Turner: iPhone 3G to push mobile data globally
updated 12:15 pm EDT, Wed August 6, 2008
Turner on iPhone 3G
The iPhone 3G will help to push mobile connectivity worldwide, claims the research group at Turner Investments. Turner's analysts argue that the phone's interface, features and lower base price, along with the amount of software available through the App Store, should help to boost Apple's presence in the smartphone world, possibly to the 28 percent figure suggested for 2009 by Piper Jaffray. This may in turn push companies like Nokia to follow suit, and make it simpler and cheaper for people to access programs and data regardless of where they are.
This is said to be particularly important in poorer countries, where for many people a cellphone may replace a computer entirely, if they can afford either. The diversity of hardware and software capabilities in the iPhone 3G could thus signify greater potential in the market as a whole, although for Apple to exploit this, Turner contends that the company may have to focus on getting more prepaid plans in effect, and increasing the number of iPhone carriers per country.
Apple should also get into the Chinese market as soon as possible, Turner suggests, because some 500,000 gray-market phones may be in use, depriving Apple of telecom revenue if not actual device sales.
Mac Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2000
hmmm
The 500k gray-market iPhones in China has deprived Apple of device sales? How exactly did they get there, were they stolen?
At some point in the chain, Apple got some money for those phones, perhaps not the full amount they might have gotten had it been sold directly but Apple did sell it to someone originally.