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Cellphones Iphone Apple

White iPhone 4 Coming Today 195

Posted by samzenpus from the black-tulip dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Initially, the white iPhone 4 will be available in 28 countries including the US, UK, Australia, China, Japan, and Italy. It will be available for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model with a new two year agreement through the Apple Store, AT&T and Verizon Wireless stores (as rumored earlier) and select Apple Authorized Resellers."
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White iPhone 4 Coming Today More

White iPhone 4 Coming Today

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  • Price? (Score:5, Informative)

    by oji-sama ( 1151023 ) on Thursday April 28, 2011 @08:13AM (#35961530)

    It will be available for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model with a new two year agreement

    That's a crazy way to state the price. Or are the prices for the agreements always the same, whatever phone you choose

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Aladrin ( 926209 )

      The prices for plans are always the same for each provider. They differ between providers, though.

      For most providers, the plan prices are the same even if you don't take their deal on a phone. (A few have cheaper rates if you don't.)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by k_187 ( 61692 )
      The agreement can vary depending on features. Still looking at a minimum of $70ish dollars a month though.

      • Ouch. I have an iPhone 4 on a month-to-month plan (no contract) plan here in Australia with 1.5 GB data and more calls/SMS than I'd ever hope to use for ~$25/month. And this is ~Australia~ we are talking about, with generally one of the highest costs of living in the Western world.

        Mind you I bought the phone outright/unlocked, so the initial outlay was more. But over 2-3 years, it works out ~significantly~ cheaper (for my usage patterns at least) to do it that way. Not to mention that, because you aren't on

        • Ouch. I have an iPhone 4 on a month-to-month plan (no contract) plan here in Australia ... for ~$25/month. ...the ability to change to a better plan as soon as a company releases one means that you definitely save money.

          Sadly, things aren't like that in The States. The service will cost you $70 whether you bought the phone outright or not. It doesn't drop once the contract is over, once the phone is paid off, nada. And that's the giant scam, and why you're better off getting the next best phone once the contract is over, because you're paying for it anyway.

    • Re:Price? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Cimexus ( 1355033 ) on Thursday April 28, 2011 @08:26AM (#35961632)

      Agreed - can't stand the crazy way the Apple US store quotes its prices. The phone does NOT cost $199/$299. It costs significantly more than that, an amount which you pay off over the next 2 years by virtue of the binding service contract you sign with the service provider. That monthly ongoing cost is not just the cost of the plan alone - it also includes a repayment for the handset, though the exact breakdown isn't revealed.

      So really for a better idea of the cost of the actual phone itself, it would be better to look at the cost Apple are quoting in countries outside the US where you buy the phone outright, unlocked, and off-contract. For example:

      Australia (http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone?mco=MTAyNTQzMjI)

      16GB: $859
      32GB: $999

      Canada (http://store.apple.com/ca/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone?mco=MTAyNTQzMjI)

      16GB: $659
      32GB: $779

      (And wow ... never knew how much we got ripped off in Australia - the AUD is worth the same or slightly more than the CAD, but our prices are ~$200 more than in Canada. Argh!)

      • Re:Price? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by awyeah ( 70462 ) * on Thursday April 28, 2011 @08:36AM (#35961704)

        It costs significantly more than that, an amount which you pay off over the next 2 years by virtue of the binding service contract you sign with the service provider.

        That isn't just Apple, it's every phone. Even the cheap or free flip phones cost significantly more than what you pay for them.

        In the US, our carriers do subsidies, and you commit to a contract term in return for that subsidy. It's always worked that way (at least as long as I've owned a cell phone, since about 1998)

        You're always free to pay the full price for the phone and not lock into a contract. The only difference is that with other brands of phone, the carrier will usually unlock it for you after a period of time, but that won't happen with Apple.

        I think the full prices for the iPhone are $599 and $699, if memory serves me.

        - Dave

        • You're always free to pay the full price for the phone and not lock into a contract.

          No, you aren't. You can't even GET an unlocked iPhone for full price in the USA. It's a shame, really. You can go to France or Canada though, and get one. Land of the free!

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by Altus ( 1034 )

            when I bought one at the apple store they asked me if I would be signing up with AT&T (this was pre-verizon). I didnt actually ask to see if I could just buy it full price but they certainly implied it. They also told me what the real cost was (you have to pay sales tax on the actual price, not the subsidized price).

            Have you actually tried to buy a phone without a contract?

        • In the US, our carriers do subsidies, and you commit to a contract term in return for that subsidy. It's always worked that way (at least as long as I've owned a cell phone, since about 1998). You're always free to pay the full price for the phone and not lock into a contract.

