“Times Online understands that Apple has placed an order with its Asian suppliers to produce 200,000 of the new 3G iPhones by the end of May, rising to 2 million – 500,000 per week – in June,” Jonathan Richards reports for Times Online.
“With a four week lead time between production and placement, that would leave Mr Jobs free to launch the device during an annual developers conference at which he usually speaks,” Richards reports.
“Industry sources told Times Online that the device will have a ‘radically different’ appearance to the current device, which has a 4.5 inch screen and slick, aluminium backing. Among the possibilities are flip version, which would enable the screen to be larger, and a sliding model with a regular qwerty keyboard – as opposed to a touchscreen one,” Richards reports.
“‘I think ultimately you going to see multiple versions,’ one Asia-based analyst, said. ‘One for customers who want it principally as a music and video device, which will be similar to the existing model, one for people who want to communicate – with the keyboard, and one for people who want it as a substitute for their laptop – that will let them browse the internet on a larger screen,'” Richards reports.
“The new phone may also usher in a change in the way Apple strikes distrtibution deals,” Richards reports. “Kathryn Huberty, an analyst at Morgan Stanley specialising in Apple, suggested that Apple will eventually break with its policy of favouring one network to be the exclusive distributor of the iPhone in a given territory — possibly as early as next year.”
Full article here.
And I MAY find $1000.00.
What a load of BS speculation. That wasn’t a report. That was a guessing game.
No sliding and No keyboard…that is going backwards. How is that going to make a bigger screen?
I think this is a bogus report. I don’t think they will muddy up their product line with too many devices. They are smarter than that.
Jonathan Richards is typing out of his ass.
I agree, Blue Dream. You flip the screen up and it’s still going to be the same size as the unit. Why add a keyboard to something that already has a functioning keyboard when you need one???
Seems these days that anyone can be an analyst. Just guess and type.
The bigger screen thing comes from Apple’s flip touch screen patent ma jig. AppleInsider did a story on it a few weeks ago, go read about it.
While I don’t know if it’s all true, I’d really like this whole thing. I’d go for the flip version, and that would be so nice if I could use it with any carrier, because the only reason I decided to forgo the iPhone thus far is because of AT&T;.
If not, I might still get an iPhone eventually. It’s just too enticing, even with its flaws.
Add more buttons? Over Steve Jobs last dying breath maybe, but certainly not before. As for removing the exclusive carrier, well that might happen a lot sooner than the Times thinks. The iPhone is due to be released any month now in Australia. The ACCC (federal competition and consumer watchdog) might have a lot to say about any exclusive deal with just one telco). Perhaps the reporter should have placed a question mark in the headline so we can dismiss it as the pure speculation it is, yawn, and move along (nothing to see here).
Umm…riiiiiiiiiiiightttttttttttt.
Notice the writing “Among the possibilities are flip version, which would enable the screen to be larger, and a sliding model with a regular qwerty keyboard”. Lets see – we go from a simple, elegant zen device to a flipping, fidgety gadget with lots of buttons and maybe even tail-fins. I think not.
Those speculating over a physical keyboard don’t know Apple and are therefore unqualified to analyze them.
Thought Id share something I read today.
European sales of N95 – 7m in under 12 months, iPhone 330,000.
Thats only 21:1
I love the iphone gui/os, shame about the lack of 3g and the cost in europe
the phone and business model were designed with the relatively primitive US market in mind, it hasnt transferred well to europe, as a consumer in a way im glad it hasnt done well as the whole package is overpriced
There will be no physical keyboard and no flip screen. These analysts are morons.
Apple has patents up the wazoo for multi-touch technology, and now they’re just going to abandon it for something Palm makes. Right.
at Crabs:
Sorry, if Apple foregoes its exclusive deals, it is still locked into a multi-year exclusive rights deal with AT&T;for the US. Apple can’t cancel that just because it wants to.
http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9825348-37.html
Joe (hope you beat hopkins by the way) your take is totally correct on the iphone in europe, the market (like Japan, Korea etc too) is a lot more competitive and advanced than the states, the iphone is at risk of doing a mac whereby it only sells in massive numbers in the US, read the above article for a good analysis of the situation
I suppose a lot of the views on here are the US experience of iphone sales, which are good, the problem is that a lot of americans think that because it sells there, that it must sell in big numbers elsewhere too
It’s sad to say, but Apple has totally failed to market/sell the iPhone in Europe in a competitive way.
iPhone is by far the best mobile phone out there, so there are lessons to be learned for Apple on how to conduct business in different markets with a new product.
