AT&T's record holiday quarter signals sales of 8M iPhones - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by lkrupp 

So eight out of ten smartphones sold by AT&T were iPhones yet there were claims that AT&T stores were actively trying to steer customers away from it?
And by the way, Android is WINNING!

The incredible thing is that these aren't just claims, it's the truth. I've went up to their booths (and other carriers) a few times pretending to be a potential customer to see what happens. EVERY SINGLE TIME I got recommended the S3. When I ask about the iPhone, the general response I get is 'yeah i guess its a good phone if you like apple, but doesnt have near as many features as the SAMSUNG GALAXY S3." They they go on about screen size and start listing all the touchwiz gimmicks, as if they're Samsung employees. Never in my life have I seen a phone that has been advertised and pushed so, so heavily. Massive banners in every mall/store I go to, constant radio ads by the carriers, prominently displayed on all their brochures, never-ending TV ads, etc. Compared to the level of iPhone 5 advertising, the S3 is in another universe. Which makes iPhone sales in the US all the more impressive and stunning. 

I guess Apple Stores are to be given credit, one of the smartest and most forwarding thinking moves SJ did. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by NexusPhan 

 

I'd like to point out that this very article said Samsung alone sold 63 million smartphones and Apple sold 48 million. That's quite a massive about more than Apple and it's only one company using Google's software. IDK how you define winning, but that's hard to argue with.

 

The real winning is this article: http://gizmodo.com/5973073/an-iphone-lovers-confession-i-switched-to-the-nexus-4-completely

Honestly, this person has way too much time, and he did say he is a pro, meaning he is a pro at trying every new product on the market. I too am a pro but my time is worth more than the time it take to keep learning new products and how to use them. I have switch from one product to another and I measure success on how long it takes me to learn how to use it. So if I can pick it up and use it immediately without learning anything about it then It was a very successful product. Simple point of this every Android phone and software version required a few minutes just to figure how to make a call, and I am on my 4 android phone and have used ever version of Android software. That is just learning how to make a call forget about all the other things. So that is a failure in itself.

Also, Android sell lots since they are given away, and people are just replacing an otherwise useless android phone just to be replace with another one since the old one can not be upgrade to the new software. Android took a lesson out of M$ playbook, add new software features which required hardware to be updated, thus helping your hardware partners make more sales.

So, you tell me how long does it take people to move from one phone to the next and how long does it take for you to get everything from the old phone to the new one.

You can not measure success on someone who gets off on challenge of changing hardware every time something new comes out.

Originally Posted by smalM 
Munster maybe a member of the "Church of Market Share" as John Gruber names it.

Every religion needs a symbol. Wonder what that one would be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob53 

Why does Apple have to compete for the low-end smartphone market? Samsung sells a lot of cheap phones, so what? The race isn't for the most, it's for the best and Apple knows that. It's the crazy analysts who think all smartphones are equal. They aren't.

I totally agree.  Apple has said many times its mission is to provide its users the best experiences.  It will be difficult to impossible to do so with the low-end cheap phones. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tallest Skil 

 

Every religion needs a symbol. Wonder what that one would be.

 

 

"Today's sermon will be taken from a passage in the Book of Digitimes, chapter 2, verse 1."  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apple ][ 

Congratulations to the Apple shorts!

 

It seems like whenever there is some positive news, AAPL goes down.

From their point of view that only means there are now less positive news left in Apples future 

Originally Posted by allenbf 
"Today's sermon will be taken from a passage in the Book of Digitimes, chapter 2, verse 1."  

"1But Truth, you see, Truth is flighty. Truth is not a definite thing, nor is it assured. 2One cannot come upon Truth by search through information. 3Truth can only come from exploring every option and reporting every permutation thereof."

Quote:

Originally Posted by lkrupp 

So eight out of ten smartphones sold by AT&T were iPhones yet there were claims that AT&T stores were actively trying to steer customers away from it?
And by the way, Android is WINNING!

right..  because AT&T is the only wireless carrier in the world..  LOL

Quote:

Originally Posted by IronTed 

The world's best smartphone ever is here... the new Xperia Z from Sony: http://www.xperiablog.net/2013/01/08/xperia-z-and-xperia-zl-promo-videos/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

I wish the next iPhone is waterproof like this one. Very very cool feature - no more special camera/case needed for snorkeling, waterfall, or extreme sports shots.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slurpy 

 

The incredible thing is that these aren't just claims, it's the truth. I've went up to their booths (and other carriers) a few times pretending to be a potential customer to see what happens. EVERY SINGLE TIME I got recommended the S3. When I ask about the iPhone, the general response I get is 'yeah i guess its a good phone if you like apple, but doesnt have near as many features as the SAMSUNG GALAXY S3." They they go on about screen size and start listing all the touchwiz gimmicks, as if they're Samsung employees. Never in my life have I seen a phone that has been advertised and pushed so, so heavily. Massive banners in every mall/store I go to, constant radio ads by the carriers, prominently displayed on all their brochures, never-ending TV ads, etc. Compared to the level of iPhone 5 advertising, the S3 is in another universe. Which makes iPhone sales in the US all the more impressive and stunning. 

