Apple iPhone vs. Verizon Motorola Q
Analysts complaining about the iPhone compare it in price to cheap, popular phones, but in features to pricey phones that aren’t selling well. Why are they being so disingenuous? Well, there’s simply a huge amount of money in play in the mobile industry, and the iPhone has turned conventional wisdom upside down.
Apple’s mobile strategy is so outrageous that many analysts have decided the safest bet is to denigrate the iPhone. That way, if it fails they can look smart, and if it takes off they can be surprised. If they told you what they really thought, they’d risk losing their position in the industry if they turned out to be wrong.
Apple’s price point is significantly higher than other popular phones, but it also offers a lot more, making it difficult to compare against other options. Here’s a look at the real price differences in mobiles, and how they can be distorted by service subsidies and long term contracts.
A followup article will look at how big the phone market really is, and why Apple is dramatically understating its real intentions for the iPhone. At the end, I’ve put together a comparison of popular smartphones and how they stack up next to the iPhone.