NY youth makes $130k selling real(-ish) white iPhone 4s
Inevitable legal letter arrives
Who says the press is useless? Not Fei Lam, a New York teenager who sells conversion kits that transform iPhone 4s from black to white.
They are said to be original OEM parts and are not cheap: a full conversion kit costs $279. But as Lam points out on his website Whiteiphone4now:
White iPhone 4 Owners: 500
Black iPhone 4 Owners: 14,000,000
We are hundred per cent sure that this picture is not stolen
Apple has delayed releasing a white iPhone 4 until Spring 2011 and has made the rare step of going public. Apparently, it had trouble colour-matching the buttons and the body, which were made by different suppliers.
Lam sold a couple of parts a day until Techcrunch and some other big sites picked up on the enterprise.
Since August, Lam's site has picked up $130,000 in sales - a nice pot for the college fund - if it doesn't get swallowed up in legal fees.
Lam, who seems media savvy, is telling the New York Observer that he has received a letter from an anti-counterfeit / trademark firm accusing him of selling stolen parts.
Lam is "100 per cent sure that this is not the case". The fluent Chinese speaker told the Observer that his supplier is a "guy [he knew] from a few years back that had somewhat of a relationship with folks in Foxconn".
The lad will go far. ®
COMMENTS
RE: $279 is competitive?!
The price has to be high, otherwise the fanbois won't want it
And the real point is...
...tht people are so fucking shallow they pay nearly $300 for a poxy white phone cover.
Here's an idea, give it to a charity instead and maybe save a someones life!
Whya "Apple ignites such an amount of hate and ridicule"
I think the "hate and ridicule" is down to a number of things...
1) The first iPhones were not actually very good compared to almost everything out on the market, they weren't 3G, they didn't do MMS, they were poor phones for voice and they didn't even run App's. The was a definite case of style over substance going on, and while the product has improved the image has stuck a bit.
2) The way Apple markets themselves is full of hyperbole. Adjectives like “magical” may go down well in the US but in a more cynical Europe they can be seen in a more negative light. Also pretending that you invented something that’s been about for years looks crass, and ignites the suspicion that you are lying about other things as well. Other luxury brands tend to be more understated in their marketing.
3) Media Noise, Apple has always been popular with media and arts types, they tend to be vocal (and eloquent) beyond the size of their group, but not very tech savvy. This leads to coverage in the press magazines and TV that is disproportionate to the size of the user base and somewhat through rose tinted glasses. This on top of the already massive advertising spend gets irritating.
4) The lock down, the fact that Apple has such a control of every part of its vertical market is not likely to inspire much praise. Proponents would say it helps keep the platform secure but more people think it’s far more to do with taking a cut of the money. Once you are sucked into this ecosystem it’s also difficult to escape, transferring your 100 albums off iTunes onto another platform is not easy.
So the image of style over substance, marketing hyperbole, loud ’Luvvies’, and a ‘benevolent’ dictatorship are likely to cause a wide range of people to look on Apple with suspicion and Apple fans with ridicule.
Competitive?
Well, if you're the only person in the business of white iPhones, sure, you're only competing with yourself and can sell for whatever you like!
If it was apple...
it would cost $400 for a conversion kit, and they probably ain't selling coversion kits.