 

I guess Apple Stores are to be given credit, one of the smartest and most forwarding thinking moves SJ did. 

AT&T and Verizon sales people have been pushing terrible phones since the beginning, and I can only imagine them having a party when the Maps kerfuffle started.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OriginalG 

 

I'm basically one of the users you'd reference. Long time iOS user, had a Galaxy Nexus from work for over a year on Gingerbread which I didn't like, but once I got Jellybean (after a long delay from Canadian carriers, more on this in a bit), I really liked it. I bought my own Nexus 7 a few months ago before the iPad mini came out and I'm starting to 'get' Android now. I'd say if I were to choose from nothing, I'd lean towards Android but it's not enough to switch over from iOS, both have very strong advantages. It just seemed like both were making big updates every year and now Android is finally not frustrating to use, while iOS didn't make any leaps overall with the last version.

 

It'll be very hard for Android to fix the upgrade process. Many of the device still user carrier specific builds which the carrier generally has to approve (and pay) for the upgrades (from what I've learned), unless the users root their phones. Since the sale on the hardware is already made, there is little incentive for the carrier to oblige. Apple has more control and has a much easier time getting updates out. It took many more months for me to get JB on my Nexus because of stupid Canadian carrier requirements for the device (JB build provided by Samsung, not Google for the Canadian Galaxy Nexus), but I still laugh when my co-workers try to tout Android as better than iOS when they're running Gingerbread with no manufacturer upgrade path (they have GS2's) compared to iOS updates.

OrigionalG, you are correct this is exactly what I am talking about.  Current IOS users are probably not going to jump ship (However I do know some that did), but with someone coming in completely new, the current version of Android is very good.  For the price difference it is probably good enough for the masses. 

I also agree that I do not see how Google is going to fix the upgrade process, but they seem to be tightening up on the Android hardware requirements to try and stop the fragmentation problem.  It is not hard to believe that they are also looking at the upgrade problem too.  Regardless of your opinion of Google they are not fools.

Yes! I remember when Samsung had that press conference and showed off its touch sensitive phone and Apple had to throw stuff together just to get into the market. I mean, it was all Samsung for a year, right? Samsung's touch sensitive phone with an App store and integrated maps. With a good mobile browser. All Samsung. Thank god for their innovation.

It's not petty theft, but if you look back and see Steve introduce the iPhone, and read all the people who said it was dumb and would fail, and a year later when everyone else 'invents' one, it should inform your opinion. I wouldn't call it stealing. I'd just call it a lack of imagination on many other companies parts. Someone showed them how to do it right.

All this will change again in 5 years. Android vs iOS may not matter at that point anymore than having access to Tolkien Ring networks matter now. This area is  changing faster and faster. Do you think in 20 years you will run the same OS on anything you have now? From the same companies? The future will belong to the company that invents the next thing. This isn't a war. It's already a documentary on one little technology battle. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ndirishfan1975 

Final sales numbers were not listed; however, it did say it was a record for smartphones in general and iPhones specifically. Since they sold 7.6 million iPhones last year, it is not a stretch to infer they sold 8 million plus iPhones.  I guess logic is too hard for some people

An important note:

AT&T did NOT sell 7.6 million iPhones last year in that quarter.  AT&T does not release actual iPhone sales figures.

AT&T only gives iPhone ACTIVATION numbers, which includes resold and hand-me-down iPhones.  It sounds more impressive that way.

Old iPhone activations have previously accounted for anywhere from 10% to 25% of total iPhone activations, depending on how hot the new model was.  The more desirable it is, the more old iPhones that end up being reactivated by a different owner and included in the total.

Originally Posted by tooltalk 
right..  because AT&T is the only wireless carrier in the world..  LOL

8 out of 10 for ATT

6 out of 10 for verizon

7 or 8 out of 10 for sprint

And some people think android is ahead on the US.

Then you have other countries where Apple has the first, second and sometimes third best selling phone AND YOU GUYS ARE TALKING LIKE IF APPLE IS ALMOST DYING. WHY?

Then, that criminal at samsung, goes on to stage and says that samsung has the best selling smartphone. lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by lkrupp 

So eight out of ten smartphones sold by AT&T were iPhones yet there were claims that AT&T stores were actively trying to steer customers away from it?
And by the way, Android is WINNING!

