorry -- "time left"