“Apple, which is making the device, and AT&T, which is providing the wireless network for the iPhone, both are positioned to be the prime beneficiaries of the new high-tech product. But other companies, such as Verizon Wireless and Overland Park-based Sprint, also are likely to reap the rewards of new business as consumer attention increasingly turns to handheld portable stereos that also can make calls,” Gertzen reports.
Gertzen reports, “Apple and AT&T executives have substantial aspirations for iPhone sales. Jobs set a target of selling 10 million by the end of 2008. The iPhone will be sold through Apple and AT&T retail stores and online. ‘It is probably the most anticipated phone in living memory,’ said Roger Entner, a wireless industry maven who is a senior vice president with New York-based IAG Research.”
Gertzen reports, “The announced $500 and $600 prices of the iPhone have raised questions about whether it will appeal to a broad swath of consumers… Despite this factor, Entner said, the iPhone is likely to enjoy success. He also expects to see a ‘ruboff effect’ benefiting multiple companies offering music services.”
“’The Apple phone is being positioned as the Rolls-Royces or Ferraris of all phones,’ Entner said. Not everyone, of course, can afford such a pricey model,” Gertzen reports. “‘You go to the Ferrari dealership and ogle the Ferrari, but then you go buy a Pontiac,’ Entner said.”
Full article here.