iPhone projections lowered

Apple has reportedly lowered its projected shipments of iPhones for the March quarter. According to a new report, the company has lowered its orders from two million units to around 1-1.2 million units for the second fiscal quarter, which ends in March. Despite announcing that it has sold over four million iPhones to date, Apple may be suffering from decreased demand in some parts of world, according to new report by the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN). Quoting sources at Apple's handset component suppliers in Taiwan, the Digitimes indicates that Apple has reduced orders for its popular mobile device due to decreased demand in Europe. The company launched the mobile device in UK, Germany, and France last Fall, but one report this week indicated that the company's sales in the UK have been below the company's expectations.

In its conference call earlier this week, Apple noted shipments of 2.3 million iPhones in the December quarter, thus indicating that Apple had shipped almost 300,000 iPhones during the first two weeks of January and representing a quarterly rate of about 1.8 million units. However, on the call, Apple executives were confident that Apple would hit its sales target of 10 million iPhones for calendar year 2008.

The EDN report speculates that sales of iPhones in Europe have been lower than expected thus leading Apple to cut its shipment projections for the second quarter. Despite Apple's strong quarter and its optimism in its product line-up, Apple's stock dropped precipitously due to a weaker-than-expected outlook for the March quarter -- some analysts, however, see the drop as a buying opportunity.

Earlier this week, separate reports indicated that cellular carrier Optus is trying to negotiate exclusive rights to Apple's iPhone in Australia and that Apple is currently negotiating international distribution rights for its iPhone in Thailand.

by MacNN Staff