I know im going off on a tangent, but what do you think apple can do to the nano line in the next revision to revitalise sales? increase in storage only?
I heard they were going to put the power button on the back……
contract != policy
It will be much harder for Apple to establish new exclusive revenue sharing business deals with carriers if the European sales will be dissapointing.
This mystic threw some chicken entrails on the ground and read all kinds of iPhones. Maybe he doesn’t know that a large gizzard means an aluminum case…
Jobs is doing the same Mac-mistake with the iPhone outside the US. He says there are thresholds he cant cross, that he cant sell junk.
Junk is a relative term Mr Jobs, what is junk to you might be a good enough computer for somebody else.
I dont even think that Apple is after high market shares, they would offer low-cost Macs and iPhones if they were, for most people Jobs junk would be more than enough.
If Apple wont cater for these ppl, then the market share will always be low, quit blaming M$ for your own faulty strategy.
And a pointing device too, no doubt!
They simply don’t get it. How do you spot the phonies? They suggest the iPhone will be like phones that already exist.
What utter rubbish.
Remember guys the iPod took 2 years to really take off. And that was down to the mini and the windows version of iTunes.
I doubt that there will be more than one new version of iPhone unless Apple can work miracles.
In one years time a smaller and cheaper iPhone will be released.
i think you were the one that missed the point actually
the iphone business model is a step backwards for europe, our phones are heavily subsidised by the carrier, often they are free, contracts are often only 12 months long as we like to change our phones often and we get a large amount of bundled minutes and texts for less on non-iphones.
i will give an example, recently i got a sony ericsson k850i that is 3g and with a 5mp camera with auto focus and flash for free on 12 month contract (im in the uk) i pay £25 a month and i get 1000 free texts and 600 free minutes of calls, i also get unlimited data and 50 mms messages and 50 video call minutes free.
So the total yearly spend is £300 ($600), an iphone 8gb has just been reduced to £169 add the minimum £35 a month tariff and I will have spent £589 ($1180) in a year and then will still have to use it for another 6 months before being able to change phones.
I will also not be able to use mms or video calls, have a lot poorer standard camera and have 2g edge data speeds and have less included texts messages.
Im not sure how anyone could think in Europe that the iphone is a good deal, it isnt and that doesnt make me a hater, the model was just designed for US market which is about 3 years behind
Perhaps the new apps that are due soon will alter things.
haha…the iPhone–3 YEARS BEHIND?!?
Who gives a crap about a 5mp camera on your freaking phone….it’s a phone. Get a camera if you want to take really nice pictures.
Plus you fail to mention all the stuff you CAN’T do with your free phone that you CAN do with an iPhone.
Joe Calzaghe…
Firstly, good luck with your fight tonight!
Secondly, your figures about the N95 may be correct – however does that take into account the appalling failure rate of the N95, especially under Orange. I know two N95 users who are on their third (Orange) and second (Vodafone) unit respectively, because the unit will lock up at the drop at the hat.
This is hardly unique: there’s one phone (Windows Mobile) that I can make crash simply be opening and closing its slider mechanism several times quickly.
“If Apple wont cater for these ppl, then the market share will always be low, quit blaming M$ for your own faulty strategy.”
Apple doesn’t blame MS for anything. Apple caters to people who want high quality, elegant products and are willing to pay the market price.
The last time I checked APPL is doing just great on Wall Street and on Main Street.
Apple sells all it makes and makes money doing it.
‘Nuff said.
@gupta
sorry to sound offensive to you but you should read before you post, the main reason given in the above posts for the iphones slightly disappointing sales in europe was that the business model is uncompetitive compared to rivals, some people are also put off by the hardware on the device as really its state of the art software on 3 year old hardware but the business model remains the main reason people have been put off.
02 in the UK are apparently wiping out most of their early profits made on iphones by making their recent discount, they bought more phones from Apple than have sold showing that it hasnt quite met their expectations.
MDN forgot to show its readers this info from the article:
” European mobile executives seemed to have become over-excited by the hype surrounding the iPhone at the time of its US release on the AT&T;network last June.
