Apple Offers iPhone Price Protection
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iPhone buyers can get a credit if Apple reduces the price within ten calendar days of shipment.
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Apple Inc. sharply cut the price of its iPhone on Wednesday and rolled out an iPod with a touch screen that can browse the Internet wirelessly, as well as improvements to its iTunes Web store.
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Affordable for the holidays, or cheaper to boost sales? Analysts were divided on the true meaning of Apple's $200 price drop for the 8GB iPhone, but a number of consumers were more focused on having just paid 50 percent more than today's new price for their fancy gadget.
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InfoWorld - A company that insures laptops and smartphones may save the day for iPhone owners worried about their pricey handsets getting stolen or damaged.
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(InfoWorld) - A Los Angeles-based consumer watchdog group that filed a lawsuit against Apple in 2006 has called on the company to spell out the iPhone's battery-replacement policy to prospective buyers. In a letter sent Friday to Apple CEO Steve Jobs and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, the Foundation for Taxpayers and Consumer Rights (FTCR) asked that iPhone battery issues be disclosed in all advertising, before retail sales close and during activation using iTunes "to ensure that no customers are misled concerning the performance and effective cost of the unit." The letter also urged Apple to provide replacement batteries free of charge throughout the life of the iPhone. When FTCR founder Harvey Rosenfield wrote the letter, details were still sketchy about iPhone battery replacement. For example, he noted that the battery was "apparently not user-replaceable." Later Friday, Apple posted additional details of the iPhone's battery -- including tips on extending its lifespan, as well as the procedure for and cost of replacing a battery -- on its Web site. Although Apple doesn't specifically say that the battery can't be replaced by users, early examinations of the iPhone's innards confirmed that it would be nearly impossible. IFixIt.com, which conducted one of the first iPhone "tear-downs," noted that the battery is soldered to the device's logic board; a second tear-down by AnandTech.com photographed the battery's leads in a closeup that clearly showed the soldering. Under the iPhone's standard one-year warranty, Apple will replace the battery free of charge if it drops below 50 percent of original capacity. This month, Apple will begin selling an $69 extended warranty that stretches the hardware repair coverage, battery included, for an additional year. FTCR, however, noted that many users will likely need to replace their iPhone batteries before their two-year contracts with AT&T expire and perhaps after the one-year warranty is defunct. "Unlike the iPod, the iPhone is obviously intended and marketed as a device to be utilized for a broad range of business-related purposes, and on a constant basis," wrote Rosenfield in the letter to Apple and AT&T. "A customer who recharges the iPhone every night, as most cell phone users do, may therefore require a battery replacement within 10 months." Apple has claimed that the iPhone battery will handle 300 to 400 recharges. To replace the iPhone battery, owners must pay $85.95, then ship the device to Apple. The normal repair time, Apple said in a brief FAQ on iPhone battery replacement, will be three business days. Users, however, will receive a data-free iPhone in return. "The repair process will clear all data from your iPhone," Apple's FAQ stated. "It is important to sync your iPhone with iTunes to back up your contacts, photos, e-mail account settings, text messages and more. Apple is not responsible for the loss of information while servicing your iPhone and does not offer any data transfer service." The program is similar to the one offered to iPod owners, which charges $65.95 to replace a battery and returns the unit sans music and video about a week after Apple receives the device. Batteries in virtually every other cell phone, smart phone and mobile device can be replaced by the user or in a visit to the mobile service provider's retail store. The FTCR has history with Apple. In 2006, it filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of not offering dissatisfied iPod nano buyers a full refund after its screen became scratched.
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Apple said it would bring the prices on its iTunes digital music store in Britain in line with those on the Continent to settle an antitrust case.
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Apple's 33 percent price cut on top-of-the-line iPhones yesterday took many observers by surprise. Here's why it may not have been such a smart move.
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Can St. Steve move up a plane? Scepticism about the launch of the Apple iPhone is growing, and it isn't helping the Apple share price. What a coincidence that exactly as things get tougher in the stock market, rumours start appearing that will "cause a 40 per cent premium on the Apple share price"!â¦
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InfoWorld - Consumers aren&#39;t willing to pay what Apple&#160;may ask for the&#160;iPhone, but if the price drops they&#39;ll switch their mobile service to AT&amp;T in order to get it, according to results of a survey released Thursday.
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Many of those who bought the iPhone early may be eligible for an Apple Store credit, to help make up the difference in the $200 price drop.
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Many people who lined up to be  the first buyers of Apple Inc.&#39;s iPhone made good on promises  to try to flip the gadgets online at inflated prices, but a  quick buck appeared out of reach for many.
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Apple said it would credit $100 to customers who bought an iPhone at the full price of $599, after early adopters of the cellphone complained about yesterdayâs price cut.
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Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs apologized and offered $100 credits Thursday to customers who shelled out $599 for the most advanced model of the iPhone this summer, only to have the company unexpectedly slash the price $200 in a push to boost holiday sales.
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Apple Inc will offer a $100 store  credit to people who bought the iPhone before the company  slashed the price by $200, Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a  statement on Thursday.
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Few would pay Apple's $500 asking price for the iPhone, although it would be a big seller if it cost less, a survey has found found.
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Apple Inc. said on Tuesday its hotly  anticipated iPhone could cost up to $3,000 with a required  two-year service contract, but that didn&#39;t stop a handful of  admirers from starting to wait to buy the device.
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(InfoWorld) - Less than a week after CEO Steve Jobs said that Apple wouldÂ fight hacksÂ that unlocked the iPhone, the company said any modification, unlocks included, voids the phone's warranty. Saying it had found that many of the unlocking programs "cause irreparable damage to the iPhone's software," Apple spelled out the policy. "Users who make unauthorized modifications to the software on their iPhone violate their iPhone software license agreement and void their warranty," the company said in a statement. "The permanent inability to use an iPhone due to installing software is not covered under the iPhone's warranty." Several unlock hacks are circulating, including the free open-source anySIM unlock created byÂ iPhone Dev Team,Â andÂ iPhoneSIMFree,Â a commercial unlocking program that sells between $45 and $90 online. The unlocks let users insert a SIM card programmed with account data from another mobile provider so the phone can make calls on that carrier's network, rather than solely over AT&T's. Other mods, or modifications, let iPhone owners install their own ring tones -- Apple charges $0.99 on top of the usual $0.99 tune fee for a ring tone -- and add new software to the Apple-approved applications on the device. Apple also said it would issue an iPhone update this week, and hinted -- as expected -- that it will use firmware updates toÂ cripple unauthorized modifications.Â "Apple has discovered that many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs ... will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed," the statement said. The coming update has been no secret. Shortly after Jobs unveiled the new iPod line and announced the $200Â iPhone price dropÂ that angered many early buyers, Apple confirmed that it would update the device to add new features, including the ability to buy tracks from the iTunes music store over Wi-Fi. Not surprisingly, Apple's policy didn't scare off those who have modified their iPhones. On the company's iPhone support forum, a user identified as ansuz07 said, "The percentage of iPhones that have become bricked from hacks is very low. Even those that experienced problems could be fixed by a simple restore. Apple is going to make it sound a lot worse than it actually is since they are the ones who don't want you to do it in the first place." ComputerworldÂ is an InfoWorld affiliate. Â