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Apr 12, 2001
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Verizon Wireless Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo today participated in Citi's Global Entertainment, Media & Communications Conference, and as part of his presentation revealed some iPhone sales numbers for the carrier. As noted by StreetInsider.com, Shammo announced that Verizon sold 4.2 million iPhones during the fourth quarter of 2011, a quarter which saw the launch of the iPhone 4S.

That performance more than doubled the previous quarter's sales of 2.0 million iPhones. Overall, Apple sold just over 17 million iPhones during that third calendar quarter, and while it is difficult to extrapolate Apple's total fourth quarter sales from the performance of a single U.S. carrier, the 4.2 million number could at least put Apple in the range of 35 million iPhones for the quarter across all carriers and markets. Apple today announced that it will report its holiday quarter sales and earnings numbers on January 24.

As a result of the strong performance of the iPhone 4S, Verizon is projecting a reduction in its profit margin as it absorbs the upfront subsidies paid to Apple for the device. Those subsidies will, however, be recouped over time from subscribers' service contracts.

Article Link: Verizon iPhone Sales More Than Double to 4.2 Million in Holiday Quarter
 

Caliber26

macrumors 68020
Sep 25, 2009
2,325
3,637
Orlando, FL
Samsung is gonna have a hard time ridiculing all these people in their next commercial. This must be killing them inside.

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Wasn't this supposed to be a "disappointment", that received a lukewarm reception?

Sure was! Everyone was gonna jump ship and go for the SGII and Nexus or anything else that offered a 4" screen. I think it's funny that despite all this, the iPhone 4S was still listed as one of the top tech disappointments of 2011.
 

HiRez

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
6,250
2,576
Western US
Yes, it must just be 35 million all "sheeple" and "fanboys". Apparently half the world are Apple fanboys who blindly follow their hypnotic marketing to buy their crappy, underpowered products.
 

Naimfan

Suspended
Jan 15, 2003
4,669
2,017
"Those subsidies will, however, be recouped over time from subscribers' service contracts."

No kidding - Verizon is expensive.
 

Consultant

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,314
34
Not a surprise. I knew a few Verizon BlackBerry people switched to iPhone last month.
 

badtzwang

macrumors regular
Sep 1, 2009
102
0
Not to discount the news ... but the fact that Verizon sold double the amount of iPhones in the 4th quarter isn't a big surprise. In fact, I'm surprised it wasn't more.

1. It's a Holiday Quarter
2. Its a quarter that saw the release of a new iPhone. People will hold out on buying the iPhone if they know a new one will come out.
 

TylerL

macrumors regular
Jan 2, 2002
207
291
Not to discount the news ... but the fact that Verizon sold double the amount of iPhones in the 4th quarter isn't a big surprise. In fact, I'm surprised it wasn't more.

1. It's a Holiday Quarter
2. Its a quarter that saw the release of a new iPhone. People will hold out on buying the iPhone if they know a new one will come out.

Yes, but it's also the first quarter that another provider (Sprint) has carried the iPhone as well.
 

rafaltrus

macrumors member
Jul 22, 2011
61
0
Champaign, IL
'Haters gonna hate...'
I am currently reading the biography of Steve Jobs. The iPhone will never be killed by Android. Steve's passion for creating top-tier products, with the golden thought being "ready when it ships," passed down to his employees is why this phone is winning. User-friendly GUI, no ability to tweak with the core functionality, quality over quantity, etc. define the iPhone.
 

Ryth

macrumors 68000
Apr 21, 2011
1,591
157
Yes, it must just be 35 million all "sheeple" and "fanboys". Apparently half the world are Apple fanboys who blindly follow their hypnotic marketing to buy their crappy, underpowered products.

The numbers are going to be pretty absurd.

Can't wait to see iPad3 sales numbers for the quarter after it's released.
 

badtzwang

macrumors regular
Sep 1, 2009
102
0
Yes, but it's also the first quarter that another provider (Sprint) has carried the iPhone as well.

Not sure I get your point. The article is about Verizon ... I'm sure Sprint's iPhone sales are also very good this quarter.
 

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
'Haters gonna hate...'
I am currently reading the biography of Steve Jobs. The iPhone will never be killed by Android. Steve's passion for creating top-tier products, with the golden thought being "ready when it ships," passed down to his employees is why this phone is winning. User-friendly GUI, no ability to tweak with the core functionality, quality over quantity, etc. define the iPhone.

That depends on where Apple takes the iPhone from here on in. Steve is gone.

But I sense that the important bits of his consciousness somehow merged with Scott Forstall's. Keep an eye on Forstall. He's the rising star to watch.

Apple needs to keep this man.
 

illmaticwes

macrumors newbie
Nov 15, 2010
27
2
Harrisburg, PA
International Sales

Another point is that this is just Verizon sales. Verizon is an American company. If you factor in Sprint, Unlocked phones, AT&T and then the rest of the world we could have a crazy # of iphones sold this quarter. AT&T probably easily sold more than the 4.2m Verizon sold simply to do the upgrade cycle from the 3gs.
 

bushido

Suspended
Mar 26, 2008
8,070
2,755
Germany
wonder what the numbers will be in europe. they sell em for a cookie here these days. i just got a 4S even though i own an 4 because it was 1€ instead of what used to be 299€ on a 24€ plan so i basically got the phone for free. not even sure how those companies make their money back for the phone lol
 

robby818

macrumors 6502a
May 2, 2007
587
6
"Those subsidies will, however, be recouped over time from subscribers' service contracts."

No kidding - Verizon is expensive.