They had since had to take steps to shift stock on which they would now make a loss in order to clear the shelves for the new 3G iPhone”
“According to a report by another mobile analyst, CCS Insight, last week, sales of iPhones had “slowed significantly” in all the European markets”
iPhone ain´t selling in Europe.
MDN will remove this comment.
What works in the USA doesn´t necessarily work elsewhere. The Apple brand just does not have the same hype in Europe.
Note – there is not one Apple store in Germany. Just lots of dinky hole in the wall retailers that sell everything else, too.
Sorry i think you didnt read the @gupta post, he said the US market is 3 years behind, although it could be argued as i said above that the iphone version 1 is state of the art software on 3 year old hardware. 3g has been rolled out in the UK for 3 years or so now.
And about the camera, it doesnt matter to Americans, it does matter to a lot of europeans, like I said different market different tastes, may need different approaches
whilst i wasnt the original @gupta poster, i notice you failed to respond to the fact that in the UK the iphone even in discounted form can overall cost 600 dollars a year more than a rival, yet not have a decent camera, multiple sms, or mms, or video calling or proper gps
you can even get nokia 95s for free over here
Given the progress the iPod went through, this isn’t much of a prediction. The iPod started with a halo product then expanded downward into lower price ranges with the Nano and Shuffle. The iPhone will do the same. THose other brands who are dissing the iPhone saying it is non-competitive because it is too expensive are in for a shock when Apple inevitably adds lower end models to their line.
I wonder if we could have MDN’s take on apples european iphone business model? why does negative apple news not get reported on here? or when it does spun round white house press officer style
I’d like to say I agree with you 100% on this one, and it’s exactly why I’m glad the current iPhone sales model has tanked in Europe. If it had been successful, Nokia, SE, Samsung, LG etc, would all have got a whiff of how they could fleece the consumers out of more money, tied into restrictive contracts and carriers. You yanks might be quite happy to put up with that, but in Europe we are most certainly not.
The iphone is very over priced at this point. By this time the Motorola RAZR was less than half its initial selling price.
By now the iphone should not cost any more than say 150 bucks. This 399 deal is WAY over priced. Its a great phone but in Europe it was priced even higher. Plus as stated, 3G is a big deal there, they have 3G networks that are much faster than here.
hi Brau, but in europe if the top of the range iphone rivals are free, then a lower cost lower specced iphone still wont seem competitive in comparison, it would still work out more expensive than rivals and have less of the compelling features.
Why did AT&T;just spend billions on wireless spectrum? They say it’s for a 4G nationwide net that will kick in as soon as we finish moving tv to all digital.
I know of one person who was ecstatic with his N95, loved it, and then it failed due to moisture damage and they won’t fix it, after charging a couple hundred pounds to check.
i think you have anyone that says anything that isnt positive as a hater, of course apple can do no wrong in america, macs are selling well as are ipods and iphones, but america isnt the only market that apple sell their products in, it could be doing much better abroad with the iphone, also as consumers we are right to point out when we are getting a poor deal, infact it would appear people in europe have already pointed this out by not buying it.
i think almost all here agree that apple should learn its lesson from the sales-desaster here in europe. 300.000-500.000 phones in the 3 biggest markets in europe (200 million people) in roughly 6 months. call it what you want but i call that a desaster. apple thought they could change the rules of the game. but that game is a bit too big (1,25 billion handsets worldwide in 2008, with nokia selling 1.3 million phones A DAY). so apple, please adopt the business model and let that damn phones be susbsidized. if i get a n95 or lg viety “for free” with a 25 euro contract (including data) no one will buy a phone for 400 euros ($635). and yes these are lesser phones by a wide margin but 400 euros? apple, you must be kidding.
we are talking about here and now in europe not the US 5 years down the line, of course the iphone will catch up hardware wise but in europe consumers are paying twice as much per year for an iphone compared to rival phones, its currently a rip off
No one is going to buy a stupid flip phone, let alone a flip iPhone.
Geez, I’m glad I’m not an analyst, otherwise they’d think I was born retarded
The Myth…
The publicly stated target for the iPhone is to sell 10M phones in 2008, therefore – so long as that target is achieved – you can’t make a statement about Apple’s faulty strategy.
