The iPhone costs too much

[Image removed]From everything I’ve seen about Apple’s crazy new iPhone, it looks like an amazing product. If it works as they’ve been showing it (who knows), it will undoubtedly be “the best” product on the market.

However

It costs way…too…much.

I’m sure there are plenty of people with cash falling out of their pockets who will pick one up, plenty of people who have to have an apple product regardless of the sanity of the purchase, and plenty of people who will (lucky bastards) talk their company into paying for it.

However, for the majority of the market, it’s too much. Jobs touted some huge numbers when talking about the smartphone market. But the thing is, my smartphone cost me $200 with a plan, and I added a 1gb flash card for $20. Now it plays MP3s, does my e-mail, internet, google maps, phone calls, calendar, etc.

4gb is more than 1, and the interface is way cooler, but not enough to warrant an extra $300. It’s also not enough to replace my iPod (read: sell that to subsidize the purchase).

It’s a great start. But the price needs to come down and the space needs to go up.

That said, I *do* want one. I mean, look at it.

UPDATE:

I’ve now read Fred’s post, and I agree with him on this:

My take on the iPhone? It’s an awesome product. But I don’t think its going to make a dent in Research In Motion’s (RIMM) business. I don’t see myself going away from a device with a keyboard. I think iPhone is going to be a big hit in the consumer smartphone market (with the caveat that the price point is an issue). But for mobile mail, there isn’t a better device than the blackberry and I’ve tried them all.

I also think the exclusive deal with Cingular is nuts. Why force people who want an iPhone to switch carriers? Apple is an obnoxious company. They make wonderful products that blow me away. But I really dislike their approach to business. I won’t use the iPhone unless you can get it unlocked and run it on any GSM network.