          Here's what I don't understand. Let's say you do pay full price for a phone... why is your monthly rate the same as someone who buys a subsidized phone?

          • Presumably because you're not locked into a contract and the "risk" of you leaving somehow coincidentally equates, in monetary value, to the same as someone getting a phone subsidy while locked in.

            • Yeah, that's kind of what I had thought. Unfortunately it kind of kills the market for unsubsidized phones... the only advantage of buying an unsubsidized phone from most people's perspective is the ability to move to another provider whenever you want. Of course, given that the major providers use incompatible technologies in their networks, that benefit is pretty much gutted.

              I'm actually willing to take the contract in exchange for the subsidized phone, I just wish they didn't put crappy branded firmware

            • the "risk" of you leaving somehow coincidentally equates, in monetary value, to the same as someone getting a phone subsidy while locked in.

              I think a better way to say it is that the benefit of vendor lock-in is, to them, worth the cost of subsidizing the phones. It's really the same as what you said, but it sounds a lot more plausible for some reason.

          • Here's what I don't understand. Let's say you do pay full price for a phone... why is your monthly rate the same as someone who buys a subsidized phone?

            T-Mobile is cheaper if you don't get a subsidized phone. Too bad that probably won't survive the AT&T purchase.

          • Here's what I don't understand. Let's say you do pay full price for a phone... why is your monthly rate the same as someone who buys a subsidized phone?

            Because in the US, that outlier situation just isn't something the phone companies systems are set up for....

            I'd dare say, if you asked most US citizens, they'd have no idea people purchase phones any other way than to get a new one at $X for 2 year contract. The concept of buying an unsubsidized phone with contract is foreign to them.

            So, I'd dare say wit

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by jo_ham ( 604554 )

          You can get your iPhone carrier unlocked here in the UK at the end of your contract, or you can start with an unlocked one for full price.

      • A phone is pretty useless without service. And sure if they actually charged a lower plan fee if you bought the phone outright then you would have a point. But (in the market those prices are relevant to) they don't so there isn't one.

        • I'm not sure that "You don't have a point, because the phone companies are ripping off the users (in certain markets)" is very good one. Perhaps this is something that should be changed?

          • The claim was basically "That monthly ongoing cost is not just the cost of the plan alone - it also includes a repayment for the handset, though the exact breakdown isn't revealed."

            But that's not the case. There is no payment for the handset included in the monthly ongoing cost. Because if you buy the plan without getting a new phone you still pay the exact same price.

            Sure in reality they are just making more money from people who bring their own phone, but when you are talking about the retail price there

            • Because if you buy the plan without getting a new phone you still pay the exact same price.

              This just means you are subsidizing someone else's phone.

            • Of course the plan contains repayment for the handset. Around here you pick a plan (0-40€) and then you may pick a phone (+5-25€ depending on the model) on top of that. And the phone is usually (not always) a bit cheaper than from the shop, because they get you as a customer for 2 years. It's the same for you, just without the choice.

              • Which is exactly what I said, thanks for repeating it.

                • "But that's not the case. There is no payment for the handset included in the monthly ongoing cost."

                  I don't agree with this statement.

                  • It's qualified with "Sure in reality they are just making more money from people who bring their own phone".

                    You can't tell them "I already have a phone, please don't include the handset payment cost in my plan" and have them do so. Because it isn't part of the price. You don't pay extra (in the monthly charge) if you get the phone so there's no "payment" included.

                    In many markets (and some providers in the US, though not the ones that offer the iPhone) you can get a cheaper plan if you bring your own phone.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by torqer ( 538711 )

        you're even more ripped off when you consider that the AUD is pretty much on par with the USD.

        In the states the phones are retailing for $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB).

        How do you like them apples?

        Torqer.

        • Actually it's even sadder - the AUD is quite a bit above 'on par' with the USD now. 1 AUD = 109.3 US cents right this minute.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Malc ( 1751 )

        Don't forget that the Aussie prices include 10% GST, whereas the Canadian ones are exclusive of tax. The difference is still big.

        I wanted to the buy the Lonely Planet guide to New Zealand when I was in 'stralya a couple of years ago. $45 from the local book shop. $37 from Amazon.co.uk, including nearly $20 of airmail shipping from the other side of the planet. Ouch.

      • Agreed - can't stand the crazy way the Apple US store quotes its prices. The phone does NOT cost $199/$299. It costs significantly more than that, an amount which you pay off over the next 2 years by virtue of the binding service contract you sign with the service provider.

