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Engadget's Sloppy Journalism on the New iPhone

Engadget, the electronics blog, has a detailed iPhone 3G review today. Good overall, but then, near the top, is this whopper:

And its 3G network compatibility finally makes the iPhone welcome the world over, especially after Cupertino decided to ditch its non-traditional carrier partnerships in favor of dropping the handset price dramatically. $200? We’re still a little stunned.

The 3G makes it mostly world-wide in coverage, but the notion that Apple has dropped the handset price to $200 is absolutely, totally bogus.

Apple did nothing of the kind. The company calling itself AT&T is subsidizing the device. But cheaper? Not on your life. In fact, you’ll pay hundreds of dollarsa minimum of $160 more, and maybe lots more during your subscription period of you buy this thing. (Yes, you’ll get the 3G that the company calling itself AT&T offers as part of the deal, but not many other serious benefits unless you’re desperate for GPS.)

Engadget got suckered by the hype this time. A correction is in order.

0 Comments on “Engadget's Sloppy Journalism on the New iPhone”

  1. #1 Terry Williams
    on Jul 12th, 2008 at 3:06 pm

    There’s something absolutely, totally bogus about a post criticizing another publication for “sloppy journalism” that includes the sentence “In fact, you’ll pay hundreds of dollars more during your subscription period of you buy this thing.” I demand that the person calling himself Dan Gillmor run a correction.

  2. #2 Dan Gillmor
    on Jul 13th, 2008 at 5:11 pm

    At an absolute minimum it’s $160 more, and if you add Exchange support — one of Apple’s big selling points — it’s $520 more. But your point is fair, and I’ll correct it…