Samsung was probably paying sales reps $25 per Galaxy phone because they are hard up for sales as their quarterly sales are actually declining for the S III.  They actually sold only 15 Million down from 18 Million for the Sept quarter.

Samsung did a record $8 Billion in Net profits.  Another RECORD.  Apple did $8 Billion in Apple's slowest quarter Sept for the year.

Samsung is WINNING!!

I can't wait to see what Apple did for the Dec quarter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jason98 

 

I wish the next iPhone is waterproof like this one. Very very cool feature - no more special camera/case needed for snorkeling, waterfall, or extreme sports shots.

Unfortunately carriers and phone makers make way too much money off of people who damage their phones and have to replace them off contract.

And FYI. The Motorola Raza Maxx comes with this already. Not sure why it isn't advertised more. Probably would make a good selling point but Verizon Droid marketing is horrible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul94544 

 Samsung relies mostly on volume. Apple historically has not  and relies on being first out of the gate. Nowadays other companes are wise to this strategy, and resist giving up content control  and  not giving in.

Apple is actually not first out of the gate.  They usually have a nack for taking exisiting technology and making it work better.  The iPod was not the first MP3 player, the iPhone was not the first smart phone or even the first touch phone, and the iPad was not the first tablet.  They all had a markedly better user experience than anything that came before.  That is what Apple has done better than anyone else the past decade.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricTheHalfBee 


I used to develop for Android/iOS. I gave up on Android as it's a mess. They have more market share but that means nothing when most of those devices are cheap phones without the power to run any quality App.
I'm not going to waste time developing for a phone with a 320x240 screen and a processor slower than my solar powered calculator. Once you remove these devices from the Android side then suddenly the market share favors Apple. iOS has more market share of high-end devices. iOS totally dominates tablets. Developers aren't going to be jumping ship anytime soon.
And even when Android starts to sell more high end devices do you actually think developers will suddenly stop developing for a market if several hundred million iOS users all with iTunes accounts willing to spend money? Seriously?

Starts selling more high end devices? Hmm....

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20121108005702/en/Strategy-Analytics-Samsung-Galaxy-S3-Worlds-Best-Selling

But you're right. Developers will continue to embrace both platforms for a long time to come. Anyone saying otherwise is pretty ignorant. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by NexusPhan 

 

This just is true. iOS has fart apps too. It's pretty desperate needing to separate out apps like that. We could do the same with iPhone.

And how could you possible know what Google counts as an app and how many Android apps are native? 750,000 on each market is monumental.

Android and native do not coexist. Android is java-based, there's nothing native about it.

What I said is that Android has a lot of customization-related apps, and even a wallpaper or skin or new buttons are "apps". The difference in quality between ecosystems is huge, not to mention the difference in "experience" you can get by using apps on iOS. The app was designed for "that" phone, "that" OS. That doesn't happen on Android.

Android is about "me too", "sort of", "close enough", "who cares". HTML5 on the best cases. There's nothing to see there. Shmidt said last year (12 months ago) that in six months (happened six months ago) developers would choose Android ahead of IOS: Reports show that Shmidt couldn't be more wrong. Developers love iOS and the difference was never as big as it is now. it makes sense, after all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NexusPhan 

 

Starts selling more high end devices? Hmm....

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20121108005702/en/Strategy-Analytics-Samsung-Galaxy-S3-Worlds-Best-Selling

 

But you're right. Developers will continue to embrace both platforms for a long time to come. Anyone saying otherwise is pretty ignorant. 

The iphone outsells every highend model put together at least 3 to one. Less than 14 million S3 SHIPPED this quarter...

Quote:

Originally Posted by NexusPhan 

 

Starts selling more high end devices? Hmm....

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20121108005702/en/Strategy-Analytics-Samsung-Galaxy-S3-Worlds-Best-Selling

 

But you're right. Developers will continue to embrace both platforms for a long time to come. Anyone saying otherwise is pretty ignorant. 

Great point.....the S3 was able to beat out a year old phone when everyone in the world knew that the next iPhone was right around the corner.  VERY impressive.  I'd say it was more impressive that the 4s held the crown for as long as it did against what was supposed to be a clearly supperior phone. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by pedromartins 

The iphone outsells every highend model put together at least 3 to one. Less than 14 million S3 SHIPPED this quarter...

You're totally right about shipped versus sold. Samsung just keeps making millions and millions of phones every month and posts record profits because they're not actually selling anything. Just shipping. We both know you're regurgitating what you've read on this site and we both know its more exaggerated that antennagate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ndirishfan1975 

Great point.....the S3 was able to beat out a year old phone when everyone in the world knew that the next iPhone was right around the corner.  VERY impressive.  I'd say it was more impressive that the 4s held the crown for as long as it did against what was supposed to be a clearly supperior phone. 