        Except that the phone+data plan costs the same whether you're using an iPhone or something else. Presuming you were going to have phone service anyway, the cost of using an iPhone with that service is $199/$299. That's like saying that a car doesn't really cost $X because that amount doesn't account for fuel consumption. That might make more sense for cars where different models cost different amounts to operate, but falls down here where the monthly costs are identical regardless of which phone you buy.

        • Well fair enough then. Wasn't aware that the plan was still the same cost if you brought your own phone (that seems ridiculous to me).

          Note that here we have both options. You can buy the phone outright/unlocked from Apple and just pop your existing SIM in it. Or, you can choose to buy a subsidised phone from a carrier for a cheaper up-front cost but a 2 year contracted plan. BUT note that the very same plan is cheaper per month if you bring your own phone than if you are paying a phone off. A portion of the

          • Also worth noting that phone companies spend significantly more to attract and keep pay as you go customers than contract (because once you're locked in you aren't going anywhere). That's a cost saving per contract customer that's also used to subsidise the handset. If the phone companies really thought there was no lost value to them in you being able to change providers at the drop of a hat they wouldn't make such a big deal about you leaving/cancelling on one. It's also guaranteed income which allows the
      • What I don't understand about this is, you need a service provider any way. I understand the desire to not be locked in so that if you decide you don't care for your current company you can easily switch. But you're still going to be paying _someone_ a monthly fee. Will their plans be cheaper for you, the individual, if you buy an unlocked phone at full price? I don't see evidence of that anywhere. No flame, just honest inquiry.
      • Check your consumer protection laws. They are minimal in the US, which is no small part of why stuff is so much cheaper here. Retailers, for example, do not generally have to accept returns of anything but DOA merchandise - after a minimal period (30 days or less) you have to get your service from the manufacturer. All those two year warranties with service at the store where you bought it aren't free - just look at the UK.

      • You forget though, in Australia the 10% GST is included in the price, whereas in Canada provincial taxes are different so they (plus federal tax) are not reflected in the "sticker price."

        This means the Aussie prices would be about $780 and $908. Still a fair bit higher, I'll admit, but not $200 higher.

    • How cool, thanks Steve! We get a new agreement too! That old legality-ridden "contract" concept they used to use felt so restrictive. That's just Apple for ya. Filling the world with agreement.

    • That's a crazy way to state the price. Or are the prices for the agreements always the same, whatever phone you choose

      $199 + Last dregs of integrity because you waited until it came in a colour to match your Macbook you Fanboy/girl?

      Hmm....doesn't quite fit on a price tag.

  • DRM LOCKED and BLOCKED (Score:3, Informative)

    by cculianu ( 183926 ) on Thursday April 28, 2011 @08:14AM (#35961534) Homepage

    $199 sounds like a great price but you get locked in to AT&T. I travel a lot and AT&T's international roaming fees are highway robbery. I'm in Romania right now and when I can be spending something like 5 Euros for 3000 minutes on a pre-paid card on Vodafone, why would I pay AT&T $0.29/minute or whatever they want to charge me for the privilege of being an American in Europe?

    It's too bad you can't legally obtain an unlocked iPhone in the USA. You have to go to CANADA to do that. Land of the free indeed.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Xacid ( 560407 )

      Pre-paid card = pre-paid sim card?

      If so would that work on any iphone at all out there?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by cbope ( 130292 )

        Not in a locked iPhone, citizen.

        Thankfully some of us live in the EU and outer places where such tactics are illegal and mobile rates are not through the roof.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Mascot ( 120795 )

      $0.29/minute? Heck, it's more expensive being a European in Europe in that case. I'd pay almost three times that to call home from Romania while roaming, and I live in Europe.

      I don't believe it's your home operator robbing you by the way, but rather the roaming partner in the country you are visiting.

      Of course, your point about the phone being operator locked is a valid one. I don't think I'd ever consider buying an operator locked phone; the market here is very different from the US. But nothing should be

      • Sure. I can do that. But I'm an iPhone developer. I need to have my iPhone. I can't be running around iPhone-less because it costs me business and clients. And yes, I need to have the phone working on a network for some of my testing.

        So I can either buy an unlocked iPhone and spend an additional $700 or more -- or do some illegal stuff like violate the DMCA and unlock my phone using Utrasn0w. That is, if I am lucky enough to have a specific model of iPhone (01.59.00 firmware) that actually is unlockab

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Mascot ( 120795 )

          I guess in your case it boils down to cost/benefit then. If you're spending significant time abroad, and iPhone development is your living, buying an unlocked iPhone while abroad should make good business sense. $700 doesn't translate into that many billable hours for a consultant.

