iPhone

After 3 years of putting up with my shitty Treo 650, I have finally decided that I'm not going to put up with that pos anymore. Which means that I'm in the market for a new phone.

Currently, I'm thinking of getting a swanky new 3G phone. Hey, you know me - by day, mild mannered accountant - by night, gadget boy!!

Anyway, when I mentioned this to a colleague recently, her first response was - why don't you buy the new iPhone? Its only selling for HK$3,xxx at the moment (imported goods - the iPhone hasn't officially launched in HK yet). At the time, I gave a whole slew of technical reasons but it basically came down to the iPhone not having enough gadgets.

However, now it looks like I have another reason not to get the iPhone. Quite frankly, this kind of dodgy marketing from Apple really makes me hesitate from buying anything related to Apple. Ever.

For those who are afraid of links, a summary is below. As always. :)

When the iPhone first launched in the US, it was sold at retail for US$599. However, the price very quickly dropped to US$399 (this caused a huge uproar in the US from early adopters as they felt that the price drop was too soon after launch). Apple took an old iPhone and refurbished it. The refurbished phone is being sold at US$349, which is only a US$50 discount from a completely new phone.

At this point, I just want to add that I don't care what price Apple sells the refurbished iPhone at. As far as I'm concerned, they are free to set whatever price they like. The problem is that Apple are advertising the refurbished iPhone as having a discount of 42% (US$250) on the basis that the original price of an iPhone is US$599.

That is dodgy marketing and the kind of business practice that really doesn't encourage me to buy any Apple products.
Not cool.