Apple and the 10 million iPhone target
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Around the launch of the iPhone last summer, Apple indicated that it aimed at selling 10 million of the sleek handsets in 2008. This is essentially about 1% of the total handset sales for the year. Recently, there were reports projecting that the sales will fall short of the target.
Apple, in the meantime, is not leaving any stone unturned. Today, it announced that it was modifying the iPhone to support Microsoft Exchange Server along with extra security features. This, the company hopes, will compete head-to-head with the Blackberrys and the Treos that the business population loves for their mobile email services. Now, will this not boost iPhone sales, bringing to its fold some of the folks who shunned it for want of corporate email support?
And then, of course, despite the lack of any announcement, the iPhone v2 (3G) will come soon. In my mind, this development is more definitive than speculative. I think the only reason Apple did not announce the iPhone v2 is because such an announcement will halt the sales of the current generation of iPhones. Will you buy a 2G iPhone if you know that Apple's 3G iPhone is hitting the market in another month, say? The lack of a definitive date will, on the other hand, allow for a smoother transition to 3G units and an unhindered march to the 10 million target.
So, in summary, the present indicators coupled with the 3G iPhone launch sometime this year, make the iPhone sales target very achievable.
Apple, in the meantime, is not leaving any stone unturned. Today, it announced that it was modifying the iPhone to support Microsoft Exchange Server along with extra security features. This, the company hopes, will compete head-to-head with the Blackberrys and the Treos that the business population loves for their mobile email services. Now, will this not boost iPhone sales, bringing to its fold some of the folks who shunned it for want of corporate email support?
And then, of course, despite the lack of any announcement, the iPhone v2 (3G) will come soon. In my mind, this development is more definitive than speculative. I think the only reason Apple did not announce the iPhone v2 is because such an announcement will halt the sales of the current generation of iPhones. Will you buy a 2G iPhone if you know that Apple's 3G iPhone is hitting the market in another month, say? The lack of a definitive date will, on the other hand, allow for a smoother transition to 3G units and an unhindered march to the 10 million target.
So, in summary, the present indicators coupled with the 3G iPhone launch sometime this year, make the iPhone sales target very achievable.
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