Apple Returns Volley -- Pre Holds its Ground

As expected, Apple unveiled a new iPhone (the iPhone 3G S) during the WWDC keynote. They also dropped the price of the current iPhone 3G to $99. The reaction around the Web has been interesting.

CrunchGear wrote about the cost of upgrading:

"Better read the fine print, friends. Apple said today that the iPhone 3G S costs $199 (16GB) and $299 (32GB). But that’s the price only for new AT&T customers. The price if you’re already an AT&T customer and/or are upgrading from an iPhone 3G? Try $699 (32GB), $599 (16GB), and $499 (8GB). To quote Peter Ha: “HOLY SH@#.”

And Gizmodo posted about that "fine print" in a piece titled "What the Hell Is This Gibberish?"

The comments for each of those are amusing.

Over at MocoNews, in Tricia Duryee's story ("@ WWDC: Expectations Were High For Apple, Did It Deliver With The iPhone 3GS?"), she remarked, "On the surface, the WWDC keynote was a bit underwhelming."  And she had this to say about how the new iPhone measured up to the Palm Pre:

"It is the iPhone 3G S and the new operating system together that will make Apple difficult to beat. It would be an exaggeration to say that Apple killed the excitement and momentum surrounding the Palm Pre.

Even after today, the Pre continues to be a better phone for multi-tasking, and will appeal to those who want a tactile keyboard. It also has a cheaper data plan—something that Apple has not been able to negotiate. To be sure, Apple's news today will continue to push all companies in the space to innovate."

If you've been following Palm on Facebook, you may have seen a "Vote for Pre" post that links to a poll Engadget is conducting. Right now the iPhone 3G S is crushing the competition, but given the behemoth that is Apple, the Pre is putting up a respectable showing.

Meanwhile, back on Wall Street, Palm shares closed down 84 cents at $12.16. A Reuters story attributed the move to concern about supply.

If you haven't done it yet, check out the thread (Palm made the first move - Apple struck back - Palm can win this) on our forums.