Analyst: Antenna issues unlikely to hinder iPhone 4 sales
updated 05:40 pm EDT, Fri June 25, 2010
Company expected to sell 1.5-2m units
Amid reports of poor reception with the new iPhone 4, Kaufman Brothers analyst Shaw Wu does not expect the issues to have an impact on sales. The problem is said to be minimized when the handset is held inside a case. Wu believes most users will be placing the device in a case anyway, aside from any reception issues.
Apple quickly responded to the reports, defending the device design and pointing out that any wireless phones will show antenna attenuation when held in certain ways. The issue is also said to be exaggerated by the early version of iOS 4, which presents lower bars than the actual signal strength.
Wu believes that Apple is on track to sell 1.5-2 million iPhone 4 handsets in the first few days of availability. If the forecast is accurate, the iPhone 4 will nearly double the initial sales numbers from the iPhone 3GS. In the long term, Wu expects 9 million units for the June quarter and 40 million through the end of the year.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2009
Same thing I mentioned elsewhere, and was flamed..
There is such a strong anti-apple sentiment out there, I and others have been flamed for pointing this out - iPhone buyers are also expensive case buyers. In Nepal, all phones are encased, as cases are sold on street corners for pennies, and hide really inferior phones from public view. In my case (ha) I got a DLO iphone case for a fraction of what western buyers pay, and it's always on my phone when in use. This really is not a big deal, and it's only the apple haters that are blowing this out of proportion.