Anybody Want to Sell Me an Old iPhone?

[Duddits]

Ani,

 

I actually agree with you about your main point of phones compared to laptops or desktops. I much prefer to use a laptop or desktop, and don't run around pawing at my phone day and night.

 

My point was that in viewing something like the iPhone, it's less of a phone and more of a computer. And that's indicative of an emerging category of mobile devices that you wouldn't really judge by the same specs as you would a conventional phone. They're a different animal.

 

It's easy enough for any company to slap on an 8 MP camera, just as it's easy enough to slap a high resolution commodity converter into an interface (as Craig recently wrote in a "forest through the trees" observation about converters and preamps).

 

Something like the iPhone or Pre is about a mini computer running a complex OS. Whether that's something of use to you is up to you. But the fact that it's called a phone is increasingly anachronistic and why personally, of all of the iPhones, I'd recommend the latest because it's the best computer.

 

Ani, actually, I kind of hate phones! I'm not a phone whore fawning over all the cool features of fancy phones. But just yesterday, my iPhone became useful many times as I needed to find a place that confounded my GPS (called them and it turns out their address doesn't work on GPS devices for some reason), and then for needing to find something on the web very quickly later in the day while I was out and needed to show someone, needing to jot down/reference notes, and some other things. It's just a very useful mini little computer when a larger computer isn't around.

 

 

I'm with Craig on Apple's neglect to nurture a loyal customer base. If you don't take care of existing customers and offer them some sort of incentive by rewarding them for their loyalty; you give them nothing to hang around for. When those very same customers who paid the higher prices initially that provided a substantial base to allow for R&D and mass production continue to pay higher rates, while newcomers are being invited in for pennies on the dollar to get the same service and/or technology; what's to keep them around? What's to say the same thing will not happen every time a new product is introduced. Maybe if EVERYONE were to wait for the better deals, knowing the price will come down substantially whenever mass production begins, no one would be able to jump on the band wagon and get the lower prices because the company would go belly up because NO ONE wanted to be the sucker footing the bill to build the foundation. Even after a foundation has been built; if you don't maintain it, the structure will eventually collapse. There will be a lot of fly-by-night one time users that will grab onto the great deals, but those that help build a company's reputation from the ground up by supplying continual and loyal support in buying unproven technologies will not forget how they were treated the next time around. Many will move on and boycott all else that becomes of the company who burned them.

 

 

That's another issues that obviously burns in this thread. Apple invokes emotions that no other company does. Commenting in an Apple thread feels like commenting in a thread about politics or religion. Just look at the emotions! Before I disagreed with Craig, I almost thought, maybe this is a bad idea, kind of like stepping between the Dursleys and Harry Potter. Disagreeing with him about Mackie vs. Presonus or anything else is not a big deal. But the heat generated in any thread about Apple makes it almost a third rail in the forum.

 

Your response touches on that as well. I forget how many years ago (20?) you had a bad experience with an Apple computer, and allude to that in your response. You're still pissed at them and connect that experience with carrier-subsidized phones.

 

But NONE of this, none of Craig's experience with the iPhone has anything to do with neglecting loyal customers or a bad experience you had with a computer 20 years ago. The way subsidized phones are sold is consistent all around the world and with every phone company and carrier. There's nothing Apple specific about it. Because it's Apple, it invokes all sorts of passions one way or the other. That's too bad. While I joked around in my comment about it, I mainly tried to put that aside. Anthropomorphizing Apple has little interest to me.

 

My point is strictly on the device itself. What it is and what it isn't.

 

I'm sure it'd be a lot easier to chat about it if it were a ShmiPhone from ShmApple.

[Ani]

I forget how many years ago (20?) you had a bad experience with an Apple computer, and allude to that in your response. You're still pissed at them and connect that experience with carrier-subsidized phones.

 

 

You have a good memory, but in all honesty, Apple was the furthest thing from my mind whenever I was addressing customer loyalty. My beef with Apple was with customer support and their lack of available consumer education for a product introduced in a city before it's time.

 

Actually, when writing my response, I was thinking about Time Warner and my dealings with them. I remember when SBC first introduced DSL in Kansas City. I had been a faithful customer to Time Warner Road Runner for 2 or 3 years already and I had been paying $49.00 + taxes for Internet service relentlessly. To beat SBC'S introductory offer of $39.00 flat fee, TWRR offered a year contract that would lock in the rate of $29.00 to ONLY newcomers.

