“Unnerved by the continued fragility of their economy, Europeans are cutting back spending on mobile devices. And that could pose problems for companies peddling pricey, marquee handsets,” John Paczkowski reports for AllThingsD. “”
“This according to France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard, who told Bloomberg that his customers are increasingly searching out cheaper wireless plans and less expensive handsets,” Paczkowski reports. “With consumers demanding lower prices, Richard says, smartphone manufacturers like Apple may have to consider offering new devices targeted at the price-sensitive end of the market… ‘There are fewer early adopters, and probably with the next release of the iPhone this will be evident,’ Richard said. ‘Except for a few hundred thousand people who will buy the latest iPhone — except for that category of people — the majority of the market will be difficult.'”
“Interesting theory. But a few hundred thousand people? The iPhone 3GS sold more than one million units during its first weekend at market. The iPhone 4 sold more than 1.7 million. And the iPhone 4S sold more than double that. And the iPhone 5 sold more than five million,” Paczkowski reports. “That trend doesn’t exactly support Richard’s prediction. That said, his comments add an interesting twist to the chorus of calls for a low-end iPhone that we’ve been hearing. Richard is arguing, as many have, that Apple needs a budget handset for emerging markets like China and India, but he’s arguing that it needs one for established markets as well.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Meet Europe, the newest member of the Third World, at least according to France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Michael H.” for the heads up.]
