iPhone 3G S Launch Sales to Exceed 3G Launch?

[eastcoastsurfer]

I had a reserved phone. Went at lunch to pick it up. Took a little over an hour. That includes standing in line, buying the phone, and having it activated on site.

The Apple employee running the line said they learned a lot from the 3g launch and that they were able to move people through the process much much faster than before. She did say the early morning was pretty long, but those people were all gone when I got there.

 

[jholzner]

I don't think you'll have any snags getting one of these tomorrow from O2, unless they've got their got their stock levels badly wrong. There were no queues down here at either carphone warehouse or O2 shops. Over priced and over hyped.

You do know that O2 has already stated they have/will sell 50% more than they did of the 3G in a single day right?

 

[jholzner]

Similar situation for me. I just can't jusify $400-. I would buy one today for $200, but that's not in the cards. You would think AT&T would jump at the chance to reset my contract so I have another two years, as opposed to the one I have now.

The problem is they won't get another two years out of you because next year when the new phone comes out everyone will complain once again and want the newest one.

 

[bobbleheadbob]

I just picked up two new iPhones at the Boston Apple Store on Boylston St. So if they sell a million, I'm accounting for about .000002% of the total.

I was in and out of there in about 30 minutes. It went much quicker than either last year or 2007.

The line for pre-orders was shorter than for people who didn't pre-order on the Apple website, and I bet that saved me quite a bit of time. No problems with the AT&T activation process either, which was fouled up for me before both previous years. Finally, two thumbs up to both and AT&T from this MacDog!

 

[kevino2]

That is exactly what AT&T did for me at my local store. I did activate a new line, so my case might be different.

Thanks. will do.

 

[edoates]

Got mine promptly at 7:30am today via UPS (actually three: mine, spouse's, and daughter's); activation a breeze just restoring from my original iPhone in iTunes.

Why are people standing in line? Forgot to order online?

Eddie O

 

[Fluffy Bunny]

Phone companies make back that subsidized price well before the second year of any contract starts. The second year is just ALL profits.[/QUOTE]

Not true. Assuming a base service contract with voice, data and 200 messages is $75/month in revenue, that is $1,800 in revenue over 2 years. Now, in total AT&T has a bottom line net income margin of 10% of revenue (per the annual report). Even assuming cellular is double that at 20%, that would work out to $360 in profit over 2 years or $15 per month (and this is assuming the cost of $300+ subsidy is already baked into that margin). We aren't talking obscene profits. Theorectically, their economic profits are zero (after accounting for risk).

Some think the cellular network is already there so there are no costs. But it isn't free to constantly upgrade the U.S. cell network to the next generation of service, or to maintain the lines hauling the traffic to switching centers, or the switching or the transport or maintaining billing systems or staffing customer service centers to take thousands of calls from people asking where there 3GS is.

Yes, it is fun to rip on the evil-doer corporations, but without AT&T, an iPhone is just a Touch. Sure their are other carriers, but don't think they will be any better. Sure someday the U.S. government may take over all the carriers, then it will be free phone service for all with 8G speeds!!

Of course, I am in an angry mood though, I am sitting at work while my new phone is sitting at home...alone, just waiting for me to return.

 

[old-wiz]

I went past the Apple store in Burlington Mass today, looking for a new MBP. Unfortunately only iPhone customers allowed in the store. Maybe if I wait until Monday or Tuesday they will let non-iPhone customers in? They had 3rd party security keeping things orderly. Lines were not long to get in, but why wait in line if I don't even want to buy an iPhone?

2 AT&T stores in the same mall, counted 4 customers in each store, but it could have been 2 couples.

 

[Tardyon]

Of course, I am in an angry mood though, I am sitting at work while my new phone is sitting at home...alone, just waiting for me to return.

With that hacking cough? You really should go home and get some rest.