          Isn't it also possible to pay AT&T extra to unlock? I don't know how it is in the US, but here the lock-in is basically to ensure you stick with them long enough to finish paying for the phone. If you choose you can pay your w

    • Maybe you can't legally do it...but you can easily do it. You can also easily unlock you own. It was/is illegal to copy music to a blank cassette tape...but everyone agreed that was stupid and did it anyway.

      • Re:DRM LOCKED and BLOCKED (Score:5, Informative)

        by cculianu ( 183926 ) on Thursday April 28, 2011 @09:03AM (#35961910) Homepage

        No, you can't. As of the time of this posting no unlocks exist for newer iPhone 4 models. No holes have been found to do the unlocks on anything other than 01.59.00 baseband. It is unknown whether they will ever be found and any unlock will ever again be available.

        • You're right...I wasn't thinking that we were talking about the new ones. My mistake. I have become disenchanted enough with my 3GS that I had already decided that I was going to try another phone whenever this one breaks. I used to like it...but with every iOS update it seems to run slower and slower....add in that in the last few months I can't send/receive calls/text messages at my house (which worked fine for the first several years I had a 3G then a 3GS).

          Your initial comment is not flamebait btw....ho
    • Hey I paid AT&T $1.50 for a phone call that I let go to voicemail while I was in Germany. Can you believe that? I didn't even answer the damned call!

    • Land of the free, with new 2 year activation.

  • Really? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Slash.Poop ( 1088395 ) on Thursday April 28, 2011 @08:14AM (#35961536) Homepage
    Is this what /. has come to? A story about a different color being available for an Apple product?
    • We've become so accustom to drowning in our collective Apple drool we can't th ink straight!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Inda ( 580031 )
      It's the new an improved white that's whiter than white. Three shades of white higher than the previous white. So white, you can use it as a coastal beacon warn off passing ships.

      Oh, and they added magnesium oxide or aluminium oxide to the plastic, possibly.
    • It's not only /. - It's all over the media, specialized, general, yellow... I don't know if they really think this is newsworthy or Apple has so much influence to create journa-vertisements all over the place, or perhaps both.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jo_ham ( 604554 )

      Considering that the anti-Apple folk were dancing in the streets over the white version being announced at launch and not shipped due to technical problems, I guess people thought you'd all want to know about it - the number of "so when's the white one coming out? lolcats!" posts suggested that this story was much anticipated.

      This is why Blizzard has an enormously long disclaimer about the specific meanings of words in its press releases like "planning" and "expected" and "soon (tm)".

      If there's going to be

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by antdude ( 79039 )

      Apple pays /. :P.

    • Yeah. Can't you guys just buy a can of white spray paint?

    • What's really funny is the fanboyishness of the article. I quote:

      "Initially, the white iPhone 4 will be available in 28 countries which includes US, UK, Australia, China, Japan, Italy and other lucky countries."

      Lucky countries?

      We're so grateful that Apple deigned to give us a white iPhone.

      OpenMoko or bust!

    • Is this what /. has come to? A story about a different color being available for an Apple product?

      It's almost a full year late and this site loves bashing Apple. What are you surprised about?

    • Is this what /. has come to? A story about a different color being available for an Apple product?

      You can do what I was doing: put "apple" in the terms to exclude under your user options. I wasn't even aware of this nonstory until someone mentioned it in another article.

      Another thing you can do is upvote truly interesting articles like the following:

  • Frontpage of /.? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 28, 2011 @08:16AM (#35961544)

    A nearly one year old device gets a new plastic shell?

    • Re:Frontpage of /.? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by jonr ( 1130 ) on Thursday April 28, 2011 @08:34AM (#35961684) Homepage Journal

      That sums it up nicely. A phone gets a new plastic shell. Now excuse me while I check the prices on Samsung Galaxy S II dual core phone...

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Like it or not, it's news. The white iPhone 4 has been an ongoing problem for Apple, and it's been delayed and pushed back because of manufacturing and design problems pretty much since release. It's the phone equivalent of vaporware actually getting released.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hubie ( 108345 )
      Yeah, but on this model you can turn the volume up to 11.

    • I think it's important because the white iPhone is likely to perform very well, and not be plagued with all the problems black ones have been giving us, not have the high maintenance cost, not be used as a channel for criminality, etc.

