Boy genius are musing that AT&T may be introducing an 8G iPhone 3GS to counter the Droid marketing campaign.

Definitely not confirmed, but rather interesting nonetheless. We’ve heard now from two sources that AT&T, and we guess Apple, are contemplating launching an 8GB iPhone 3GS at the $99 price point before Christmas. One source said this was AT&T’s way of combating the DROID madness.

Article HERE.

If Apple releases an 8GB iPhone 3GS I think it will have less to do with the Droid and more to do with parts availability and and manufacturing costs. It’s time for the 3G to go EOL and introducing an 8GB version of the 3GS would be a smart move before Christmas.

Would this count as “new hardware” that Phil Schiller said there would be no more of before the holidays?

Tiger - 06 November 2009 11:41 AM

Would this count as “new hardware” that Phil Schiller said there would be no more of before the holidays?

It’s only an ‘update’   

I’m with DT, but if they can build enough, an 8G 3GS should sell very well. It makes it the safe choice at a low price for anyone getting their first smartphone.

Thinking from Apple’s logistics point of view, it’s all about model transitions with a long supply chain via carriers and their retailers, preventing Apple’s trademark overnight model replacement, and about managing final production allocation between sales and repair/warranty inventory. The 3G needs to be gone before the next transition, and the 3GS to have an entry level transition version, that does not directly devalue the price point at which 16/32G 3GS customers buy just before the transition.

Despite the difficulties of overnight model transition, Apple still has competitive advantage in iPhone product transition. Other handset makers have numerous models, each with physical customisation for country, and for carrier. They/their carriers are forced to discount to clear old inventory, slowing new product launches and driving new model price points down in sympathy. Apple has none of that; finished goods just needs firmware and packaging changes between countries. Stock exhaustion can be relatively easily synchronized worldwide.

Edit: of course it’s unclear if AT&T’s network can handle many more iPhones!

I played with the new Motorola Droid phone.  It feels cheap.  And I didn’t think the UI was all the great.  There were more people in Verizon playing with it than I remember when RIMM launched their “iPhone killer” Storm 1.  But you can’t compare the interest level between the iPHone launch (any model) with these Android phones.  To do so is ridiculous.

The iPhone is still leading the parade by a country mile, based on quality, interface, style, apps, and integration with media.

Mercel - 07 November 2009 04:48 PM

I played with the new Motorola Droid phone.  It feels cheap.  And I didn’t think the UI was all the great.  There were more people in Verizon playing with it than I remember when RIMM launched their “iPhone killer” Storm 1.  But you can’t compare the interest level between the iPHone launch (any model) with these Android phones.  To do so is ridiculous.

The iPhone is still leading the parade by a country mile, based on quality, interface, style, apps, and integration with media.

Which are the reasons why Verizon’s ad campaign has made the marketing effort the “Droid killer.”