In fact, Apple would probably be happy with a mere 50M iPhone units a year when they get to steady state: having 100M phones under an active contract on the exclusive network deal will probably bring in around US$6 BILLION in network commissions alone (100M x $50 per month = $5 billion: take 10% in commission = $500 million. Multiply x 12).
That $6 billion is around 90-95% profit: combined with the profit from handset sales ($1.5 billion per annum), that’s around $7 billion which, before the dollar fell into the swamp, would have been enough to make Apple competitive with Nokia without any of Apple’s other interests taken into account.
the question is could apple achieve 50m sales using their US sales model, it isnt working that well in europe, and probably wouldnt work well either in japan, korea etc, the main chinese operator refuse to accept the business model, so probably apple will have to adjust and accept making less on each handset, in which case they would need more than 50m sales to make $6 billion
@mccfr
We arent just commenting on apples iphone business model with regard to their sales/profits, as consumers many people in europe feel apple is trying to overcharge them/being greedy, it being 2g hardware just makes it worse
Among the possibilities are flip version … and a sliding model with a regular qwerty keyboard – as opposed to a touchscreen one,” Richards reports.
WRONG! Apple has spent a considerable amount of time and resources making their digital keyboard. And have promoted the benefits of this design over traditional, static keyboards currently being used. They will NOT abandon this model…
“‘I think ultimately you going to see multiple versions,’ one Asia-based analyst.
WRONG! Apple has never made a multitude of versions of any product. They have always kept it simple, limiting their designs to a handful of products. Each product designed to fill some niche. The iPhone fills the mobile phone market… They don’t be making an “iPhone Pro” anytime soon. Apple has always focused on making a product and making it right, so there is no need for 18 versions. They have always been good at keeping things integral and tight.
France’s Orange may be next to cut iPhone price, eat losses
is the headline on apple insider right now
on iphone v2 these carriers will seek more favourable terms
An awesome UX trumps features and price as far as I’m concerned and I and completely happy with a modest Apple market share for phones.
According to my sources, this story is a load of BS. Apple is not going to add a keyboard. The 3G will be a slightly different size to allow for an extra camera (front facing) and the GPS chip.
@@MCCFR Why can’t people use their own names – Is it that difficult.
Actually, it’s not the business model that isn’t working for Apple in Europe because a) the average consumer has no idea what that model is and b) they care even less.
What isn’t working is a lack of a 3G model, the perceived issue with the non-replaceable battery and the lack of MMS, a full Bluetooth profile and a relatively weak camera (say what you want – I get blinded by camera phones on a regular basis here in the UK, so I think Apple needs to do something on that front).
The other thing that needs to change is the lack of a pay-as-you-go model which is far more pervasive here in the UK than Apple would want to concede.
”The bigger screen thing comes from Apple’s flip touch screen patent ma jig. AppleInsider did a story on it a few weeks ago, go read about it.”
Please provide the link, Crabs, otherwise some people may think your suffering another hallucination.
”While I don’t know if it’s all true, I’d really like this whole thing.”
If you “don’t know if it’s all true”, what is there to “really like” about “the whole thing”? If something that you wish for is doubtful, what satisfaction do you expect to receive from the improbability of its existence?
”I’d go for the flip version, and that would be so nice if I could use it with any carrier, because the only reason I decided to forgo the iPhone thus far is because of AT&T;.”
Why do you oppose Apple’s choice of AT&T;as carrier for iPhone?
”If not, I might still get an iPhone eventually.”
So, you really don’t care if Apple’s choice of carrier is AT&T;. Therefore, AT&T;is not the “only” reason you haven’t bought an iPhone.
”It’s just too enticing, even with its flaws.”
Why “might” you delay buying an iPhone “eventually” if it is presently “too enticing” to restrain yourself, Crabs?
What current iPhone features are so “enticing”?
And Apple makes a product with “flaws” – you don’t say?
What are these glaring “flaws” of which you speak, Crabs?
what if my name is really @@@mcfr my mum was very cruel
and so you use your real name?
