Awww..go ahead and shoot down my enthusiasm
Something else I was thinking about last night.
Back in March, Ilounge reported on the shortage of iPhones in Germany and the response from TMobile was this:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/us-german-16gb-iphone-shortages-may-replentishment/
I wonder why May?
Hehe - you go on the Germany T Mobile site you see this picture below, saying as a graphic "Nur bis" ,meaning "only to" 30th June. (Please correct me if anyone speaks German). It seems 16GB is being sold from the internet site. (Ich nich sprechte Deutche serr gutt). laso the Prices are angebot bis
"Offer to 30th June".
As far as what that means, i'd go the line of Apple at the Earnings call - the numbers on aggregate are low worldwide (the exact quote is up a few pages).
There were shortages elsewhere. Maybe they had less stock, and escaped having their fingers being burnt by buying too many and thus having to discount them to get rid of the stock prior to 3G iPhone. As the article says, what makes Germany special? Other retail stores
have low stock I imagine.
"10 U.S.-based Apple retail locations contacted by iLounge yielded only one store with the higher-capacity model in stock, while Apple’s online store currently lists a 5-7 business day shipping time on the 16GB model."
It may be simply be "attributable to low production of 16GB iPhones, high demand, or merely a reallocation of supplies for international consumption."
Doesn't affect anything. Germany isn't going to be first, neither will Austria, Italy, Australia or Britain... Joint, maybe. Note the article is dated
Friday, March 14, 2008 so before the Earnings Call.
Lots of salt needed these 5 last weeks
http://www.intomobile.com/2007/09/0...one-with-3g-hsdpa-may-launch-november-12.html
http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/09/08/t.mobile.germany.ad/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/09/did-t-mobile-germany-really-leak-the-3g-16gb-iphone-doubtful/
http://www.t-mobile.de/iphone/warenkorb.jsp
Speaking of AT&T
http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/05/05/t.mobile.3g.official/
With T-Mobile's 3G network now official, live in New York City starting with UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) and bringing HSDPA (High Speed Download Packet Access) in coming months.
"Multiple major urban areas should also receive the enhanced coverage by the end of the year, though T-Mobile is unspecific on these locations. Past reports have alluded to areas such as Los Angeles and Miami being some of the first to receive the update."
T-Mobile said several 3G-capable phones already use its network, including the Nokia 6263 and the Samsung t639.
T-Mobile is using the relatively uncommon 1,700MHz Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum, and so will need different devices than those offered by its rival to enable full 3G access. No phone makers have yet announced a multi-band 3G phone that supports both providers.
RBS - Takes a sneak peek of Apple & is impressed
RBC Capital Markets' Mike Abramsky, after meeting top Apple brass, claims that Apple maker may shake up its existing business model for the iPhone and should easily pass its sales target for 2008, especially once 3G devices become available.
RBS met with Apple's iPhone marketer Greg Joswiak, chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer, and Mac desktop manager Tom Boger all meet the financial institution. Nice line up.
Abramsky says RBC now has "further conviction" about Apple's plans and anticipates sales of up to 14 million iPhones during 2008.
The revision comes from a newfound belief that Apple might alter its existing sales strategy to accommodate both carriers and users: where the company has insisted on a fixed price and revenue sharing, it may loosen its restrictions after encountering resistance to its present approach in some areas.
Apple
"may be planning to allow subsidized pricing, diminishing carrier exclusivity... and supporting global unlocked iphone sales," Abramsky claims, explaining that Apple could also reduce the revenue it shares from monthly plans or even drop the split entirely to secure some carriers' support.
Official backing of unlocked devices through sales in Apple retail stores and certain carriers could improve international sales by 2 to 3 times, according to the prediction.
Rethinking its strategy is also all but necessary to bring the iPhone to China, as the country's leading carrier China Mobile is currently refusing talks on the grounds that revenue sharing with a foreign business violates Chinese customs.
Abramsky nonetheless stresses that the device itself is likely to be a significant factor: the widely anticipated 3G-capable iPhone is still predicted to arrive in June and should serve as a catalyst for adoption, particularly with added enterprise and third-party software support built into the version 2.0 iPhone software.
Key features that could accompany the update, such as video calling or GPS, could improve some sales -- though carrier bandwidth costs could reportedly push Apple away from offering downloadable movies, the analyst says. [ So Apple doesn't see video calling as a bandwidth issue?]
The report also observes that any factor in Apple growth, whether carrier adoption or device acceptance, isn't likely to be impeded by an existing monopoly. Most countries have multiple compatible carriers, while the fractured nature of the device market itself means that no one company can claim absolute control. This is seen as giving Apple an opening it doesn't have with its Mac computer line.
"Unlike the PC market, in the fast-expanding Smartphone market Apple faces no incumbent (like Microsoft), creating an opportunity for Apple to take share from existing voice handset vendors like Motorola," Abramsky says.
See you on the flip side, with Apple's announcement. It is a Tuesday, right?
