People's contracts expire every single day of the year.
If Verizon has 100 million customers... 130,000 of them have their contracts expire today. And 130,000 will expire tomorrow... and so on.
There is really no good time for a company to release a phone based on when people's contracts are up.
If you release a phone today... someone will be ready to buy today. And the same is true for tomorrow. And next week. And next month.
My Verizon contract happens to expire on November 30, 2015. But there are plenty of people whose contracts expire tomorrow... and every day in between. So like I said... there is no perfect time for a company to release a phone since contracts are constantly expiring.
A person upgrades their phone once every 2 years... but people upgrade their phone every day.
Their best bet is to just release the phone and hope someone buys it. That's pretty much all they can do.
There are a lot whose contract expiry dates coincide with iPhone launch dates, millions of contracts restart at that time.
People's contracts expire every single day of the year.
If Verizon has 100 million customers... 130,000 of them have their contracts expire today. And 130,000 will expire tomorrow... and so on.
There is really no good time for a company to release a phone based on when people's contracts are up.
If you release a phone today... someone will be ready to buy today. And the same is true for tomorrow. And next week. And next month.
My Verizon contract happens to expire on November 30, 2015. But there are plenty of people whose contracts expire tomorrow... and every day in between. So like I said... there is no perfect time for a company to release a phone since contracts are constantly expiring.
A person upgrades their phone once every 2 years... but people upgrade their phone every day.
Their best bet is to just release the phone and hope someone buys it. That's pretty much all they can do.
The highest sales any phone is going to have will be in the first 3 months after launching. If a company sells several million phones during a 3 month period than it would behoove them to try to retain those millions of customers when their contracts are up by having a nice new shiny device to upgrade to.
There are a lot whose contract expiry dates coincide with iPhone launch dates, millions of contracts restart at that time.
Exactly, and how many more millions of contracts are up to coincide with the SGS? Except for the little hiccup between the 4S and 5, Apple has released the iPhone the same time every year, so all those with expiring contracts have a phone to upgrade to.
There are a lot whose contract expiry dates coincide with iPhone launch dates, millions of contracts restart at that time.
Maybe so... but not all iPhones are sold immediately after launch.
Apple sold 31 million iPhones in a quarter six months after launch... and 33 million iPhones nine months after launch... further proof that Apple is selling iPhones all year long.
Granted, those are worldwide sales and mostly off contract... but still. My point was that people buy phones every day.
Whenever I am in a Verizon store... there are always a few people upgrading their phones... any time of year.
Manufacturers aren't targeting a particular time of year.
The highest sales any phone is going to have will be in the first 3 months after launching. If a company sells several million phones during a 3 month period than it would behoove them to try to retain those millions of customers when their contracts are up by having a nice new shiny device to upgrade to.
Highest? Yes. But not all iPhones get purchased during the launch quarter. As I said earlier... iPhones sell all year long.
Apple is unique in that they tend to have a solid launch period for their phone. Once a year... usually in Sept/Oct. Anyone who bought an iPhone around that time will be able to upgrade to another iPhone around that time in 2 years.
But again... iPhones sell all year long.
My initial comment was about your brother's inability to find an HTC phone when he was ready to upgrade.
My point was... there's no way for HTC to plan when most people's contracts expire. As I said... contracts expire all year long.
We hear about new phones all the time... are their launch dates based on anything in particular? Or are they just trying to get them on the market as soon as possible?
Speaking of HTC... they just released the new HTC One today. Is there any particular reason why they chose today? Is there anything special about this date?
Probably not. They just wanted to get it out there.
Maybe so... but not all iPhones are sold immediately after launch.
Apple sold 31 million iPhones in a quarter six months after launch... and 33 million iPhones nine months after launch... further proof that Apple is selling iPhones all year long.
Granted, those are worldwide sales and mostly off contract... but still. My point was that people buy phones every day.
Whenever I am in a Verizon store... there are always a few people upgrading their phones... any time of year.
Manufacturers aren't targeting a particular time of year.
Highest? Yes. But not all iPhones get purchased during the launch quarter. As I said earlier... iPhones sell all year long.