I realised that i have seen none of my 300+ friends with an iphone, when i ask why, its the cost everytime, comparatively to other phones on the market, but yes camera and 3g are very important in the uk, the rest of europe, korea and japan
I’ve been holding off on my purchase for a while now. At launch time I was in the process of building a house. I made an agreement not to spend any money on toys until after we were in our new house. Then our builder when out of business, and we were back to square one. After starting over, we have been in our new house for about a month. Being this close to June, I decidede to wait just a bit longer. However, I didn’t tell my wife that plan, a d just two days ago she surprised me with a new iPhone!
I did want to hurt her feelings by acting dissapointed that she was two months early, so here I am, typing my first comment from my new iPhone. I have to say, this speculative article is pure BS, as reading it doesn’t make me wish for a second that I had one of these imaginary models instead of the one that I do have.
Predictive text got me a couple of times there. :I
a slide? This is apple not idiots and a 4.5 inch screen? Mine is 3.5 but um ok. Apple won’t make a slider without a touchscreen, that’s the point
Oh my goodness, Afib. The only thing I’m going to respond to is the lack of a link, because you’re right on that, I should’ve provided a link.
Apple exploring dual-sided translucent touch-screen panels
To all you arrogant (l)americans: tell us the “real” reasons for bad iPhone sales in europe if you dont believe on our assesments:
– way too expensive (the whole package with carriers) and too long a locked contract
– somewhat outdated hardware for the european market (especially no 3G and no decent camera – yes many of us wants a decent camera in our phones)
– Apple brand not as strong here as in the US
– Insufficient sale channels, e.g in Germany you can pretty much buy an iPhone only in T-Mobiles T-Punkt ratholes, you can’t even buy it online ..I mean pleeeaaase
Lets face it, only european Apple fans and Mac users are buying the iPhone right now, you really must be smoking somehing if you think that the iPhone has reached the big masses here.
@ralph from Berlin
the “Nokia sells 1.bla million phones a day” is very disingenuous. Of course Nokia sells millions of phones a day; they also have 30 different phones in their product line and sell in 5 times as many countries, and most of the phones are cheap! An unsubsidized N95 costs twice as much as an unsubsidized iPhone! What most Europeans fail to realize time and time again is that Apple is changing the game in that with the iPhone being unsubsidized and making the software update process uncomplicated, Apple is attempting to create a business model where it’s product has more value to the end user than subsidized phones that are literally thrown away after a year. I know N95 users who got rid of them after 6 months. 6 Months! That shows that they don’t really care about the device at all, which is the opposite case with the vast majority of people who own the iPhone.
Comparing the iPhone sales to those of Nokia is at this point pretty stupid.
@Lamericans,
almost every iPhone user in Germany I know doesn’t own a Mac. Since T-Mobile changed the tarif structure for the iPhone, I’ve seen more and more iPhones popping up in the wild. More importantly, I’ve seen iPhones in places where they’re not even officially available; recently a Swiss mobile phone provider reported that there are currently 40,000 iPhones in the wild in Switzerland, where the iPhone isn’t available. The demand in Europe is surely high, but you’re right when you say that the availability is one of the main reasons the iPhone isn’t selling as well as it could.
BTW I absolutely HATE American-bashing from Europeans like yourself. You sound (read) as pompous as you claim us Americans to be. As someone who has lived in Europe for the past 20 years, I can say with good experience that Europeans are no better than the Americans they constantly slam. Grow up a little.
I agree with gzero. The long game here is that Apple are trying to turn the market around from a “disposable” culture, to one where a phone is a valued “appliance”. With a far longer use-life than the average mobile phone.
I also gave it from the horse’s mouth (Telefonica/O2) that the carriers are hoping Apple will succeed, as with the current market, too much risk rests with the characters, and not the manufacturers.
That said, its a big job, for a comparitively small player in the game to achieve. I don’t know if they will succeed.
I was about to buy an iPhone last Christmas when it became available, but I had second thoughts immediately when I realized how much it would cost me for the period of the contract.
I felt in a way betrayed, like I was tricked into a very VERY bad deal, it’s not a nice feeling when you feel you are being ripped off, that’s why I havent considered to buy an iPhone even now that the carriers have finally seen the light and are coming to earth.
The MDN take about how stupid other mobile phone vendors think they customers are (with regards to coming up with Apple clones) can easily be applied to Apple too, how stupid does Apple think the customers are in Europe? Pretty stupid it seems …
“Why add a keyboard to something that already has a functioning keyboard when you need one???”
