Jobs: iPhone supply may not meet demand
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(InfoWorld) - The number of iPhones manufactured by Apple may not be enough to meet customer demand when the smart phone goes on sale later Friday, CEO Steve Jobs said in an interview published the same day. "We had to make our best guess as to what the demand was going to be and what supply we were going to put in place many, many months ago. We built factories to build these things and everything. We've taken our best guess but it wouldn't surprise me at all if it ain't enough," Jobs told the Wall Street Journal in an interview. The iPhone, which combines the functions of an iPod with a smart phone, goes on sale in the U.S. at 6 p.m. and is one of the most anticipated gadgets in recent years. Two models will offered, the 4GB model costs $499 and the 8GB model is priced at $599. Users also have toÂ sign a two-year contractÂ with carrier AT&T. The cost of those plans range from $59.99 per month to $99.99 per month. Some prospective buyers have beenÂ camping outside storesÂ in hope of being among the first to own one of the new smart phones. A surge in demand for the iPhones could mean the devices are hard to come by at first, depending on the number that Apple and AT&T have in stock. A shortage of iPhones would not be unusual. Vendors often have a limited number of units to sell when a new product hits the market. In the case of products where demand is particularly high, such as for new game consoles, limited product availability -- whether intentional or not -- andÂ long lines outside storesÂ help build buzz and generate media coverage. Jobs also downplayed concerns over the iPhone's dependence on AT&T's EDGE network, which is slower than 3G (third-generation) networks. "You know every (AT&T) Blackberry gets its mail over EDGE. It turns out EDGE is great for mail, and it works well for maps and a whole bunch of other stuff. Where you wish you had faster speed isâ¦on a Web browser. It's good enough, but you wish it was a little faster. That's where sandwiching EDGE with Wi-Fi really makes sense because Wi-Fi is much faster than any 3G network," Jobs told the Wall Street Journal. He said the iPhone had been designed to switch to Wi-Fi when such networks are detected. Â
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But Nokia will take them mainstream Comment It was predictable, given Apple's history, that the iPhone would be a fairly closed environment, but there has still been consternation in some quarters that it will be so tough for mobile developers to create applications for the device - at a time when most phonemakers are finally opening up their platforms, and recognizing that developer support is key to a product's success.â¦
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Forget pushing the envelope: Apple is likely to take it easy on its allegedly forthcoming phone, an analyst predicts. In Gear Factor.
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Users may see an iPhone with 3G technology in the next six months, a financial analyst said Monday, citing waning inventory of Apple&#39;s current iPhone and the increasing demand in Europe for 3G products.The iPhone shipments are likely to be weak during the March quarter, and inclusion of 3G technology in the phone could ensure that Apple meets its target of shipping 10 million iPhones in 2008, analyst Richard Gardner of Citigroup said in a research note on Monday. 3G is a high-speed wireless communications standard that provides broadband Internet capabilities to cell phones and mobile devices.An iPhone upgrade to include 3G technology could help the company forge more relationships with carriers as it builds a European presence. &quot;We believe that lack of 3G has been a significant headwind for iPhone in Europe where 3G is already pervasive,&quot; Gardner said.During meetings with Citigroup, Apple reiterated its plan to introduce the iPhone into additional European countries and Asia by the end of 2008, Gardner said.In a December report, Shaw Wu of American Technology Research said a 3G iPhone would likely ship around the middle or in the second half of this year after network coverage and battery life issues are addressed.During the iPhone rollout in the U.K. last year, Jobs said that 3G chips were &quot;power hogs&quot; but also said he expected to see better battery consumption this year. Chip vendors, including Broadcom and Arm, are developing power-efficient 3G mobile chips with multimedia capabilities.3G is still not widely deployed in the U.S., Wu wrote in a report. Apple could possibly position the new iPhone as a high-end smart phone with the current iPhone being shipped as a more mainstream product, Wu said.Apple&#39;s 3G plans in the U.S. could get a boost from AT&amp;T&#39;s announcement last week that it was expanding its 3G wireless coverage to 350 major U.S. markets, including all 100 of the largest cities.Until the iPhone becomes available in more countries, unlocking numbers will remain high. But as the iPhone&#39;s presence expands, &quot;most consumers will prefer to use iPhone on the network with which Apple has a relationship -- only then can they take advantage of innovative features, such as visual voicemail and ongoing software updates,&quot; Gardner said.Up to 35 percent of all iPhones sold since its launch in June have been unlocked and sold in countries where Apple does not yet have a formal relationship with a wireless carrier, Citigroup&#39;s Gardner said.There has been plenty of speculation surrounding the release of a 3G iPhone. Last year, Apple CEO Steve Jobs and AT&amp;T CEO Randall Stephenson separately said a 3G iPhone was coming in 2008, though the exact date is shrouded in secrecy.
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Blog: Revolutionary design aside, Apple's iPhone faces an uphill battle: historically, consumers have not embraced multifunction devices...with the huge exception of the personal computer.
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TechWeb - Apple remains confident that it can hit its target of 10 million phones shipped within its first year of sales, but financial analysts are wondering whether there's trouble brewing.
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As iPhone supply finally starts to dwindle, reports emerge of problems with the device's activation process.
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Barely out of the shops in the United States, Apple&#39;s eagerly anticipated iPhone is the subject of increasing speculation about how and at what price it will be rolled out in Europe later this year.