Apple is unique in that they tend to have a solid launch period for their phone. Once a year... usually in Sept/Oct. Anyone who bought an iPhone around that time will be able to upgrade to another iPhone around that time in 2 years.
But again... iPhones sell all year long.
My initial comment was about your brother's inability to find an HTC phone when he was ready to upgrade.
My point was... there's no way for HTC to plan when most people's contracts expire. As I said... contracts expire all year long.
We hear about new phones all the time... are their launch dates based on anything in particular? Or are they just trying to get them on the market as soon as possible?
Speaking of HTC... they just released the new HTC One today. Is there any particular reason why they chose today? Is there anything special about this date?
Probably not. They just wanted to get it out there.
But maybe just maybe they'd have more customers if they had a steady release cycle of a flagship device. Yes Apple sells iPhones all year round, but I'd say a good amount of them came from another phone.
I'm sure my brother wasn't the only one that would've preferred to get another HTC but since there wasn't a inspiring phone from them choose something else. It's good business to retain your current customer base and grow from there. Ignore a faithful customer base, and well you end up where HTC is now.
But maybe just maybe they'd have more customers if they had a steady release cycle of a flagship device. Yes Apple sells iPhones all year round, but I'd say a good amount of them came from another phone.
I'm sure my brother wasn't the only one that would've preferred to get another HTC but since there wasn't a inspiring phone from them choose something else. It's good business to retain your current customer base and grow from there. Ignore a faithful customer base, and well you end up where HTC is now.
When was your brother shopping for a new phone? Was it before or after the previous HTC One was on the market?
I don't remember when exactly the previous HTC One was released. But that brings up another issue.
How often should flagship phones be released? Too soon and people get upset. Wait too long and people get upset as well.
Apple releases one new phone per year at around the same time in September or October. But clearly people don't have a problem buying a 6 month iPhone. I mean... they know another one is coming in another 6 months... but they still buy the current iPhone.
Samsung Galaxy S releases in April or May. I'm not sure about other companies' flagships.
Was the HTC One simply too old for your brother? Could he not wait for the next HTC One? Or was it the lack of a clear release schedule from HTC that made your brother unsure?
When was your brother shopping for a new phone? Was it before or after the previous HTC One was on the market?
I don't remember when exactly the previous HTC One was released. But that brings up another issue.
How often should flagship phones be released? Too soon and people get upset. Wait too long and people get upset as well.
Apple releases one new phone per year at around the same time in September or October. But clearly people don't have a problem buying a 6 month iPhone. I mean... they know another one is coming in another 6 months... but they still buy the current iPhone.
Samsung Galaxy S releases in April or May. I'm not sure about other companies' flagships.
Was the HTC One simply too old for your brother? Could he not wait for the next HTC One? Or was it the lack of a clear release schedule from HTC that made your brother unsure?
The HTC One was out, but not on VZW. Had he known that they were going to eventually on VZ he would have waited. He didn't like the design of the HTC Droid DNA, so he went iPhone instead.
clearly people don't have a problem buying a 6 month iPhone. I mean... they know another one is coming in another 6 months... but they still buy the current iPhone.
Safe to do so on the solid number, but do people still buy six months after the release of the "S" model?
Buying an iPhone 4 or iPhone 5 six months after release is no big deal because the next year's model will be just an incremental evolution of the present version (the 4 is replaced by the 4S, the 5 is replaced by the 5S) but once the "S" version is out the countdown is on to potential for serious changes. Do people still buy iPhones in significant numbers six months after release of an "S" version?
Not a fan of the slogan "Go Ahead, Ask The Internet" but overall I'd say those are pretty good ads. Certainly better than that teaser we saw from the presentation.
Safe to do so on the solid number, but do people still buy six months after the release of the "S" model?
Buying an iPhone 4 or iPhone 5 six months after release is no big deal because the next year's model will be just an incremental evolution of the present version (the 4 is replaced by the 4S, the 5 is replaced by the 5S) but once the "S" version is out the countdown is on to potential for serious changes. Do people still buy iPhones in significant numbers six months after release of an "S" version?
Not everyone cares about what comes next. Many want the best phone now and not 3-6 months from now.
Maybe so... but not all iPhones are sold immediately after launch.
Apple sold 31 million iPhones in a quarter six months after launch... and 33 million iPhones nine months after launch... further proof that Apple is selling iPhones all year long.
