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nyc boy
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was out and about last night, seen about 10 iPhones being used. talked with some people about it, most of them were bought here in TH, unlocked.
everything and all options working minus the voicemail lookup.
from my understanding no one purchased one overseas and then brought it here to be unlocked, all were purchased new and unlocked here. so can not verify for people who bought one overseas and unlocked it here.
in the coming weeks, I think that you'll see a plethora of Thais sporting iPhones.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 9:28 pm on Sep. 7, 2007
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DaffyDuck
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Quote: from IBFarang on 10:56 am on Sep. 8, 2007
Yes in this case (...) Dump the price to increase sales.
Like I said, you just keep on believing what you will - you clearly are the undisputed expert in this matters, and what the heck do I know..?
You go, boy... Never mind me smirking here, though...
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 12:42 am on Sep. 8, 2007
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DaffyDuck
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Actually, let's try this again, and maybe you'll get a clue in Business 110 (101 is for beginners) :
iPhone Pricing Analysis for Dummies
Steve Jobs Speaks The Truth
Lastly, That Product Transition that I mentioned a while back, which was brought up (and quickly forgotten) on July 25th, dealt with exactly what we just witnessed - the price reductions, ready for the holidays, and taking a write-off on transition costs (i.e. rebates) to support and encourage sales.
Transition? Wait for November 12th, and take a close look at the iPod Touch.
But, hey, I'm sure IBFarang knows far better what's going on....
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 1:28 am on Sep. 8, 2007
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Abrak
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I am still puzzled...
I understand the idea of having a low price point for the iphone to maximise sales. Pricing the product well below the Nokia e95 and only slightly above an ipod. I suspect this move is a frank admission that they think they mispriced it in the first place.
But if you want to maximise sales why bother tying yourself to a carrier? And why not release the product worldwide? A globally launched sim free iphone at US$399 would probably do 5m units before Christmas. no?
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 2:41 am on Sep. 8, 2007
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IBFarang
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Quote: from DaffyDuck on 3:22 pm on Sep. 8, 2007
But, hey, I'm sure IBFarang knows far better what's going on....
Thanks for admitting the obvious.
BTW the references you used were so convincing – especially to most of the people who took the time to post comments showing their overwhelming agreement – not.
There was an interesting gem in one of them though -
Apple didn’t cut the price because demand is low — they set the debut price ridiculously high because demand was ridiculously high.
Yea Apple set the price ridiculously high to cash in on those tech geeks that will pay any price to get the next gadget. Now that sales have started to slow, they dump the price to sell to the average Tom, Dick, and Harry – though I reckon maybe Tom, Dick, or Harry might have bough one earlier as well.
It's not like I stand alone in my opinion:
Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates -
"It is a very interesting sign. My first suspicion is that they aren't getting the volume,"
Might be part of the reason the stock has gone from up around $145 down to near $130 in three days. Good time to buy as I am sure it will go back up over $145 before too long.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 5:56 am on Sep. 8, 2007
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black cats
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Yes now would be a good time to buy apple, as the market was overly harsh and feels that apple is needlessly reducing their profit margins on iphones and may have alienated some original customers.
I think the market, which usually overreacts to a perceived negative, is doing just that. Apple certainly isn't losing money on iphone sales and any ECON 101 class will tell you the price drop will most likely increase demand.
Plus even releasing the ipod touch was a smart move. People like me who insist on unlocked phones will find that we can stick with our current phone and get a very cool toy to argue about the price of tea in China on this forum from our in room wifi while in town and maybe never get laid.
So in summation, apple has an uncanny knack for creating products that sell really well, because people actually like them, at attractive profit margins. That's the type of company to invest in.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 7:08 am on Sep. 8, 2007
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DaffyDuck
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Quote: from IBFarang on 7:50 pm on Sep. 8, 2007
Might be part of the reason the stock has gone from up around $145 down to near $130 in three days.
You're absolutely right - the release of low financial figures in the US, driving nearly all US stocks seriously down, had absolutely nothing to do with it - it's *ALL* the iPhone, and Apple lowering the price on it, dealing a blow to the world economies.
But hey, whatever!
Quote: from IBFarang on 7:50 pm on Sep. 8, 2007
Good time to buy as I am sure it will go back up over $145 before too long.
Which is why I picked up another 100 shares that day (though it may go down a bit more next week, as the market continues its decline, though Apple stock usually recovers faster than the rest of the market).
Quote: from black cats on 9:02 pm on Sep. 8, 2007
I think the market, which usually overreacts to a perceived negative, is doing just that. Apple certainly isn't losing money on iphone sales and any ECON 101 class will tell you the price drop will most likely increase demand.
So far, the handful of stores I checked with have confirmed to have, so far, sold more phones in the past few days, than in the same period of time since the original launch - and they are getting plenty of supply, with the phones flying off the shelves. This has also been confirmed by figures from the online store, which has been selling the phones at an alarming rate.
Couple that with the Apple's refurb store having the phone available for as low as $299 (if you know where to look for the 4gb version), and you end up with an impossible to resist temptation (anyone want me to bring any back from the US on my next trip?)
I will reiterate and repeat that this price drop will NOT last forever - every of Apple's statements stressed the fact that this drop in price is for, and will be maintained, 'FOR THE HOLIDAYS' - coupled with AT&T guaranteeing the price until January 31st, and you have a pretty good idea that the price will go up, most likely fueled by a new product, by next year. It won't go up to $599, but I'd think up around $499 for the high-end model, $399 for the low-end model.