They will do this to make it appeal to people who need a proper keyboard. I know at least one person who has abandoned their iPhone for a mini qwerty keyboard phone because the iPhone’s onscreen keyboard was not good enough. For heavy email users the iPhone keyboard just doesn’t make the grade.
“a lot of americans think that because it sells there, that it must sell in big numbers elsewhere too”
Orange already has it in the bargain bin in the UK.
I think the point many fail to grasp here is the COMPUTER market and MOBILE market are two totally different things. You CAN release a great product and demand a higher price, computer people have a higher tolerence with ‘issues”. Mobile users usually flip their device ever 6 months if not sooner. Now iphone can introduce new features but their still tied to a slow network.
I have worked in the mobile space for close to 10 years and this market is going to test Apple and make changed across all carriers no doubt.
The mobile market turns out new devices at a very fast pace. I usually test / use 20-30 devices throughout the year. Apple right now is in a bad spot being tied to 2g/2.5g. If you say bull@hit you have not used 3/4g. I have quarterly meetings with every major carrier in the states and see the roadmaps, for us to have what europe / asia have is still a good year away. Each carrier is still working on their own “flavor” while a large part overseas is a global standard.
If apple wants to turn some heads .. bring out a iphone in the 100 range, have it unlocked so it can be used anywhere. The problem? No carrier is going to allow that, there are huge revenue implications involved. Apple has the muscle due to itunes and it’s position in music distribution and everyone is drooling to get a piece of that as music/media revenue is something they all want a piece of.
A slide out keypad is not that far of a reach. The voyager is a slick device that features both a touch screen and a keypad.
Last I knew every ipod didn’t look exactly the same.
Garibaldi wrote, ”I was about to buy an iPhone last Christmas when it became available, but I had second thoughts immediately when I realized how much it would cost me for the period of the contract.
I felt in a way betrayed, like I was tricked into a very VERY bad deal,…”
Firstly, Garibaldi, if you DID NOT purchase an iPhone “last Christmas (December 2007) when it became available” how were you “betrayed” or “tricked”? You lost nothing except your unrealistic expectations.
Just for curiosity’s sake, how much would you be willing to pay monthly for the privilege of using an iPhone, and how much are you paying now for your current mobile phone?
Secondly, iPhones were released June 2007, not “last Christmas (i.e. December 2007)”, which, according to my calendar, was 6 months after the iPhone first “became available”.
@Afib
Sorry, I should have stated it more clearly, I meant “when it became available to me” and Christmas was just speaking roughly because that’s when I was planning to buy one for me and my friend.
It’s not a question about unrealistic expectations, one should expect fair prices when you compare them to other phones (yes iPhone is better but it’s also lacking some basic features like 3G that I want).
I was originally offered a £899 deal (£269 + 18x£35) incl. 200 minutes + 200 SMS + 200MB data which was the cheapest deal O2 could offer me.
Right now I pay (interpolating to 18 months) £350 and I get 3x more minutes+SMS, I have 3G and a good 5mp camera.
How much would I be willing to pay monthly for the privilege of using an iPhone? With the current non-3G iPhone I’d say I would happily pay a 25-30% premium compared to my current deal or about £450, but £899 – forget it, that’s ridiculous.
Yes I know O2 offers a better deal now, but last Christmas the deal was total hogwash.
Darn, I said I’d interpolate to 18 months but that’s a 12 month deal.
All of this, and no one has mentioned that the analyst dropped the ball on not predicting addition of the key feature the iPhone is lacking: a radio.
BTW, “lamerican”? Really? At least come up with something that isn’t, well, lame.
Late To The Discussion:
“Among the possibilities are flip version, which would enable the screen to be larger, and a sliding model with a regular qwerty keyboard – as opposed to a touchscreen one,” Richards reports.”
How freaking stupid are these people?!?!?!? Just think before you write, for God’s sake!
The average IQ of (Wall Street) analysts seems to be in a ballistic free-fall and has been for some time, and it appears there is no end in sight for utterly brainless (so called) “experts”.
apple will not make a slide phone without a touchscreen. That is the entire point of the iphone ad they aren’t idiots.
