Survey Says iPhone Too Expensive For UK

The iPhone is a design and marketing phenomenon and rarely have we see a device polarise opinions as thoroughly as Apple's so-called 'Jesus Phone'. But are the nays outweighing the yays...?

According to UK analyst group GfK NOP that certainly seems the case. It polled 500 Brits and discovered that 46 per cent of respondents have simply dismissed the handset based on price, while a further 26 per cent admitted an interest but only if ownership costs reduced significantly. Even more bleak for Cupertino were figures which reveal just two per cent are considering buying the iPhone this Christmas. An additional eight per cent even confessed to a vitriolic hatred.
The most obvious problem for Apple is the change of culture. In Europe we are not used to paying for our phones - even at the high end - and we certainly don't expect to be tied to one specific network (handsets may have short term exclusives but even they tend to expire after a few months).

The second, perhaps less discussed but equally important, issue is that of marketing. Apple usually gets it spot on, but despite its stylish UK campaign I have to say I think it has dropped the ball this time. Why? Because why would someone be willing to pay the same £269 asking price for an iPod touch - essentially a stripped out iPhone - while complaining that the more complete device is a rip-off? Sure, there is an 18 month contract with the iPhone, but don't a lot of us have monthly contracts already? O2 is even letting customers break theirs to switch. Furthermore, isn't £45pm for 600 minutes, 500 texts, unlimited data surfing and free WiFi hotspot access actually a pretty good deal?

Still, the problem in all this is I'm on the side of the iPhone because it is such a wonderful expression of design technology. Against this are others looking at spec lists and - at least in my opinion - misconstrued financial barriers.

So perhaps the only consensus we can reach is this: the iPhone is going to force every other mobile phone manufacturer to up their game and for that alone we should be thankful...

Source:http://www.trustedreviews.com