In the article, he basically can't believe that many phones are unlocked or in inventory, so says that they must be sitting in people's houses waiting to be returned or something.
Not quite the same as saying they are all unlocked or in the stores.
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The Case Of The 1.4 Million Missing iPhones
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In the article, he basically can't believe that many phones are unlocked or in inventory, so says that they must be sitting in people's houses waiting to be returned or something.
Not quite the same as saying they are all unlocked or in the stores.
Sure they'd be doing better, getting their pound of flesh from monthly royalties. But it's a good bet that most of those unlocked phones are sales that would not have happened otherwise. For better or worse, there are many people who don't want (or can't be) on the carriers Apple has contracted with.
I like discussions as much as anyone, but not without logic. If Apple absolutely needed a contract to break even, they would not allow people to leave the store without one.
Apple said last quarter that they thought 18% of phones were unlocked. So I think we have those, the ones in stock, and probably 15% that had to be replaced because of problems.
PS. You can buy a Turbo or other SIM on eBay these days for about $30 that unlocks your phone for other carriers, without any software mods.
I suspect a lot of people have done this. Makes perfect sense, as you can continue to get Apple upgrades.
The only good reason to jailbreak these days is to use third party apps right away.
I suspect a lot of people have done this. Makes perfect sense, as you can continue to get Apple upgrades.
The only good reason to jailbreak these days is to use third party apps right away.
Good quote from the comments section of a Fortune article:
"This story is odd. Its like asking the question: Gap said they sold 4 million t-shirts but a report shows that only 2.6 million have been seen being worn. Wheres the other 1.4 million shirts? Who cares? Apple booked the sale. 4 million iPhones are out of their hands. If Im selling a product, I dont care if the customer uses it as a doorstop. I just care about them buying it."
http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/01/25/the-case-of-the-14-million-missing-iphones/
"This story is odd. Its like asking the question: Gap said they sold 4 million t-shirts but a report shows that only 2.6 million have been seen being worn. Wheres the other 1.4 million shirts? Who cares? Apple booked the sale. 4 million iPhones are out of their hands. If Im selling a product, I dont care if the customer uses it as a doorstop. I just care about them buying it."
http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/01/25/the-case-of-the-14-million-missing-iphones/
We care because the carriers would not be ordering a lot of iphones in future quarters if they still have a bunch of them in inventory.
How are replacements for exchanged phones counted?
Is the original purchase the only one that counts or does the sale/exchange of the replacement phone count as an additional sale?
Many people have had to exchange their phones multiple times due to battery, screen, or other issues. If each exchange counts as a sale, that would account for a possibly large number of phones "sold."
Is the original purchase the only one that counts or does the sale/exchange of the replacement phone count as an additional sale?
Many people have had to exchange their phones multiple times due to battery, screen, or other issues. If each exchange counts as a sale, that would account for a possibly large number of phones "sold."
Well I have a lot of friends with an iPhone and not even one is on AT&T network, so those numbers are pretty close I believe
These units are essentially given away. They are far from being labeled as "sold."
I would have thought the explanation was far simpler: Everyone gave/got iPhones over the holidays, it's January and no-one has money, a recession is looming, and a new iPhone revision is on the visible, if not immediate, horizon.
Not so sure about that. Got a cite? Any accountants here?
Many times Apple has said in their quarterly calls, that units shipped = units sold, as far as they're concerned.
I think this is why they were so generous in replacing broken screens at first. Anything to get an increment.
That would make sense if the cell phone itself were some new gadget, but all you describe is a matter of someone switching their AT&T or other existing contract over to the Apple plan.
While I'm sure it's true that your scenario is happening with a lot of folks, I find it hard to believe that it makes up even a vocal minority of the iPhones in question.
It doesn't work that way because you get exchanges from a Apple store --- which doesn't count "shipping" numbers. Apple stores count actual sales numbers.
Doesn't matter how Apple stores count. Apple corporate counts shipments to its (and AT&T's) stores as "sales". That much is well known and documented in the first quarterly call after it went on sale. Apple specifically said that their count even included any phones in transit to stores.
If they ship 100 units to a store, and that store sells 80 and replaces 20 others, that's still 100 "sales" in their news releases.
I noticed the same detail on that quarterly call. They detailed number shipped not the total number actually sold. I was wondering why everyone was counting "shipped" numbers as sold...whatever makes people feel left out
Reminds me of the music biz where artists used to ship platinum until soundscan came along and added some legitimacy to the numbers.