  • Why? (Score:2)

    by p0p0 ( 1841106 )
    Why is this even a news story? I understand Apple products tend to get a lot of attention when being released, but come on. This is a colour alteration, not a brand new phone. We don't see every Android phone get an article, and those are at least different from each other. Is page views really all Slashdot cares about?
  • This is news because a lot of people pay attention to every tiny little thing Apple does, and so they want to know about it. The objective importance of this is about the same as potato chips in a new flavor, or a new McSomething at McDonalds. That there's so much hype about those things because the companies involved market the hype. What's not news is that Apple is doing the same thing that every other company that sells products to consumers does, i.e. gets people to believe that unimportant things ar

  • You can have it in any color, so long as it is black.

    How about "goat vomit" green?

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday April 28, 2011 @09:01AM (#35961898)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • And in the end they'll put it in a case to avoid marring its perfect form.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Kozz ( 7764 )

      That they'd pay full price for a phone that is about to be upgraded just because it comes in a color they like.

      Think about that. The color of the phone is so important that they will pay full retail, plus a two year contract, for a phone that is about to be "obsolete" just because it's white instead of black.

      I'd imagine people would buy a white iphone for the same reason they would buy a BMW: it tells everyone around them they've got [more] money [than sense], and want you to know it.

      • I'd imagine people would buy a white iphone for the same reason they would buy a BMW: it tells everyone around them they've got [more] money [than sense], and want you to know it.
        Sorry, all those people now buy Audis instead.

  • ...when I say, "Why should anybody care?"

    It's white. End of story. Move on people.

  • Amazing (Score:4, Funny)

    by Posting=!Working ( 197779 ) on Thursday April 28, 2011 @09:11AM (#35961976)

    It's incredible that in only one year that technology has advanced so far that they're able to now produce these with plastic of a different color. Some futurists claim that in another 5 years, we might posses the technology to produce iPhone 4's in any color, but I'm think that's far too optimistic.

    This story is the opposite of "news for nerds, stuff that matters."

  • Cool (Score:2)

    by Zorque ( 894011 )

    Another Apple product I can add to my list of stuff I'm not buying.

  • Then we would all be standing on lines waiting for the black iPhone or maybe the titanium one! On the other hand, maybe the new phone is RETINA white or APPliance white or DRM white... I need a Valium.

  • The most amazing thing about white iPhone (Score:3)

    by Sloppy ( 14984 ) on Thursday April 28, 2011 @10:34AM (#35962794) Homepage Journal

    The most amazing thing about the white iPhone is that it's news.

    Over-hyped stories aren't a new phenomenon, but this one surely has to have set some coverage-to-banality world records, in a way that even Justin Bieber's talent agent wouldn't be able to remotely imagine while getting loaded up on MDMA and writing a marketing-fantasy-novel.

    samzenpus, I don't know who you are. For all I know, you're the name of a script that compares keywords in article submissions to Twitter trends. But on the off chance that you're a human, maybe you could tell us why you thought the color of some plastic (not even an article about a technically-challenging(?) manufacturing process, but just the fact that it's for sale) was post-worthy. Really, this isn't rhetorical: why did you post it instead of laughing it off?

    I'm not putting down the white iPhone. I can understand why some people might want it; but what's interesting about it?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by jo_ham ( 604554 )

      It's interesting because it was announced at the launch of the iPhone 4 and then delayed due to technical problems with the white glass and Apple took an *enormous* amount of flak for it.

      If they hadn't mentioned it as a colour option at the launch and merely worked on it quietly and released it when it was ready this wouldn't be news. They can't really win - there were several trolls moaning about 'still no white iphone, lolz' and now that it is ready and announced they can swap instantly to "how is this ne

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by biglig2 ( 89374 )

        I'd say it's also pretty interesting on a engineering level how hard they found it to do.

  • If I were one of Jobsie's little crack-whores, why on Earth would last year's phone if Apple's set to release the iPhone 5 in 5-7 months? Just because they now finally figured out how to make a white shell....might as well save that for the next one Stevie, you missed it with this generation of phones....or maybe the white one doesn't need to be held this way.....or maybe it comes with a HumanCentiPad2....

  • The upgrade frenzy caused by Apple is really, really concerning. Just the labor practice alone[1][2] is appalling enough, not to mention the the amount of energy[3] it takes to produce a new device every 6 months. Can't people live with the same gadget for at least a couple/few years without going ape every time something new comes out?

    [1] - http://thenextweb.com/apple/2010/02/27/apple-child-labor-china-history-sketchy-manufacturing/ [thenextweb.com]
    [2] - http://www.zdnet.com/blog/government/apple-may-be-poisoning-chinese [zdnet.com]

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