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Analysts are mulling over&#160;Apple&#39;s iPhone sales numbers&#160;and are alarmed at a perceived discrepancy in the figures.Apple claims slightly over 3.7 million iPhones were sold in 2007 -- yet&#160;AT&amp;T this week revealed&#160;it ended the year with &quot;just at or sightly under two million iPhone customers&quot;.That two million has been boosted somewhat by an estimated 300,000-400,000 sales in Europe, analysts believe.The discrepancy is that the 3.7 million iPhones Apple says it has sold and the estimated 2.4 million sold by its network partners still leaves 1.3 million of the devices unaccounted for.That implies that around one in three iPhones are being purchased in order to&#160;unlock the device&#160;for use on other networks and/or for use with unapproved third party applications.While it&#39;s possible some iPhones were sold over the Christmas period but not activated immediately as new users (perhaps) worked to cancel their existing mobile contracts, the discrepancy still implies an active market for unlocked iPhones.Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook told analysts this week that the company believes the number of unlocked iPhones in the wild to be &quot;significant,&quot; but declined to furnish accurate figures.Toni Sacconaghi of Bernstein Research cites these figures in order to claim a substantial market in unlocked iPhones, and speculates this news may also mean a build-up in iPhone inventory.&quot;It indicates end-user demand for iPhone is lower than many investors may think based on Apple&#39;s sales figure -- and it points to slower iPhone sales in the current quarter, since much of this inventory is likely to be drawn down,&quot; the analyst explains.Macworld.co.uk is an InfoWorld affiliate.
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Among the hundreds waiting in line yesterday to buy an iPhone were Computerworld's Michael DeAgonia and Seth Weintraub. It's been less than a day, but they're sold: It's worth the high price and offers a peak into the future.
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InfoWorld - Users may see an iPhone with 3G technology in the next six months, a financial analyst said Monday, citing waning inventory of Apple's current iPhone and the increasing demand in Europe for 3G products.
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A survey of Apple and AT&T stores finds they're not all the same when it comes to stocking and reserving the much-hyped gadget.
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Pundits have noted that Apple showed only 5% iPod unit growth over last year's Q1, but the real comparison has to include the iPhone, which replaces any potential iPod sale. Even then, growth is slowing.
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While it doesn't match the hysteria of iPhone Day, hundreds of people still turn out to wait hours in line for the newest version of Mac OS X--even though they could have preordered a copy weeks ago.
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Blog: AT&T's iPhone activation numbers disappointed many--especially Apple investors--but it's not a perfect measure of iPhone demand.
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Few would pay Apple's $500 asking price for the iPhone, although it would be a big seller if it cost less, a survey has found found.
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(InfoWorld) - For all the buzz building about Apple's iPhone launch next week, success is not a sure bet, according to a survey released Tuesday. "The first million, no problem," said Chris Hazelton, senior analyst, mobile technology and trends with IDC, talking about iPhone sales. "Interest in this has been building for years. But the '08 goal [of 10 million sold]...that will depend on the iPhone experience. If it's not rock solid...." The IDC survey, which polled online users researching their next cell phone purchase, found a majority were interested in the iPhone but also revealed several hurdles to mass acceptance. About 10 percent, for example, said they were willing to pay full price -- the iPhone will list at $499 and $599 for the 4GB and 8GB models, respectively -- and sign a two-year service contract with AT&T, the iPhone's sole carrier. That's close to the estimate offered by a survey detailed yesterday by M:Metrics, a Seattle research firm, which said that 9 percent, or about 19 million, of all U.S. cell phone subscribers pegged their iPhone purchase intent at high. Although Hazelton didn't argue with M:Metrics' numbers, he stressed the snags that could limit the iPhone to a much smaller group than Apple and AT&T hope. "The exclusivity of AT&T will be the largest barrier," said Hazelton. "Only some people will have timed it right so that they can leave their carrier and won't have to pay an early termination fee." Others, the survey found, were unwilling or unable to eat the penalties. AT&T's rumored five-year exclusivity agreement with Apple will give the two companies the time to "weed out" other carriers from consumers interested in the iPhone, he noted, but again, that could be a slower process than the companies have planned on. "And then there's the price of the iPhone itself, and the need for a data plan on top of a voice plan," Hazelton said. "That's probably $80-plus a month right there. People will pay it if they want the iPhone experience, but moving forward, that may be simply too expensive." If the iPhone doesn't deliver on its promises, though, all might be moot. Dubbing it the "iPhone experience," Hazelton ticked off many of the same potential pitfalls as other analysts, ranging from the lack of a tactile keyboard to the slower speed of AT&T's EDGE-based data network. How users react to the iPhone, and how they expect to use it, said Hazelton, will ultimately be the most important determiner of success. Nothing will kill the buzz faster and brand the iPhone as a failure, said Hazelton, like negative word-of-mouth from the first buyers. And although the early adopters may be especially savvy about technology, one unknown could play a major role. "There are relatively few people who use smartphones in the U.S., and most of them are business users. This will be the first smartphone aimed at consumers," he said. "It's a complicated phone, basically a computer, and like computers, like Macs, it may crash, maybe a lot." Tales of iPhone problems, say frequent crashes, will turn Apple's hope into another Newton, Hazelton argued, referring to the 1993 PDA flop. In other words, there is much that may not go Apple's way after June 29. Ironically, that would make rivals unhappy, rather than glad to see Apple fall flat, Hazelton said. "The iPhone could open up the smartphone market to the U.S. consumer," he said. "When we talk to other device makers and carriers, they generally welcome Apple to the game. It makes sense. The iPhone raises the bar of customer expectations for what a cell phone is. If it succeeds, other vendors will have more ability to drive product upgrades, get customers to pay more for the device, and carriers will be able to get more people to subscribe to the more expensive plans." Apple will launch the iPhone Friday, June 29, at 6 p.m. local time, with the device available then at AT&T and Apple retail stores.