WOW! 21:1, thats 5x better than Apple’s stated goal of 1% of the market. The goal was 1 in 100 Don’t see how 21:1 is a failure, or indicator they are doing something wrong. Yeah, the figures were just for Nokia, but Apple seems to be right on track with the goals it set for itself, not joe calzaghe.
Apple will most likely not achieve 1% of the total market, that would require over 12 million sold phones in 2008.
10 million…maybe, I think the iPhones bought in the US, shipped abroad and unlocked will ensure that Apple meets the 10mill goal. European sales will also get a boost when the 3G phone arrives and the carriers give the customers a better overall deal.
I think that Apple has done a fantastic job even if they would fell short of that 10m, a new vendor enters the market with a high-end phone, I dont think any other new vendor would be this successfull on such a short time.
Dude, I can guarantee you the new iPhone will NOT have a qwerty keyboard. NO WAY!
If you want a break, take a look at what MS and Reebok are up to. A special edition Allen Iverson sneaker that comes with a special edition Zune!
http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/04/18/reebok-allen-iverson-zune-answer-xi-zune-special-edition/
Bill Gates MAY join the Apple design team!
Hell MAY freeze over!
Mother, MAY I have more potatoes.
You MAY be right!
I MAY be Crazy!
I just MAY be the lunatic you’re looking for!
I saw someone here comment about how the iPhone isn’t selling so well in Europe.
I also recall recent news stories tying US iPhone shortages to Europeans coming to the US to buy the iPhones, rather than buying them in Europe.
It seems pretty clear to me that those two stories are connected – Europeans buying their iPhones in the US instead of their home countries is at least a factor in the bigger picture.
Back into the article under discussion: I’m very skeptical about the claims made in it, though I wouldn’t be surprised if some of Apple’s upcoming design changes take into account the lessons they’ve learned so far from the markets they’re currently selling in (both the successes and the failures). Their past track record in redesigning their flagship iPod products shows that they’re not shy about making changes to improve their products.
However, the idea that they’d come out with a “regular qwerty keyboard” model is laughable in the extreme (the Bluetooth keyboard idea I’ve heard seems a lot more plausible than this), and the idea that they’d come out with differing designs for different markets seems a bit silly at this point in time.
In order for Apple to drive economies of scale in building the iPhone, it makes a lot more sense for them to focus their efforts on a unified, multipurpose design. Fragmenting into differing hardware designs this early could easily result in losing money on the hardware variations that don’t sell. Remember how long it took them to start diversifying their iPod line – a single well-designed product is their best option at this point in the game.
Good point Gabriel, the “official” European sales might not be that good but it also might only be half the story.
Euro trading at a whopping 1.6 against the USD means europeans can buy an iPhone cheaply in the US, hack it open and use it as is. Even these current price cuts in Europe doesnt mean shit since you still have to commit yourself to a long contract.
It’s no coincidence that NYC Apple Stores are running short of iPhones, thats were most of the tourists are, I would go as far as saying that Apple deliberately arent filling up the NYC stores to reduce the shipment of hacked iPhones abroad.
The iPhone is doing just fine folks, the unlocked units just makes it more difficult to track sales in different part of the world.
STFU about ‘3G’ in Europe.
What is the use of a slightly faster network when all the phones in Europe are CRAP?
Tiresome comments about 3G. Tiresome comments about 5 mp cameras that we just dont frickin need.
The iPhone has given me what I NEED and WANT in a communication device.
Screw all the crappy 3G phones and the Europeans being 3 years ahead – NOT. The ‘net in the UK is appalling, full of crappy sites that remind me of North American internet 10 years ago.
Its SO great to surf at 3G speeds on a Nokia et al —–NOT.
As for selling iPhones at a discount – so what?
It means squat – its just what happens when the people in the country concerned are TOO STUPID to see how great the iPhone is.
In England they charge you for water from the tap – and we are behind these guys? Like how?
Go away Brits, your opinions come from a country where there is an insane class-system. When you are Citizens and not Subjects (read slaves) then we can talk.
I think the Earth will split in half and out will hatch a giant version of me. There, I’m an Analyst.
Let’s not forget the market place and genealogy of Apple products. First, it was The Mouse and the Mac. Second, The Click-Wheel and The Ipod and Now The Multi-touch and The Iphone. Are you getting it? Is Times on Line, etc, etc predicting that Jobs and Apple will throw away Multi-Touch so soon. Kidding?
