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AT&T Activates 2.7 Million iPhones in Q1 2010 as Growth Slows

sim card

though I agree verizon is most likely not getting the iphone this year but to say it was told us by gizmodo that the iphone 4 that was spotted didnt have a cdma radio inside just because there was a sim card seems short sided. The reason is most likely if verizon did get the iphone this year it would have a sim card makeing it a world phone. Verizon currently has lots of phones that have sim cards so it can be used in other country's
 
JohnDoe98 said:
They did; it had a micro-sim card like the Ipad. Hence it was GSM on ATT.
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Yes Verizon has a blackberry that also supports GSM sim cards.

SAD*FACED*CLOWN said:
Just because Verizon has 92 million customers does not mean that all 92 million will buy an iPhone nor does it indicate that they even want an iPhone...with Verizon's dumbed down CDMA I suspect most of that subscriber base uses "dumb phones"....and the one thing that people don't seem to get is that Apple wants AT&T...if Apple lets go of the AT&T partnership who do you suppose will step in to fill those shoes? GOOGLE.....Google wants to partner up with a GSM provider and push units worldwide just like Apple, it should be obvious that Apple is allowing AT&T to stay on the teat just to deny Google access to a major GSM provider...
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Google already offers the Nexus One on AT&T, so your point is invalid.
 
Bigdaddyguido said:
You're very misguided.

I dunno if you ever taken a part an electronic device, but they are hardl "thrown" together.

To make an iPhone with a different antennea would require a whole new fabrication plant to stamp put the logic boards, and a new assembly to have the new antennea work on the new logic board.

Apple notoriously keeps their costs at a minimum, opening new assembly lines to appeal to a few million possible users rather than say, putting the same time and effort into expanding the number of markets the gsm is sold in or advertising more effectively in china is not cost effective.

Additionally, CMDA is the archaic technology, hence it being slower and less well designed (audio and data on one connection). This is why AT&T can use mostly software upgrades to advance to LTE while verizon is stuck doing a major overhaul. Fortunately for verizon they put more money towards cell development than AT&T and so should be able to make the switch about as fast of not faster than AT&T. When LTE is a standard, then the iPhone comes to verizon.
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The only thing LTE and GSM have in common is the people behind the technology. It's not a simple software upgrade, it's a complete hardware overhaul for both the tower and the backend routing. LTE is not backwards compatible with GSM, so both technologies will have to run at the same time as end users migrate. With the exception of spectrum ownership, migrating from GSM to LTE is just the same as migrating from CDMA to LTE.

You keep saying "for a few million" customers. Perhaps you forgot Verizon has 91.2 million to AT&T's 85.1 million. Looking at the top 4 in the US you'll see that CDMA (Verizon + Sprint) has a total of 139.3 million while GSM (AT&T + Tmob) has 118.5. CDMA usage is a lot more than "just a few million".
 
For all those "Apple wouldn't go out of their way to build a special Iphone just for a few million crowd," here's a few thought: I believe a carrier in china received custom iPhones without wifi installed. But of course Apple won't customize for a carrier. So when I read about that it was a fluke correct? :)
 
Although I wish there would be a Verizon iPhone, I don't think it'll happen this year. My guess (and that's all it is, can't really back it up) is that AT&T bought an iPhone exclusive extension by allowing Apple to have the iPad data plan the way it is.
 
truth is it has nothing to do with AT&t service. Verizon is never getting the iphone so get your cock out of your hands verizon fanboys! People are simply waiting for the Iphone HD. watch where at&t numbers are next month when it's released!:D

then verizon will be the #2 carrier in the nation as far as subscribers..
 
The problem with large corporations is that exponential growth is expected even though there is a finite number of customers. AT&T is no longer "successful" with one million activations. Soon, three million phones is not enough. If they sell five million next quarter it will be great but then they will need six or seven million to please stockholders. After everyone in the world has a phone, the company will need to sell everyone two, increase the price of service, depend on built-in obsolescence or go bankrupt. This is what we call saturation point.

AT&T is "slowing" in sales though it activates in three months nearly enough phones for everyone in the third largest city in America.
 
what will help

A new quarter will help. After-Christmas quarters can be slower.

A new iPhone model (v4) will help. It'll add features & rekindle interest.

A new pricing plan from AT&T would help. A $100 'unlimited everything' plan would be major.
 
segfaultdotorg said:
It will be a slow, sustained decline in the number of new customers for AT&T, and it will fall off a cliff once another carrier gets the iPhone. "More than 1/3" could be 33.4%, which is less than 40%.
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That's still a pretty amazing number of switchers for a 3-y.o. phone. If my stocks when up 40% in one quarter and then only went up 33% in the following quarter, I'd still be ecstatic.
 
Here in Ireland o2 was the only one to sell the iPhone so far. But 3 weeks ago Vodafone got a deal with Apple as well and started to sell iPhones. The queues outside several Vodafone shops was mad. It felt like it was the first day of the iPhone release world wide.
 
jav6454 said:
I am actually inclined to think T-Mobile will soon get the iPhone. Think about it, it's the carrier that doesn't make rattle against it, the only other GSM carrier and the only carrier in GSM with cheap plans.

Verizon, lol no, they keep bashing the iPhone, plus have an incompatible network and they keep making noise how they want the iPhone. Noise which Apple really hates.
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I totally agree about Tmob getting the iPhone. This company already has a dedicated team just for the iphone. I left ATT for Tmob and ran into a slight problem with my iphone. Upon contacting Tmob, i was directed to the *iPhone Tech* Line and received the help I needed.
Just a matter of time.... WWDC....
 
