Apple Sued For Cutting iPhone Price

from the iFrivolous dept

Mon, Oct 1st 2007 8:49am — Mike Masnick

Apple certainly surprised a lot of people last month with its sudden and steep price cuts on the iPhone. It certainly isn't a surprise that technology prices drop over time -- but to have them drop by a third after just two months seemed a bit extreme. While some early adopters just shrugged and figured it was the price of getting the device first, others weren't too thrilled about it. Apple quickly decided to fork over $100 credit to upset early adopters, but apparently that wasn't enough to satisfy one litigious individual who has decided to sue Apple, AT&T and Steve Jobs personally over the price cuts. It's difficult to see how you can sue a company for cutting its prices (especially on such a high-priced item in a competitive market), and the details suggest this case won't get very far. The key to the lawsuit seems to be the highly questionable claim that Apple cut the prices in order to make life difficult for anyone who was trying to resell an iPhone at profit. There's also some ridiculousness about how the 2-year contract with AT&T is unfair because those who bought phones at a later date could unlock them using 3rd party software. Of course, that has nothing to do with Apple or AT&T -- and the recent iBricking certainly suggests that such a claim won't hold much weight in court. All in all, this sounds like a typical "I don't like it, so I'll sue" response, when there's simply no actual legal basis for the lawsuit.

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Filed Under: iphone, steve jobs
Companies: apple, at&t

23 Comments

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Paul, 1 Oct 2007 @ 9:21am

Welcome to America. The land of the Litigated.
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James (profile), 1 Oct 2007 @ 9:33am

Yeah
Everybody is entitled, nobody is accountable, somebody else is responsible.
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Jay, 1 Oct 2007 @ 9:34am

Stupid Lawsuit
The fellow who filed this lawsuit needs to grow up fast. Any two year old child will know how dumb this suit is. Throw out this suit fast!
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TheDock22, 1 Oct 2007 @ 9:45am

And people wonder....
why lawyers, doctors, and healthcare costs so much money. Stupid lawsuits like this are driving up malpractice insurance in all fields so high that they have no choice. You want a plan to cut healthcare costs? Stop ridiculous lawsuits.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Oct 2007 @ 9:49am

Re: Yeah
Except for when it comes to downloading music right?
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Oct 2007 @ 9:53am

when you are the first one on the block to have something, you pay a premium for it. this is how the market works.

i have bought plenty of things the day they came out, knowing i would be paying a premium over later adopters. you are essentially paying to be the "cool kid on the block."

the iphone is an absolutely horrendous product that fails miserably on nearly all accounts. it is one of the worst phones to come out in a long time and it doesn't do anything new or better than what has been out for years. as with all apple products, it looks pretty, but that is not all that matters.

later iterations of the iphone will likely vastly improve on their predecessor (there is so much room to do so) but by then apple will have realized that not every product they make will be an ipod (actually, they should know that by now,) and the only way they will be able to get away with maintaining their obscenely elitist attitude, with prices to match, is if they deliver a product worthy of both.

just too many stupid people in this country who do not know anything and don't want to take responsibility for their own stupidity.

lawsuits like this are a sad reflection on the american public.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Oct 2007 @ 9:55am

Re: And people wonder....
"Stupid lawsuits like this are driving up malpractice insurance" ...

I do not believe that it is the actual lawsuit, but it is the lawyers who "take the case" and follow through to bring these silly claims to be heard in-front a judge.

"Ambulance Chasers" will always be around until a plan is devised to discipline those hyenas.
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James, 1 Oct 2007 @ 10:02am

HAHAHAHA!!
This a-hole got iPwned and is all tore up about it... suck it up idiot, you bought the damn thing, you knew it was overpriced and had a 2yr contract, unless someone forced you into it... GET OVER IT!
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TheDock22, 1 Oct 2007 @ 10:37am

Re: Re: And people wonder....
I do not believe that it is the actual lawsuit, but it is the lawyers who "take the case" and follow through to bring these silly claims to be heard in-front a judge.

A lawyer needs money too, so I blame the moron with the lawsuit. Why should a lawyer refuse a case anymore than you or I should refuse a good job?
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Aaron *Brother Head* Moss, 1 Oct 2007 @ 11:10am

Re: Re: Re: And people wonder....
"A lawyer needs money too, so I blame the moron with the lawsuit. Why should a lawyer refuse a case anymore than you or I should refuse a good job?"

That's part of what makes us human. The ability to to use our minds (or lack of minds in some cases).

Just cuz someone offers you something, doesn't mean you need to take it.

If someone offered 10 millions dollars to do something illegal, then that means if you get caught, it's not your fault? No, you would still be held responsible.

I personally blame bot the moron with the lawsuit and the lawyer that doesn't tell him, "Hey! You're an asshat!".
They're both to blame.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Oct 2007 @ 11:15am

Re: Re: Re: And people wonder....
"A lawyer needs money too, so I blame the moron with the lawsuit. Why should a lawyer refuse a case anymore than you or I should refuse a good job?"

