Psst! Want a cheap iPhone?

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 23 August 2007 02:24

Your IT - Mobility

Getting an iPhone for $US100 below list price doesn't mean you need to risk buying stolen property.

Apple has begun selling "certified refurbished" iPhones through the online Apple Store at $US399 for the 4G version and $499 for the 8G model.

Refurbished products are tested and certified by Apple, and include a 12-month warranty. They are typically items that have been returned by customers under Apple's 14-day satisfaction guarantee.

Some commentators are wondering whether at least a portion of the stock was returned by people hoping to make a quick buck by quickly reselling purchases made during the first few days when supplies were tight, but Apple was too quick to restock its own and AT&T's stores. Apple's terms of sale waive the 10 percent restocking fee when products are returned unopened, so the speculators would only be out of pocket for the shipping charges.

In related news, iPhone sales are solid according to Benjamin Reitzes, an analyst with UBS. Reitzes predicts Apple will sell more than 800,000 units in the company's fourth quarter, approximately 10 percent more than Apple's own estimate. American Technology Research's Shaw Wu is slightly less optimistic, forecasting 770,000 iPhones will be sold.

Apple's financial quarter ends in September, so it will be interesting to see whether reports that Apple is set to launch the iPhone in France, Germany and the UK at the end of August turn out to be true, and if so, what contribution Europe makes to the sales figures.