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Ballmer Says iPhone is Too Pricy for Mass Market

Categories: iPhone,
By: , IntoMobile
Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 11:01 AM


Even though the iPhone 3G is down to a somewhat reasonable $199 on most carriers, it’s still too much as far as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is concerned, and thinks the iPhone will ultimately fail at becoming a mass market device.

“No one’s going to pay $500 more for a logo… iPhone is a very expensive phone without a keyboard. Some people can’t afford [the device] and they can’t afford the data plan. It costs about $500 to make. We want to power a low- to mid-range phone that can work with hardware developers. Unless you assume that Blackberry and iPhone will dominate the smartphone market—which I don’t— that gives us a huge opportunity. A $500 phone is not going to reach all Americans and people in emerging markets. The most popular phones in China and India cost $25 to build. We’re at $125, which isn’t close to those countries, but a lot cheaper than Apple. Plus, we can do touch-screeen cheaper, both high end and at the lower end, than Apple can.”

While I certainly appreciate the logic, the numbers don’t lie: the iPhone is seeing huge growth given the amount of time it’s been in the market and is already ubiquitous in many areas. Whether or not the price will drop low enough to make the iPhone big in China and India is another issue, however… And let’s be fair here, Ballmer has been pretty consistent in his cynicism for the iPhone

[via PaidContent]

About The Author

Simon Sage

Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.

  • Jrom

    I just wonder why people like SB aren’t able to innovate and create instead of comparing all the time and trying to produce a « ipod/ifon/machin chose killer » all the time.

  • Mike

    Microsoft has had years to make a better OS but failed miserably to do so. Their touchscreens probably are cheaper to make because they are so inferior to the Apple capacitive touchscreen that a comparison cannot be made. Ballmer needs to stop talking trash until Microsoft gets a decent OS going and a touchscreen phone that is worth a damn.

  • Eric

    Hard to believe how out of touch this guy is, he still doesn’t get it!!!