...for the same reason that a working pimp can make just as much $$$ as a drug dealer. It is wrong and you and I both agree on this point (and the point of the article). But relating to this article, just because something is NOT illegal, doesn't mean you should do it - ie; putting on make-up while driving your SUV - no exact law against that, but we all know it is wrong to drive with such distractions.
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iphone, 1 Oct 2007 @ 12:07pm

ahhhh
what i most enjoy about the iphone is it's built ability to annoy people annoy people who have an iphone....

hell, alot of people dont even have water...apple is merely providing a way to show people the world ain't so fair
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Oct 2007 @ 12:18pm

"what i most enjoy about the iphone is it's built ability to annoy people annoy people who have an iphone...."

Thanks for that; it's all crystal-clear now.
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Danny, 1 Oct 2007 @ 1:31pm

So does this mean...
The people that bought the smaller (now defuct) harddrive model PS3 should sue?
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Marzapan, 1 Oct 2007 @ 5:38pm

Ligitards
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Avatar28, 1 Oct 2007 @ 7:24pm

I don't even like Apple...
...or the iPhone and this pisses me off. That's pretty tough. I mean, I've got a PDA Phone (HTC Wizard) that can do 10 times what the iPhone can, though to hear the Crapple elitest snobs talk you would think it's half the device.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Oct 2007 @ 7:26pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: And people wonder....
"putting on make-up while driving your SUV...but we all know it is wrong to drive with such distractions"

You must be a guy. What's worse is when they try to put on nail polish while on the phone and listening to music.
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associatedcontent.com/article/399988/weight_loss_s, 2 Oct 2007 @ 4:52am

Apple Sued For Cutting iPhone Price
This lawsuit is not only frivolous but an abuse of the judicial system and a waste of tax payers' money for these reasons:

(1) Apple never forced anyone to buy iPhone.

(2) The product belongs to them and so they have the right to sell it at nay price.

(3) They have the right to increase or decrease its price at anytime.

They even have the right also to stop selling it.

(4) But after it cut its price, Steve and Apple were sensitive and shrewd enough to send $100 refund to make it up with their customers and avoid antagonizing them.

They didn't have to send that refund, if they didn't wnatt to, but thEy did.
QED
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Ferin, 2 Oct 2007 @ 5:28am

Stop whining!
Admittedly this was a pretty crappy move on Apple's part, and it certainly seems to have pissed off the early adopters that often drive their sales, but I fail to see the problem here.

I built a new computer this summer. A week after I bought everything, intel announced a price cut on chips, and the chip I bought was $100 cheaper. I got nothing out of that. This guy oughta just be happy apple's nice enough to give him the reach around while they screw him.
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barrenwaste, 2 Oct 2007 @ 1:32pm

Yup, this proves it. People on the whole are STUPID. Yes, capital letters were needed. When companies drop pices on thier products, it's a good thing for us consumers. Period. The moron who is suing ought to be found in contempt of court, forced to pay for the trial and a sum to apple and the courts for emotional distress, and then popped into county lock up for 60 days. Harsh? A little, but any moron that is complaining about price drops in todays overpriced world needs the stupid slapped out of them. Well, at least there is a good side to this. The thought of getting sued for dropping prices will surely encourage other companies to drop prices...oh, wait, nevermind.
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sammy colbert, 17 Oct 2007 @ 9:18pm

Get pissed off and sue. What a huge waste of time. Just think, taypayer dollars are involved here. I hate people who sue like this, makes a complete joke of this country. No one forced any one to buy an iPhone, Apple put a price on it and people decided to buy. I fully understand why some people are upset but a lawsuit is not the remedy. Bring the thing back, write a letter, never buy an Apple product again: those are your realistic options.
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kike, 2 Dec 2008 @ 1:19pm

iphone 3g
Hello
I have just discover a new way to get an Iphone almost for free.
All you have to do is to register here
http://www.xpango.com?ref=91567284
Then you should choose your gift, in this case the iphone for 32 credits.
You can earn credits by referring people (1 credit each referral that activates their acount by completing one offer)
Other way to earn credits its by completing the offers, you earn 1 to 4 credits for each offer, some are for free and some you should buy something.
As you see is very easy to get your iphone for a very low cost, only that you have to work a little to complete the 32 credits.
Regards and good luck
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TonyP, 24 Feb 2009 @ 2:31pm

Yeah But
I bought an iPhone at Best Buy on Friday, on Monday I slipped in the rain and dropped it. Fine... OK... I own other Apples stuff surly they will fix it under the warranty like they do with all of the other stuff they sell.

Nope, not the case. I was force to Buy a new iPhone and give up my 3 day old iPhone to the Apple store and I'm sure the new one they sold me was a referb. My complaint is, If I would have been told, or shown any where in writhing that Apple won't ever fix a phone's broken touch screen, I would have never bought this thing.
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