You give up right before the launch of the 3G Phone/Applications?
Interesting timing
I suspect you won't really give up
I totally disagree with you on this one.
Vodafone released their earnings results a couple of weeks ago --- less than 20% of Vodafone UK's subscribers have a 3G phone (page 10). <snip>
so Verizon (originally CDMA correct?) have just upgraded and shifted most of their customers onto WCDMA.
i am not looking forward to the line at teh apple store. i will still brave it though.
I totally disagree with you on this one.
Vodafone released their earnings results a couple of weeks ago --- less than 20% of Vodafone UK's subscribers have a 3G phone (page 10). Their Germany, Italy and Spain operations don't have much 3G phones penetration rate either.
http://www.vodafone.com/etc/mediali...s.Par.50962.File.dat/Prelim_ Mar_08_FINAL.pdf
Verizon Wireless in the US --- 58% of their subscribers have a 3G phone (39 million subscribers out of 67.2 million subscribers).
http://telephonyonline.com/wireless/news/verizon-data-revenues-0428/
Verizon Wireless subscribers have more 3G phones (39 million) than Vodafone's whole European operation (24 million).
Well, I can't disagree with the raw stats - but I would be interested to see a breakdown by sector, or by type of phone.
I would suspect that there are not that many users with non-3G phones who want it mainly for internet/email rather than voice and sms...
There are not that many users who bought a 3G phone and actually use 3G data features.
You may well be right there. Thats particularly true of 3G video calling. I have, however, started to notice an increasing proportion of my friends and acquaintances (most of whom are not techies particularly) using their phone to check Facebook and other social networking sites by mobile, and an increase in data use to get email..
Maybe we are starting to see a turn-around in those statistics. Certainly feels like it "on the ground".
Amen. You are absolutely spot on. The UK mobile market is so very different. 3G is a given - without 3G phones are seen as dated, or entry level.
I didn't get the first iPhone because I'm in the UK, and it didn't have 3G. Simple as that.
I know a large number of people that felt the same, and talk of a 3G iPhone is stirring up a bit more excitement than the first one did.
Now I know us Brits can be, *ahem*, "cynical" about things at the best of times, but the original iPhone sold mainly to the trendy 20-something student rather than any other traditional smartphone market sector.
This time round, if the iPhone goes 3G, I can see it selling into the more traditional (and possibly older) smartphone sector over here..