Apple reverses its stand on the proposed iPhone subsidies

Barely two days to go before launching the new iPhone, Apple reportedly issued a statement reversing its earlier stand of not allowing U.S. and European mobile carriers to bring down the price of the iPhone by subsidizing part of the cost that consumers have to pay for it. Although the Financial Times did not not mention specific names of its source, they said Apple may have realized the economic downturn the economy is currently facing, causing companies such as AT&T, O2, France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom to offer the new iPhone at an attractive price.

The Financial Times also said the subsidized scheme for the new iPhone may not be what Apple wants to happen, but it may actually help Apple attain its target sales figures, which is 10 million in 2008. If you would recall, the first iPhone was offered for $399 during its launch, and part of its success is because it offers a pretty affordable mobile handset with great features. Plus, the economic conditions at that time were not as bad as they are today.

Telecom operators wouldn’t mind issuing subsidies for the iPhone, since they could offset the cost of subsidies through advertising and other revenue streams which they could implement with the sales from their iPhone stocks.

The question now is, how much would these telecom providers offer the new iPhone?

Via [UPI]