“The iPhone 4S wasn’t exactly Apple’s brightest moment. Yet it will probably still outshine the competition this holiday season,” Sinead Carew and Poornima Gupta report for Reuters. “And people seeking to commemorate the legacy of Apple’s iconic co-founder Steve Jobs, who died on Wednesday, may scoop up the last iPhone to be unveiled in his lifetime.”
“‘Store traffic will increase and there’s going to be some sentiment-related purchases,'” said Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Bill Choi,” Carew and Gupta report. “Bill Kreher of Edward Jones, said Jobs place in pop culture will cause a sales boost. ‘But over the long run the products will stand on their merit,’ he said.”
Carew and Gupta report, “Apple’s iPhone — seen as the market’s gold standard — is its highest-margin product and accounts for 40 percent of its annual revenue. It is the world’s biggest selling smartphone… Analysts say Apple will have one of its best holiday quarters on record this year with brisk sales of a cheaper version of iPhone 4 and a free iPhone 3GS on top of iPhone 4S sales to customers who want the latest device.”
“The iPhone 4S remains among the fastest smartphones out there. It will be available on more than 100 carriers by year’s end, and a free-with-a-contract older-generation model will draw in new users, analysts say,” Carew and Gupta report. “Then there’s the ‘Siri’ voice-command software that has pundits gushing over its ease of use versus rivals’ offerings.”
“Jefferies & Co analyst Peter Misek said he received one phone call from a person who told him they would probably get an iPhone 4S to commemorate Jobs,” Carew and Gupta report. “But more importantly, he said, a large number of existing iPhone customers may be eligible for a discounted phone upgrade if they renew with their wireless provider, as their two-year contracts will expire in the next 12 months. ‘The bigger thing is that 50 million to 70 million people will be coming off contract in the next year,’ Misek said.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