Granted, those are worldwide sales and mostly off contract... but still. My point was that people buy phones every day.
Whenever I am in a Verizon store... there are always a few people upgrading their phones... any time of year.
Manufacturers aren't targeting a particular time of year.
Highest? Yes. But not all iPhones get purchased during the launch quarter. As I said earlier... iPhones sell all year long.
Apple is unique in that they tend to have a solid launch period for their phone. Once a year... usually in Sept/Oct. Anyone who bought an iPhone around that time will be able to upgrade to another iPhone around that time in 2 years.
But again... iPhones sell all year long.
My initial comment was about your brother's inability to find an HTC phone when he was ready to upgrade.
My point was... there's no way for HTC to plan when most people's contracts expire. As I said... contracts expire all year long.
We hear about new phones all the time... are their launch dates based on anything in particular? Or are they just trying to get them on the market as soon as possible?
Speaking of HTC... they just released the new HTC One today. Is there any particular reason why they chose today? Is there anything special about this date?
Probably not. They just wanted to get it out there.
Six to seven million iPhones sell over the first three days.
Fifty or so million a quarter with staggered international launches.
Apple is on a completely different level to anyone else.
I was just explaining that contracts expire every day. And that there's no perfect time for a company to launch a phone.
But yes... iPhone launches are a huge event
I disagree, if a company is going to build and grow a customer base it's much more beneficial to have a specific times to release their product. While contracts expire all the time I'm sure a great deal of them expire at launches of the most popular devices than other times of the year.
You also have to take into consideration that the VZW iPhone launch came well after the AT&T one, as did the Sprint and T-Mobile launches. All those first adopter's contracts expire at different times of the year.
If none of these other manufacturers find some stability in the form of build quality, and launch cycles they'll never stand a chance against Apple, or even Samsung.
I disagree, if a company is going to build and grow a customer base it's much more beneficial to have a specific times to release their product. While contracts expire all the time I'm sure a great deal of them expire at launches of the most popular devices than other times of the year.
You also have to take into consideration that the VZW iPhone launch came well after the AT&T one, as did the Sprint and T-Mobile launches. All those first adopter's contracts expire at different times of the year.
If none of these other manufacturers find some stability in the form of build quality, and launch cycles they'll never stand a chance against Apple, or even Samsung.
Yeah I agree that companies should have a schedule for releasing their flagship phone. That might improve the situation.
Then again... 2 years will have passed since a person bought their last phone. Who says they will stick with the same manufacturer?
Do you think HTC chose to launch the HTC One today because they know a huge number of people have their contracts expiring soon?
I'm not sure the carriers share that much data. But they could. I've never thought about that.
The carriers want people walking in the door every day, all year, signing contracts and paying monthly fees. And the manufacturers want to sell hardware to the carriers.
Timing is key. You'd be a fool to launch your phone anywhere near an Apple or Samsung release. But there are contracts expiring at those times too... so you're gonna miss those people.
Yeah it's a tricky situation... I'd hate to be the person making those decisions!
Who says they will stick with the same manufacturer?
There's no guarantee that they'll stick with the same manufacturer, but there's almost a guarantee that they won't if there isn't a suitable device to upgrade to.
There's no guarantee that they'll stick with the same manufacturer, but there's almost a guarantee that they won't if there isn't a suitable device to upgrade to.
There should always be something from your favorite manufacturer when you go to buy your next phone in 2 years.
Your brother's situation was kind of an anomaly with the HTC One not being on Verizon yet. They had the DNA, right?
But for any other manufacturer... you can walk into a store at any time of the year and find a phone.
It's tricky though... how do you make your phone appealing to someone in April... and to someone in October? The "once-a-year" release schedule can be a challenge.
Yeah I agree that companies should have a schedule for releasing their flagship phone. That might improve the situation.
Then again... 2 years will have passed since a person bought their last phone. Who says they will stick with the same manufacturer?
Do you think HTC chose to launch the HTC One today because they know a huge number of people have their contracts expiring soon?
I'm not sure the carriers share that much data. But they could. I've never thought about that.