Honestly your post does not make sense if you really think about what you typed.  18million sold and the iPhone 5 was just around the corner; why did those 18 million not wait for the new iPhone?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ex iPhone Owner 

Honestly your post does not make sense if you really think about what you typed.  18million sold and the iPhone 5 was just around the corner; why did those 18 million not wait for the new iPhone?

Honestly the post does make sense. Yes they sold 18 million but the only reason they sold more, and barely more at that, than the year old iPhone 4s is because people that were wanting to buy iPhones were in large numbers waiting for either the iPhone 5 or for the iPhone 4s to get its price chopped by $100.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ndirishfan1975 

Honestly the post does make sense. Yes they sold 18 million but the only reason they sold more, and barely more at that, than the year old iPhone 4s is because people that were wanting to buy iPhones were in large numbers waiting for either the iPhone 5 or for the iPhone 4s to get its price chopped by $100.

My point wasn't about it selling more than the iPhone. It was pointing out that the statement "even when Android starts to sell more high end devices" is completely off the mark. Stop being so defensive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ex iPhone Owner 

Honestly your post does not make sense if you really think about what you typed.  18million sold and the iPhone 5 was just around the corner; why did those 18 million not wait for the new iPhone?

His point is not that the 18M would have been affected, but the number of iPhones sold was down because of the waiting. e.g. if it was 15M iPhone 4Ss sold, it could have 20M, thereby beating out the S3. So iPhones sales were down the previous quarter than 'normal' but also higher this past quarter than 'normal' after the waiting was over. You'll then also get some people (including Apple) saying it would have even been higher if they could make them faster.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slurpy 

 

The incredible thing is that these aren't just claims, it's the truth. I've went up to their booths (and other carriers) a few times pretending to be a potential customer to see what happens. EVERY SINGLE TIME I got recommended the S3. When I ask about the iPhone, the general response I get is 'yeah i guess its a good phone if you like apple, but doesnt have near as many features as the SAMSUNG GALAXY S3."

I would just LOVE IT, if Apple were to negotiate a slightly better margin with, say Sprint...then offer Apple salespersons with higher commissions on iPhones and iPads that are signed up on the Sprint network.  How would that go?  Good I think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rogifan 

Whether its sales figures or activation numbers I think it's well established that AT&T sells more iPhones than any other phone.

Yep, no doubt.  Just pointing out that if AT&T says they sold 10 million smartphones and then says 8 million iPhones were activated, that doesn't mean 8 million were sold.  Using past history, it could be as low as 6 million new phones actually sold, plus 2 million old phones reactivated by the next owners.  (Which is still quite amazing.  It's great how well iPhones do on the second hand market!)

As for comparing Apple sales with Samsung, it might make more sense to compare Apple's high end iPhone 5 sales, with Samsung's high end sales of both their S3 and the Note 2.   All depends on what the point is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricTheHalfBee 

The S3 overtook the iPhone for a very short period of time just before the iPhone 5 came out. Wait until next report when we find the iPhone 5 has sold more in a single quarter than the S3 has sold since it was launched.
Edit: Directed at phan

Man. I picked a terrible article for my point. I meant only to rebuff the "even when Android starts to sell more high end devices" If you look at that article, iPhone (4s + 5) sold more than the Galaxy S3 last quarter. That wasn't the purpose of posting the article. Sorry for the confusion.

What are you talking about, they are saying SIII sales will be around 60mil this quarter alone even the most optimistic Apple # won't likely surpass 60 mil...

And I don't get how good this news is suppose to be, 8mil give or take sounds like a very small number.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingChael 

What are you talking about, they are saying SIII sales will be around 60mil this quarter alone even the most optimistic Apple # won't likely surpass 60 mil...

 

And I don't get how good this news is suppose to be, 8mil give or take sounds like a very small number.
 

After Googling, I assume you're trying to reference this article:

http://www.zdnet.com/samsung-to-ship-over-60m-smartphones-in-q4-7000007714/

which says 60M smartphones of which they estimate 15M GS3's. There's no point in trying to trick people with ridiculous numbers when they can easily look up and rebuff your statements.

Regardless 15M GS3's are still a lot of phones, but in this context will not come close to iPhone 5 sales.

and 60M smartphones sold include craptastic Android devices too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dasanman69 




Hit the phone icon and lo and behold a number pad pops up.

Assuming if the icon looked the same and was in the same location on every software release and hardware release. Which is was not. With Android you our in a perpetual experiment to see if they can make it slightly better.

Originally Posted by Maestro64 
Assuming if the icon looked the same and was in the same location on every software release and hardware release. Which is was not. With Android you our in a perpetual experiment to see if they can make it slightly better.

Android: the Perpetual Experiment

I like it.