The trick to getting a cheap rate with Verizon is using promo deals and stacking corporate discounts. But yes, if you don't have any discounts, Verizon is the most expensive of the four carriers in the US.
 

BaldiMac

macrumors G3
Jan 24, 2008
8,745
10,845
Not sure I get your point. The article is about Verizon ... I'm sure Sprint's iPhone sales are also very good this quarter.

You don't get how additional competition could affect Verizon's iPhone sales?
 

JitteryJimmy

macrumors regular
Apr 12, 2008
181
273
Good deals for all.

The trick to getting a cheap rate with Verizon is using promo deals and stacking corporate discounts. But yes, if you don't have any discounts, Verizon is the most expensive of the four carriers in the US.

Excitingly, the other carriers also offer promo deals and corporate discounts as well.

As always: No carrier is the best or the least expensive. Shop around, get the lowest price, and use the carrier that is the best for you.
 

BC2009

macrumors 68020
Jul 1, 2009
2,236
1,372
Samsung is gonna have a hard time ridiculing all these people in their next commercial. This must be killing them inside

It will be easy for Samsung to make a new commercial. They just need to hire more actors to make the lines longer.

Everyone was gonna jump ship and go for the SGII and Nexus or anything else that offered a 4" screen. I think it's funny that despite all this, the iPhone 4S was still listed as one of the top tech disappointments of 2011.

Wasn't this supposed to be a "disappointment", that received a lukewarm reception?

Huge disappointed for Samsung apparently. They are very disappointed that Apple is selling so many iPhones. I think even Microsoft said that Apple finally had a misstep when they unveiled the iPhone 4S (the one they keep hoping for now that Steve Jobs is gone). They also said the same thing when the iPad was unveiled.

Yes, it must just be 35 million all "sheeple" and "fanboys". Apparently half the world are Apple fanboys who blindly follow their hypnotic marketing to buy their crappy, underpowered products.

Yup -- I am amazed out how many "iSheep", "Fanboys" and "Baristas" there are in the world. It's too bad that the general consumer public with common sense can't seem to rally around a great smartphone (or maybe they have?). It would almost seem like the general common-sense consuming public actually wants a smartphone that does not make them spend hours tinkering with it to make it just perfect for them. Somehow reliability and general all-around quality and ease-of-use are more important than being tops in a couple of specs. Imagine that.

My sister-in-law who has an HTC Thunderbolt wants an iPhone so bad and her husband (my wife's brother) is a huge Android fan who grew up during Apple's worst era. He can't stand Apple products and bought them both Galaxy Nexus phones for Christmas. She told him that all her friends have iPhones and the ones that don't have iPhones keep going on about why their Android phone is "as good as an iPhone". Her comment: "Why would I want the one that is as good as an iPhone, when I can have an iPhone".

All she wants is a phone that works great with minimal tinkering, has good battery life, never crashes, fits in her hand, and takes great pictures. I told my brother-in-law that his wife is Apple's target/ideal customer, and even suggested he get her a Windows Phone if he hates Apple so much, but instead he got her a phone with a 4.65-inch screen that will never fit in her small hands. Mind you, the Nexus with ICS is a great phone, but its not the right phone for her. He ultimately got them both the same phone because he was tired of her Android phones having issues that he did not know how to fix because they were using different phones. That, in and of itself, is a problem. She can't get her phone to work, and with him being away from home for work, he could not trouble-shoot it from afar. Instead, with all of Android's options, she is now going to have the largest smartphone ever made because he cannot support it otherwise. The giant Galaxy Nexus is likely perfect for him at 6-foot-3 with giant hands, but not for her at 5-foot-5. Kinda ironic that the constant difficulties she had using an Android phone led to a decision to buy two identical Android phones to ease the support rather than switch from Android.

Ease of use and great overall quality is why Apple is selling so many iPhones -- it has nothing to do with hypnotizing legions of iSheep.
 

ed724

macrumors regular
Aug 1, 2009
227
1
Yes, it must just be 35 million all "sheeple" and "fanboys". Apparently half the world are Apple fanboys who blindly follow their hypnotic marketing to buy their crappy, underpowered products.

Awww, you didn't get one for Christmas ? Too bad for you.
 

heisetax

macrumors 6502a
Jun 12, 2004
944
0
Omaha, NE
Samsung is gonna have a hard time ridiculing all these people in their next commercial. This must be killing them inside.

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Sure was! Everyone was gonna jump ship and go for the SGII and Nexus or anything else that offered a 4" screen. I think it's funny that despite all this, the iPhone 4S was still listed as one of the top tech disappointments of 2011.

That's because it could have been so much more that it is. People wanted 4g LTE but that would have been un-Apple like to have this so soon, even without talking about the power usage. A larger screen was wanted by most, me included. My 4.35" Android smartphone screen is so much better sized.

The glass iPhone may look nice, but the one purchased for me is in a double Otter Box case. This makes the length & the width the same as my Android smartphone but then makes it at least 1/3 thicker. No wonder Apple did not put a larger screen on the iPhone 4s. It would have come out to be as big as one of my old Newtons.

Sometimes these rumor sites make it very hard for the final product to be anywhere near what the rumors have grown it into. I know that I do not feel that life would have ended without the iPhone 4s. In fact I haven't even turned it on in the last couple of days. I never turn my Android smartphone off. If we keep our expectations more realistic then maybe there would be more products that are really successful that we would treat like they are successful. Like for a table to be successful of phone the same wouldn't good profits be what we would use as a gauge, not if it sold more than the iPad or iPhone 4. With this in mind I would think that the Kindle Fire, the Nook & the iPhone 4s would be rated as a success.
 
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