 

[brop52]

I agree that they can't make that much profit with all of the volume on their network from iPhone users. If you add on the subsidy and premier discounts for employees and students at 10%+ that cuts into their profits further. Everyone likes to blame AT&T, but there are no other alternatives in the US right now that have a network that can handle this. Not to mention CDMA will never be an option so quit crying about Verizon. Verizon has a long way to go before they come to 4G and GSM.

 

[marksman]

No biggy. Pre sold at least 2 million I heard.

 

[iFalcon]

I just purchased my first iPhone and also joined ATT for the first time.

I did the preapproval through Apple and strolled down to the store over lunch. Very light crowd.

What surprised me is the whole purchasing and activating experience. Met someone at the door, asked for my information, another person took care of getting me setup from there. All using their portable devices. I was out of the store in 20 minutes.

We also still have a Sprint account and can wait at least an hour no matter what needs to be done.

In the end, just an overall enjoyable experience on getting up and going.

 

[manu chao]

I am not eligible for the cheap upgrade, but I am getting my 3GS for $199 through a friend anyway so I have no problem with AT&T. You really think AT&T paid $700 for that phone they sold me for $200 last year? Haha, you probably think it really costs them $30 per person to provide that data coverage too. AT&T and all other phone companies make back any and all money they "loan" you within months of starting the contract. The whole 2 year deal is really just there to make them more and more money. Based off this you probably have nothing against raising gas prices either because you think the oil companies are just covering their costs and barely turning a profit.

First, the iPhone (3G and 3GS) are sold without contract in a lot of countries. Right now in Italy the prices for such phones are €499, €599, and €699 or the 8 GB 3G, the 16 GB 3GS, and the 32 GB 3GS when you buy them in the Apple online store. At one provider over there, they add even €20 to these prices.
It is pretty obvious that the subsidy is thus €400 per phone.

Now, to your second point that the providers make insane profits on these phones. Yes, they make large profits on them. The question is whether this is just a very common business practice (making premium profits on premium products) or a general symptom of providers making large profits. Large profits usually occur when a company has a large competitive advantage or when the market is not competitive enough.

In short, if a company makes large profits in a competitive market there is nothing wrong about it. If the market is not competitive, one might want to do something about it (and bashing the company on the internet is probably not the most effective strategy of making a market more competitive).

 

[Mr Maui]

I just picked up two new iPhones at the Boston Apple Store on Boylston St. So if they sell a million, I'm accounting for about .000002% of the total.

Check your math. You put up 2/1000000 of 1%, not 2/1000000 of 100%. Your actual percentage of 1,000,000 phones would be .00002%.

 

[emaja]

Check your math. You put up 2/1000000 of 1%, not 2/1000000 of 100%. Your actual percentage of 1,000,000 phones would be .00002%.

And I thought we only had Grammar Nazis on this forum - LOL!

 

[TRAG]

Yeah Right! I went to my local at&t store this morning to get my wife the new 3Gs (she can really use the better battery life). I went at 9am and they had signs on the door that said "The line starts here". Went inside and absolutely NO customers and about 10 sales associates... I made a joke about nobody wanting the new iPhone and they just laughed. They only had the 32GB so I ended up going to the local Best Buy and got one. The girl at BB said that I was the first person to buy one. In fact, their system didn't have the SKU number loaded so they had to do a manual override or something... was in there 30 min!

I live in a small town. I* wanted to buy a 32 gig. The AT&T I went to only received five 16 gigs (sold out)and 10 32 gigs (had only sold 1 or 2). There were only 7 preordes. I went at 10 AM and got out at 11:30. They're system was ridiculously bogged.

 

[iPaf]

Wow... I'm writing from my iPhone 3GS at this moment and I'm AMAZED by this device! This is my first cellphone ever and I think I made the best choice to buy a good one right away! haha I even got the last one from the store I bought it from

 

[chr1s60]

First, the iPhone (3G and 3GS) are sold without contract in a lot of countries. Right now in Italy the prices for such phones are €499, €599, and €699 or the 8 GB 3G, the 16 GB 3GS, and the 32 GB 3GS when you buy them in the Apple online store. At one provider over there, they add even €20 to these prices.
It is pretty obvious that the subsidy is thus €400 per phone.