Great to hear that, AT&T. That's like saying Johnny Momento got a full house performing his comedy routine at the San Bernadino County Jail.

You're playing to a captive audience.

And thanks for years of not upgrading any of your network until now to compensate your tens of millions of new customers. Great way to welcome them into your company.

I knew we were in for some turbulence when Steve Jobs invited Cingular CEO Stan Sigman to read his bundle of index cards like a quarterly report. All I heard was "blah blah - I'm gonna be rich."
 
MacRumors said:
Signs of slowing iPhone growth for AT&T are likely to add to the clamor for Apple to extend distribution to additional carriers in the United States, with market leader Verizon having received the most attention in recent years
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Yes, please.

cawesjmu said:
So from the commercials, I gather Verizon couldn't do data and voice at the same time, which is a big selling point for the iPhone on ATT.
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Wouldn't bother me.
 
hum after AT&T pretty much told the world that any more iPhones and their network is going to collapse the decreasing number of new customers is not that surprising. Plus there is the fact that a new iPhone is coming in a couple of months so a few people up for an upgrade are holding off. I know of a couple … Oh and Apple really needs to start working with several providers in the US just like they did in several European markets. This AT&T monopoly is borderline insane considering that the competition is doing for sales in the EU.
 
The more I think about it, the more a T-Mobile relationship is the most likely. They already have T-Mobile distribution outside of the US, it is GSM, they will promote the heck out of it to spur switchers, and they offer competitive rate plans. No one will be able to complain that it is only available on at&t.
 
Rather than comparing Quarter for Quarter...

... what were the numbers compared to this time last year? Fine, so Apple only sold 15,000 more iPhones this quarter over last quarter, world wide; AT&T is not a world wide provider. What we don't know is how this quarter's numbers compared to last year's at the same time. That's where the real difference would lie.
 
zacman said:
The Q4 numbers already were lower than the Q3 numbers. Apple was the only major smartphone maker that lost market share in the important holiday quarter. And Q1/10 are still lower than Q3/09.
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In what way were Q4 numbers lower than '08s? If Apple saw 100% growth y-o-y, their numbers could hardly be lower y-o-y. Then Q1's numbers show 133% growth y-o-y? I really don't see how this is loss. Any time you sell more than twice as many devices over the previous year, without lowering prices, you're sure not losing.
 
tdmac said:
Uh. Wrong..

LTE is fully backward compatible with GSM.
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Hi, just FYI I work on GSM, LTE, CDMA and other wireless technologies.

I can tell you that you are wrong.

LTE has NOTHING in common with GSM.

Nothing. "thetexan" has it absolutely right.

Now, is there any part of that that isn't clear to you? :mad:



Damn I hate reading forums sometimes... IF YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT - DON'T POST. :mad:
 
Re: Cdma Iphone (verizon)

Again the issue I present is not that APPLE cannot create a hybrid phone, far from it. I am speaking of 2 issues specifically....

1. APPLE touts the IPHONE to be able to run a phone call, surf the web and email all at the same time. It is designed for the multi-tasker and in their words "Revolutionize the SMARTPHONE market." With this business model approach they will not create a dumbed down phone that can only do one thing at a time. This goes against their mantra of being the leader in doing this right even after someone does it first.

2. APPLE is an international company that produces for a global market. Hence, if there is only one company in the US that can provide only a small share of customers that are willing to buy the IPHONE, then financially it is not a sound decision to spend all the money for very little return and less phone performance. Especially since IPHONE sales are falling in the US, but growing in other countries.

Most people are looking at this from a very narrow perspective by assuming only AMERICA provides APPLE a very large share of their business. Quite the contrary when the global market especially Europe and Asia work primarily on a GSM network. APPLES IPHONE sales are rising in the markets other than the USA and if they look at those numbers and the idea of recreating a new phone just for this market it would cost the company and its share holders a very large percentage more than they would get back in revenues.

I would be completely surprised if Steve Jobs made that decision.

I re-iterate again that the R&D and manufacturing one cell phone for one company is financially unsound. Especially if it cannot perform half as well as what they already have.

:):D
 
I gotta say, this seems like a really weak article, overlooking many factors that contribute to iPhone sales.

Calendar Q1 is pretty much always going to be a let-off quarter for Apple in terms of sales, because the Holiday Quarter (Q4) is so big for them.

Calendar Q1 is also two full quarters after US release of updated iPhones (at least per the presumed Apple schedule for iPhone updates), and Q3 is "kinda sorta" right around the corner, so may customers will wait in the US, since the US will presumably get the first shot at any update release.

It's good to learn (as a shareholder) that Apple is making real progress elsewhere in the world, and especially that it is starting to penetrate China. Hopefully that trend continues!

Demo
 
Apples numbers were high because they count all phones sold. AT&T is only accounting for new activations. I would surmise that a good portion of iPhones sold were most likely repeat buyers who upgraded. This wouldn't be a NEW activation for AT&T.
 
That's not surprising, anyone not living under a rock knows that the next gen iPhone is just around the corner. Combine that with all of the recent speculation about the iPhone coming to Verizon and you've probably got a lot of fence sitters waiting to see what happens.

I wonder how much I can get for a slightly used 3GS come June 22nd.
 
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