Apple iPhone now available in 43 countries to 660 million potential customers

In a note to clients today, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster covers some key points:

• On 8/22 Apple will release the iPhone 3G in 21 new countries, making it available to 290m new wireless subscribers.
• Previously, the iPhone was available in 22 countries to 370m subs.
• We believe the 78% increase is not factored into Street estimates.

Munster writes, “Our iPhone estimate of 4.1m in the Sept. quarter is likely conservative. iPhone’s Addressable Market Expanding by 78% On 8/22. After the 7/11 launch, the iPhone was available to 370m subs in 22 countries. On 8/22, Apple is adding 21 new countries on carriers with 290m new subs, an increase of 78%. We believe this increase is not factored into Street estimates. We believe shares of AAPL will trade on iPhone unit volumes for the next several quarters, so we expect the iPhone unit upside to be a positive catalyst for the stock.”

Munster reiterated his “Buy” rating on AAPL shares and his $250 12-month price target.

21 Comments

  1. Imagine the January quarter numbers after Christmas. And yes, the price will tank.
    AAPL should be near 300 with a good economy and good iPhone numbers and Mac sales.
    RIMM, on the other hand, with the specs of their new BOLD, should be below 99. Their shareholders need a dose of reality that the comparison is not even close in any category except for turn by turn directions and a few small bells and whistles. Great email is good to have, but it is BORING. The Japanese super-exec had it right yesterday.

  2. @ Uh Oh
    Pure bullshit. You can’t call fro a recall unless you can prove specifics and it has to be unit related. Other manufacturers are probablyhaving problems with their 3G offerings as well. Apple is only highlighted because of sites like this that are dedicated to collecting blogs and snippets of news from independent sources. You’re never going to hear about Nokia’s, or RIM’s problems unless it’s sales unit and market share related.

  3. If they sell even ONE phone per country, they will move over 40 phones!

    If they sell ten phones per country (which seems like a no-brainer to me) then they will move nearly half a thousand.

    Great time to be an OS X user!

  4. Apple will have no 3G related problems in India.
    There is no 3G network in India. The spectrum has not even been sold.
    In a few years those folks will get a nice speed boost. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />

  5. “How could the other fscktard analysts not have factored in that the iPhone was launching in 20 countries today?”

    Because in most of those countries the choice is between upgrading the family donkey and buying an iPhone.

  6. After close to a year living on the edge with an unlocked iPhone I was finally able to buy an iPhone a provider in Hungary. I really thought that T-Mobile Hungary was going to totally screw up the release iPhone based on it’s handling (or lack thereof) of information leading up to Friday. My company’s T-moblie rep and his colleagues were kept in the dark. There was a totally senseless online order form which ultimately was never used. The only accurate information that T-mobile released was the pricing for new accounts. When I showed up at the T-mobile store on Friday it seemed like business as usual in terms of people waiting in line. This particular store is usually pretty busy. The main difference on Friday was that at least half of the people that I noticed with a T-mobile agent had 3G iPhone boxes sitting on the counter-top. I have to say that this particular T-Mobile Hungary shop did an outstanding job of getting people their iPhones. I had to spend more time than the average person because I had a corporate account and we needed to figure out the most cost-effective way for me to get my iPhone. It was great to witness the numerous Magyars (I also saw some other foreigners like myself) picking up iPhones.

  7. The timing of the new iPhone release was pretty smart IMHO. Have three months to ramp up production before the all important Xmas shopping season. Apple will need to ship 3-5M iPhones for that period alone.

    Kevin Rose’s comment on the iPod refreshes are interesting. Lower prices could be what Apple were referring to when talking about reduced margin in the future.

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