 

I called them and inquired about a potential discount of some sort and they told me that the better rates only applied to first time subscribers. I then asked them if they might consider some sort of an incentive package to offer long term subscribers to keep them from leaving. As pompous as they come, the representative said, "Our reputation and reliable service is enough incentive to keep customers coming back for more!"

 

At this point their claim has proven to be true, but if ever they DO get rivalrous competion that services my area; they will be history. I actually gave SBC a shot and they spent two weeks "trying" to get their service up and running, while wasting hours upon hours of my time talking to their techs. Even their field techicians were not able to resolve issues. After two weeks of agony giving SBC every opportunity to put their money where their mouth was; I cancelled the plan while in it's trial stages and "reluctantly" returned to TW.

 

For some reason, they have a locked market here in Kansas City to where their competitors cannot expand on into the city limits of this big city. Comcast is available in suburb cities that surround us, but you can't get their service at addresses within the Kansas City proper zones. Must be some green passing through the hands of TW and KC Politicians; it's been known to happen with many a big spender.

[Huh?]

I work for a popular network TV show.....I am incredibly busy whether at stage or out on location and am always receiving e mails, getting PDF's of maps to locations, e mailing jpeg images, making tons of phone calls, needing to do convertions in the field, calculations, get directions to say a diner when we are in an area we don't know....etc etc etc etc

I LOVE my iPhone.

I got my 16G for $299 like everyone else. It syncs up with my Mac computers.....my contacts, calendar, iTunes yada yada yada

What's not to like?

It kicks the ass of any other "phone" out there that I have come across.

1 month after I got mine the brand new one came out. I was a bit bummed but such is life. Yeah, to get the new one I would have to pay $699 or something....or I can wait.Likely by the time I am eligible for an upgrade, a brand new 10X more bitchen iPhone will be available.

Who needs Compass and video anyway. I upgraded to 3.0....pretty cool.

My Peterson iStrobosoft tuner in there is awesome...as is having Sirius radio in there, Surf Report, an SPL Meter, Shazam..that will recognize a song playing at another source with 85% accuracy, a sun angle calculator with an inclinometer, a level.....on and on and on......LOL!!!

[nerol1st]

Apple charges $100 freakin' dollars for 16GB of RAM? When you can buy 16GB of RAM in a stick, with packaging, at Office Depot for $19 AND THAT INCLUDES THE MARKUP?

Leads me to a story about markup...


For some reason I despise Monster cable, I think the company just plain sucks. But anyhow I needed HDMI cable so off I went to my local Best Buy where my brother works. He says "I'll use my store discount on these since I get them at cost."

Okay, so I go and pick up a 3' HDMI cable ($40), a monster HDMI 4' cable ($70) and another cheapy 3' fiber optic audio cable ($40). So we are OVER $150 for a measly 10' in cable total .

The markup must be astronomical because all 3 cables were purchased by my brother for $12.

[Huh?]

Best Buy's prices are really high in general I feel.

Also, tests have been done by either CNET or Consumer Reports...one of those review sites and they found absolutely no difference in quality between stuff like Monster and other way overpriced cables, and the least expensive cable you can find on the internet.

They have all the test gear they review like home theater audio systems etc, wired up with these cheap cables.

Fry's is not bad as far as prices.

[Huh?]

As far as Apple's prices...... it is true they charge more for RAM ..... I was always under the impression that their RAM is "premium" and more likely to be compatible. I have had Macs for 10 years or more and I have put cheap brand RAM in them and had problems...... problems that were solved by installing premium Apple RAM from my buddy at his Authorized Apple Reseller store.

 

Now I just automatically put this expensive RAM in my MacPro and MacBook Pro, and my older G4 Dual Processor Power PC, and I just bite down and pay for it. I do not want my Pro Tools freaking out or any other program because the RAM is having issues.

 

You could say I am brainwashed by a sales ploy or just plain dumb..... but I also do not have ANY problems with my computers......touch wood....cross fingers.....LOL! I do buy inexpensive hard drives and other stuff.... I am not an Apple only person. I must say that I did get an Apple Airport Extreme wireless router and I seem to be having more problems than I did with my Linksys. Who knows?

 

So if you want to pay less for RAM just go get an inexpensive brand....it may work for you....it is certainly readily available. As far as I know, there is also high priced memory available for Windows also.....from cheap to expensive. It just seems that Windows is less critical on the quality or brand of memory...don't know for sure though, not a PC expert.