Now, to your second point that the providers make insane profits on these phones. Yes, they make large profits on them. The question is whether this is just a very common business practice (making premium profits on premium products) or a general symptom of providers making large profits. Large profits usually occur when a company has a large competitive advantage or when the market is not competitive enough.

In short, if a company makes large profits in a competitive market there is nothing wrong about it. If the market is not competitive, one might want to do something about it (and bashing the company on the internet is probably not the most effective strategy of making a market more competitive).

Like I have said before, I have no problem with a 2 year contract. Just don't say that my 2 year contract is specifically to pay off any loan that I was given from a provider. Yes, a portion of that contract does pay off that loan, but it does not take two years to pay it off. If it was really about that subsidy/loan they should include it as a detailed charge on your bill so you could really see when you were paid off and how much per month goes to cover that loss. Unfortunately, Cell Phone companies (not just AT&T) are more about money than the customers.

 

[luvmycountry]

Im sorry if Im not impressed with the new phone. I dont even need to know how fast it is because its irrelevant. I had to give up my iphone last week because the AT@T service is pathetic. I was losing calls left and right. I went to the blackberry Storm and will not return to Iphone until its with Verizon. I own 3 macs and stock but the phone sucks. Now if it was called something other than a phone then things might be different but I need one that I can use to call .

 

[NoExpectations]

I think that should be "damn you Verizon" for not making a deal with Apple.

Exactly. It's easy to target AT&T (and all wireless providers), but at least someone over there made a fine, solid business decision.

 

[Zargot]

Guess I won't go to this store...

Thought about heading to the nearest Apple Store to check out the scene today... Just in case I decided to make the jump from my 1st generation iPhone to the GS I went ahead with the pre-authorization online. For some reason, the website was saying the nearest stores were the Willow Bend and Dallas locations instead of Southlake...

Maybe someone was really upset at not being eligible for the upgrade?
View attachment 177657

 

[brop52]

Wow... I'm writing from my iPhone 3GS at this moment and I'm AMAZED by this device! This is my first cellphone ever and I think I made the best choice to buy a good one right away! haha I even got the last one from the store I bought it from

That's a big jump from no cell phone. Enjoy it.

 

[Clive At Five]

From where are all these people coming, who can afford iPhones?

...and how do i get their jobs?

-Clive

 

[E.Lizardo]

"Despite the seemingly shorter lines at the iPhone 3G S, it seems that the early sales number estimates for the iPhone 3G S launch could even exceed the iPhone 3G launch. Apple managed to sell 1 million of the iPhone 3Gs during its launch weekend last year. Unlike last year, however, Apple and AT&T have allowed pre-orders for the latest iPhone device.

UK mobile carrier O2 reveals that by lunchtime, they've already sold more iPhone 3G S handsets than they did during the entire day of the iPhone 3G launch. They expect by the end of the day to have sold more than 50% more than last year's opening day.

Meanwhile, AppleInsider notes that AT&T has revealed that AT&T has sold "hundreds of thousands" of iPhone 3G S's ahead of the launch. Based on these numbers, the site also speculates that Apple could easily sell more than a million devices during the first three days."

But..but..but the wise observers on these boards said it wouldn't sell near as many as 3G opening weekend!!
Remember?
"Saturated" market(1%?Huh?)
Carrier exclusivity
Not a big enough upgrade
Price to upgrade before contract is up

How can this be???

Never underestimate apple.

 

[Mr Maui]

... Unfortunately, Cell Phone companies (not just AT&T) are more about money than the customers.

Exactly ... so rip wireless service providers in general as opposed to AT&T specifically.