The carriers want people walking in the door every day, all year, signing contracts and paying monthly fees. And the manufacturers want to sell hardware to the carriers.
Timing is key. You'd be a fool to launch your phone anywhere near an Apple or Samsung release. But there are contracts expiring at those times too... so you're gonna miss those people.
Yeah it's a tricky situation... I'd hate to be the person making those decisions!
HTC is trying for a few weeks lead before the Samsung S5 juggernaught rolls into town, that's all they've got, maybe a few switchers two years after the S3 launch.
I attended the S5 launch on Tuesday night, the same day HTC launched the M8.
Pre sales started today for the S5, about a week ago for the M8.
HTC is trying for a few weeks lead before the Samsung S5 juggernaught rolls into town, that's all they've got, maybe a few switchers two years after the S3 launch.
I attended the S5 launch on Tuesday night, the same day HTC launched the M8.
Would it be better if HTC launched halfway between Samsung and Apple? Like in Summer?
It's crazy that anyone even attempts to launch anywhere close to either of them.
Comments
People's contracts expire every single day of the year.
If Verizon has 100 million customers... 130,000 of them have their contracts expire today. And 130,000 will expire tomorrow... and so on.
There is really no good time for a company to release a phone based on when people's contracts are up.
If you release a phone today... someone will be ready to buy today. And the same is true for tomorrow. And next week. And next month.
My Verizon contract happens to expire on November 30, 2015. But there are plenty of people whose contracts expire tomorrow... and every day in between. So like I said... there is no perfect time for a company to release a phone since contracts are constantly expiring.
A person upgrades their phone once every 2 years... but people upgrade their phone every day.
Their best bet is to just release the phone and hope someone buys it. That's pretty much all they can do.
There are a lot whose contract expiry dates coincide with iPhone launch dates, millions of contracts restart at that time.
The highest sales any phone is going to have will be in the first 3 months after launching. If a company sells several million phones during a 3 month period than it would behoove them to try to retain those millions of customers when their contracts are up by having a nice new shiny device to upgrade to.
Exactly, and how many more millions of contracts are up to coincide with the SGS? Except for the little hiccup between the 4S and 5, Apple has released the iPhone the same time every year, so all those with expiring contracts have a phone to upgrade to.
Maybe so... but not all iPhones are sold immediately after launch.
Apple sold 31 million iPhones in a quarter six months after launch... and 33 million iPhones nine months after launch... further proof that Apple is selling iPhones all year long.
Granted, those are worldwide sales and mostly off contract... but still. My point was that people buy phones every day.
Whenever I am in a Verizon store... there are always a few people upgrading their phones... any time of year.
Manufacturers aren't targeting a particular time of year.
Highest? Yes. But not all iPhones get purchased during the launch quarter. As I said earlier... iPhones sell all year long.
Apple is unique in that they tend to have a solid launch period for their phone. Once a year... usually in Sept/Oct. Anyone who bought an iPhone around that time will be able to upgrade to another iPhone around that time in 2 years.
But again... iPhones sell all year long.
My initial comment was about your brother's inability to find an HTC phone when he was ready to upgrade.
My point was... there's no way for HTC to plan when most people's contracts expire. As I said... contracts expire all year long.
We hear about new phones all the time... are their launch dates based on anything in particular? Or are they just trying to get them on the market as soon as possible?
Speaking of HTC... they just released the new HTC One today. Is there any particular reason why they chose today? Is there anything special about this date?
Probably not. They just wanted to get it out there.
But maybe just maybe they'd have more customers if they had a steady release cycle of a flagship device. Yes Apple sells iPhones all year round, but I'd say a good amount of them came from another phone.
I'm sure my brother wasn't the only one that would've preferred to get another HTC but since there wasn't a inspiring phone from them choose something else. It's good business to retain your current customer base and grow from there. Ignore a faithful customer base, and well you end up where HTC is now.
When was your brother shopping for a new phone? Was it before or after the previous HTC One was on the market?
I don't remember when exactly the previous HTC One was released. But that brings up another issue.
How often should flagship phones be released? Too soon and people get upset. Wait too long and people get upset as well.
Apple releases one new phone per year at around the same time in September or October. But clearly people don't have a problem buying a 6 month iPhone. I mean... they know another one is coming in another 6 months... but they still buy the current iPhone.