Quote: from black cats on 9:02 pm on Sep. 8, 2007
Plus even releasing the ipod touch was a smart move. People like me who insist on unlocked phones will find that we can stick with our current phone and get a very cool toy to argue about the price of tea in China on this forum from our in room wifi while in town and maybe never get laid.
Judging from the reaction I got from ALL girls on my last trip (where I was, arguably, the first and only person in Thailand with the phone), I'd venture a guess that it will even help you get laid 
Quote: from black cats on 9:02 pm on Sep. 8, 2007
So in summation, apple has an uncanny knack for creating products that sell really well, because people actually like them, at attractive profit margins. That's the type of company to invest in.
Good analysis, though I'd check with IBFarang before making any investments in Apple, or any related industries, as he's the undisputed expert in such matters, after all.
Personally, I have been investing in AAPL since their stock has been hovering around $13 dollars (with every broker 'analyst' discouraging me, which I always found funny). So far, it seems to have done well for a stock that analysts have been putting down, until it started heavily performing - go figure.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 7:51 am on Sep. 8, 2007
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DaffyDuck
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Quote: from Abrak on 4:35 pm on Sep. 8, 2007
I understand the idea of having a low price point for the iphone to maximise sales. Pricing the product well below the Nokia e95 and only slightly above an ipod. I suspect this move is a frank admission that they think they mispriced it in the first place.
I'm just going to assume that links I throw up that explain such puzzling issues simply won't be read for whatever reasons.
That being said - ALL new products, especially if they are overhyped, and hotly anticipated will always be overpriced, in order to maximize profits from a market willing to pay higher prices. This is nothing new. The original iPod (so many years ago) sold for $599, for a 5GB MP3 player. Look at them now.
A company can reduce a price for several reasons, the most likely, if they have a product selling in huge quantities, being economies of scale allowing them to reduce their component costs, which invariably happens to Apple. The introduction of the iPod Touch, using essentially the same components of the iPhone, translates into lower component costs for iPhones. Balda, the German company manufacturing the screens of the phones, announced an order for 6-8 additional units last week - which are most likely destined for iPod Touch, but which also doubled their product committment so far. As the next generation iPhone gets ramped up, and as sales in Europe will explode, Balda will do better as well, but also component costs will go further down.
Pricing is a sliding scale with multiple variables, and while most manufacturers simply follow the numbers on the scale to set their prices, Apple is one of the few companies actively and agressively manipulating that scale in their favor.
Quote: from Abrak on 4:35 pm on Sep. 8, 2007
But if you want to maximise sales why bother tying yourself to a carrier? And why not release the product worldwide? A globally launched sim free iphone at US$399 would probably do 5m units before Christmas. no?
Yeah, but a globally launched SIM free phone won't pay you 10% of all the calling / rate plan profits for each user... There are several reasons why it was a good idea for Apple to ally itself with major carriers - partially, to play the game of Wall Street - being allied with the US' largest cellphone carrier, by far, plays well with the perennially clueless analysts, and has resulted in Apple stock inching upwards as The Street gives them props for hanging out with one of the popular boys; While most companies would have sold their nuts to make a deal with AT&T, Apple instead was in a position to set their own terms, which included not just participating in profits from AT&T customers (allegedly, Apple gets 10% of all plan and call profits from iPhone users), but also convinced AT&T to implement the visual voice mail feature on their network, *and* provide special pricing on data plans and voice plans to their customers -- the AT&T iPhone plan is actually a significant improvement over the regular AT&T plans, as otherwise I would not have given up on my T-Mobile plan.
In other words, Apple (well, Steve Jobs) always wants to control as much of the experience as possible, which he could only do, if he had some control over the carrier and what they provide. Just tossing the phone out into the open and waiting to see how it does would have been a workable short-term strategy, but a lousy long-term strategy, and a support nightmare.
Unlike most business, Steve Jobs' Apple invariably takes a VERY long term outlook on their strategies, as it gives them a significant advantage over nearly everyone in the industry (most people barely can look ahead beyond 3 weeks, most business never see beyond the next quarter). Apple generally looks two years ahead (or, in the case of iPhone, 3-5 years ahead).
These are the same reasons why Apple has negotiated similar deals with O2, T-Mobile, and Orange in Europe for the upcoming launch in Europe - and why they are negotiating with Asian carriers. Of course, the more they sell, and the better the iPhone does, the better Apple's position in such negotiations
Which brings us back to 'Why drop the price so agressively?" - if your goal is to support negotiations in 2008, and a mrket dominance 2-3 years down the road, and aggressive and 'crazy' move right now will pay off by that future time.
Apple's strategy is not to sell as many phones in as short a time as possible (the usual strategy of the shortsighted), but to build up a very long term, very ingrained, and very viral business model that will be long-lasting. The strategy so far has worked very well in everything else (including their computer business, if you took the time to analyze it), and will continue to work for them with the phone.
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Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 8:16 am on Sep. 8, 2007
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black cats
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apple at $13? Nice. I doubt you could find any investment "professional" today who would discourage buying apple. If you can he/she is probably weak on tech, which by itself is good. But apple is not a tech stock. Apple is a consumer product developer that is extremely successful because they put themselves in shoes of an end user who wants things to work simply and well. It's the computer version of Honda or Toyota.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 5:07 pm on Sep. 8, 2007
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