Because more people are willing to pay $200 less. Also, don't forget that there are discounts to be had now that there is an iPod touch shipping, which uses the same parts basically. So that means volume discounts, which Apple's iPod supply chain is infamous for. Also, since the 4 GB model is no longer being sold, that cuts down prices on the assembly line, packaging, etc ... One iPhone, one price.Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:If people were willing to keep buying at $600 in comparable numbers and your R&D bill is cleared, why give up $200 of pure profit?
Granted, the savings there probably don't come anywhere close to the $200 of (presumably) pure profit that Apple is losing per unit, but they might've been substantial enough to make it an easier pill to swallow in the name of more marketshare.
Remember the last time Steve Jobs made a big promise on stage? It had something to do with IBM and 3 GHz PowerPC 970s. And IBM made him look like a chump. Now he's made another big promise on-stage: 10 million iPhones sold by the end of 2008. I'm guessing he doesn't want to break another promise, so with the holiday season coming up, the continuing consumer interest in the iPhone and the first sales milestone being met earlier this week, he wants to aim for the bleachers. Hell, with the iPhone hacking yielding both working third-party applications and a full software unlock, the iPhone is enjoying a resurgence of press coverage. There's no better time for a price cut.