Samsung Galaxy S releases in April or May. I'm not sure about other companies' flagships.
Was the HTC One simply too old for your brother? Could he not wait for the next HTC One? Or was it the lack of a clear release schedule from HTC that made your brother unsure?
The HTC One was out, but not on VZW. Had he known that they were going to eventually on VZ he would have waited. He didn't like the design of the HTC Droid DNA, so he went iPhone instead.
Safe to do so on the solid number, but do people still buy six months after the release of the "S" model?
Buying an iPhone 4 or iPhone 5 six months after release is no big deal because the next year's model will be just an incremental evolution of the present version (the 4 is replaced by the 4S, the 5 is replaced by the 5S) but once the "S" version is out the countdown is on to potential for serious changes. Do people still buy iPhones in significant numbers six months after release of an "S" version?
Gary Oldman HTC One (M8) commercial:
1. "Blah Blah Blah"
2. "Go Ahead, Ask The Internet"
Not a fan of the slogan "Go Ahead, Ask The Internet" but overall I'd say those are pretty good ads. Certainly better than that teaser we saw from the presentation.
I guess it depends on what you think is significant.
Apple sold 26 million iPhones and 26.9 million iPhones in the quarters 6 months and 9 months after the launch of the iPhone 4S
Sure... it's not as many as the first two quarters of the iPhone 4S launch... where they sold 37 million and 35 million respectively.
But my point is... people still buy iPhones when they know a new one is around the corner. And even when a major redesign is approaching.
72 million for the first half of the year... 53 million for the second half of the year. Not bad.
Not everyone cares about what comes next. Many want the best phone now and not 3-6 months from now.
Six to seven million iPhones sell over the first three days.
Fifty or so million a quarter with staggered international launches.
Apple is on a completely different level to anyone else.
Yep! That goes without saying. Apple is unique
I was just explaining that contracts expire every day. And that there's no perfect time for a company to launch a phone.
But yes... iPhone launches are a huge event
I disagree, if a company is going to build and grow a customer base it's much more beneficial to have a specific times to release their product. While contracts expire all the time I'm sure a great deal of them expire at launches of the most popular devices than other times of the year.
You also have to take into consideration that the VZW iPhone launch came well after the AT&T one, as did the Sprint and T-Mobile launches. All those first adopter's contracts expire at different times of the year.
If none of these other manufacturers find some stability in the form of build quality, and launch cycles they'll never stand a chance against Apple, or even Samsung.
Yeah I agree that companies should have a schedule for releasing their flagship phone. That might improve the situation.
Then again... 2 years will have passed since a person bought their last phone. Who says they will stick with the same manufacturer?
Do you think HTC chose to launch the HTC One today because they know a huge number of people have their contracts expiring soon?
I'm not sure the carriers share that much data. But they could. I've never thought about that.
The carriers want people walking in the door every day, all year, signing contracts and paying monthly fees. And the manufacturers want to sell hardware to the carriers.
Timing is key. You'd be a fool to launch your phone anywhere near an Apple or Samsung release. But there are contracts expiring at those times too... so you're gonna miss those people.
Yeah it's a tricky situation... I'd hate to be the person making those decisions!
There's no guarantee that they'll stick with the same manufacturer, but there's almost a guarantee that they won't if there isn't a suitable device to upgrade to.
There should always be something from your favorite manufacturer when you go to buy your next phone in 2 years.
Your brother's situation was kind of an anomaly with the HTC One not being on Verizon yet. They had the DNA, right?
But for any other manufacturer... you can walk into a store at any time of the year and find a phone.
It's tricky though... how do you make your phone appealing to someone in April... and to someone in October? The "once-a-year" release schedule can be a challenge.
Only Apple and Samsung can make that work.
HTC is trying for a few weeks lead before the Samsung S5 juggernaught rolls into town, that's all they've got, maybe a few switchers two years after the S3 launch.
I attended the S5 launch on Tuesday night, the same day HTC launched the M8.
Pre sales started today for the S5, about a week ago for the M8.
Would it be better if HTC launched halfway between Samsung and Apple? Like in Summer?
It's crazy that anyone even attempts to launch anywhere close to either of them.