When Apple launched the first iPhone it was sold for $500 without contract. Within months Apple had cut the low end model and dropped the price by a third to $400. For the iPhone 3G Apple would jump in bed with AT&T, introduce subsidized models, sales would explode and the rest is history. The Apple and AT&T partnership would lead to the Google Voice fiasco and delayed tethering feature rollout and the (still ongoing) download restrictions and low quality videos over youtube. It would be another 3 years before Apple released another iPhone model priced below $500 (the 8GB iPhone 3GS in fall of 2011).
The obvious point is that the cell phone industry is hard to break into and the most successful players adapt the realities of the marketplace. It's no surprise to anyone that Google changed Android to make it succeed. (Unless you're MG Siegler; I'm still waiting for the blog post on how he hates iOS because Apple sold out).
The obvious point is that the cell phone industry is hard to break into and the most successful players adapt the realities of the marketplace. It's no surprise to anyone that Google changed Android to make it succeed. (Unless you're MG Siegler; I'm still waiting for the blog post on how he hates iOS because Apple sold out).