Go and watch the video of jan 9 2007.
I think the 3G iPhone will be shaped pretty much like the current model. It may “look” different, but only due to materials used for the outer surface.
When the iPhone starts using the next gen processor, that’s when we will see a “radically different” version of iPhone.
And none of those will have a physical keyboard.
Sounds like alot of empty speculation to me.
“One for customers who want it principally as a music and video device”
Ummm….iPod Touch?
“new iPhone! bigger, clunkier, flip, added buttons!”
and the next version of the MacBookAir weighs in at 25 pounds, and has a built in fold out desk…..
fscking morons.
I’m sorry my son is such a contrarian. All he ever does is hide in the basement, plays on the google box, and eats Cheeto’s.
What should I do about him?
I agree with most people that Apple miscalculated with its model in Europe. The combination of high price, limited (or in most cases no) choice of carrier, and lack of 3G have resulted in much fewer sales. I don’t think lack of 3G is as big a factor as the high price and restricted carriers. Mostf people that I know do not yet take advantage of 3G. I see more of my friends getting 3G phones, but the majority would be more than happy to get a current iPhone. However iPhone is closing in on its one year anniversary and there is still no word of Apple introducing the iPhone here in Hungary. The one thing to keep in mind is that reported iPhone sales in a place like Hungary are zero but the reality is that there are now hundreds of them in use here, I suspect that the majority of these come from the US. I’ve brought in close to ten. I know others who have brought in much more than ten. I typically only bring in two at a time. So to me it seems that there is certainly a demand, it’s just not being met by Apple.
slide out keyboard? 8-P
maybe an option to wire it in to your kitchen wall and use it as a land-line phone also… that would be cool!
Stupid analysts!!!
Amen, and bra-VO.
Any country where the government owns the TV stations can just shut the fuck up.
@Joe
‘Plus as stated, 3G is a big deal there, they have 3G networks that are much faster than here.’
Huh???? Let’s be SPECIFIC…. Verizon has had a 3G network running NATIONWIDE with a MUCH BROADER COVERAGE AREA and MUCH HIGHER DATA SPEEDS than the 3G networks in Europe…. Just b/c AT&T;has sat around w/ its thumb up its arse on 3G is no reason to denigrate the TOP QUALITY American carrier & the whole US Mobile industry!
The FASTEST 3G networks in Japan (KDDI) and South Korea run on the SAME 3G TECHNOLOGY as Verizon. CDMA EV/DO… AT&T;adopted the European 3G technology, UMTS (er, HSDPA, er HSUPA, er HSPA) that hasn’t delivered on it’s data speed promises since it was launched in 2000/2001 w/ minimal geographic coverage!
Additionally, AT&T;’s 2G network is CRAP (as shows up year after year in both the JD Powers as well as the Consumer Reports surveys) where it ranks dead last, or second to last in just about every region….
@MobileAdmin (read below)
WOW, this is ridiculously stupid article, First of all, A Slide Out Keyboard? NO.
Apple has TASTE. Just because you cretins want a physical keyboard doesnt mean that its the right thing to do in terms of design. Apple put wayy too much effort in creating a great virtual keyboard that is incredibly functional and only present when you need it.
I hate it when people start getting greedy with a great product, i want this, i want that, i cant believe it doesn’t have a built in helicopter!!. The iPhone is something new, you have never seen anything that performs the way it does, Playing Music on par with an iPod, surfing the web on par with your Desktop browser, and playing videos better than your iPod on your mobile phone.
@MobileAdmin
I mean look at the things people want! , “If apple wants to turn some heads .. bring out a iPhone in the 100 range *(Im assuming you mean 100 Euro’s 160 Dollar iPhone?, is that a joke? the iPod touch costs 300$!, how can you value iPhones interface and controls at 160?* ..have it unlocked so it can be used anywhere.” *160$ and Unlocked? hahaha!!, The day i buy an iPod Touch 8GB, and A Phone Multi Touch from Apple together for less than 200$ is the day where pigs will fly and chairs will stop flying in Redmond* The Europeans are asking for a bargain bin Price on a revolutionary Product. i suggest you go buy yourself a Boost Mobile Phone and an iPod Shuffle. Leave the iPhone for the people that appreciate its technology and innovation.
-freeman.