As of yesterday, the word on iPhone pricing is still the same: $499 and $599 for the 4GB and 8GB versions, respectively. That's a decent chunk of change for the average consumer, and Apple is banking on the fact that the list prices are still low enough to entice people to buy one. If the gamble pays off and people are willing to accept higher prices for multifunctional, "iPhone-like" phones, Steve Jobs may not be the only one swimming in a pool full of cash like Scrooge McDuck.
Nokia is no stranger to phones with cutting-edge technology and correspondingly high price tags. In fact, CFO Rick Simonson is hoping that iPhone sales will be a help to Nokia by increasing consumer willingness to buy more expensive, high-end phones. The number of smartphones in the US market is fairly low since many Nokia phones don't make it across the Atlantic, and other manufacturers simply don't make a lot of smartphone models. Sales have historically been low, mostly due to high prices, all of which may change if the iPhone gains consumer acceptance.
In terms of technology, Nokia has a fairly strong base they can use to compete with Apple. Phones like the N80 and the $750 N95 share a lot of features with devices like the iPhone, and Nokia seems confident that they will be able to respond quickly to Apple's innovations in order to compete with the iPhone. Even if Apple sells a million iPhones in 2007, a fairly low number compared to worldwide cell phone sales, the possibility is there that consumers will get more used to paying the big bucks for a phone with big features. If the iPhone takes off, I think everyone (with the exception of your pocketbook) will win, since both Apple and Nokia will be innovating in order to keep pace, and Nokia might even bring some of its more impressive European smartphones to the US. Prices may be higher, but then again if the market gets flooded with smartphones, companies like Apple and Nokia may start competing on price. It might not be so bad after all.
No comments:
Post a Comment