Reports: iPhone share slips as 8GB model discontinued in UK
Apple is among the handset makers who saw their share of the market slip early this year as the company slowed iPhone shipments, and is now reported to have discontinued the 8GB model in the UK ahead of a 3G version.
According to RegHardware, the recent move by UK wireless provider O2 and its retail partner Carephone Warehouse to offer the 8GB iPhone at a 100 pound discount has resulted in a near sellout of the device, with O2 indicating that restocking is unlikely.
Carphone Warehouse's website currently lists the 8GB handset as "out of stock" while O2's own site claims the model is "no longer available." In addition, O2 is said to have issued a memo to its stores and partners stating that it "will not be replenishing stock of this product as it has now gone to end of life."
In its own report issued Friday, research firm Strategy Analytics said that despite Apple having shipped 1.7 million iPhones during the first quarter of the year, tight supply of the touch-screen handsets resulted in the company's global market share falling for the first time, from 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
"Motorola and Sony Ericsson lost marketshare to rivals with stronger handset portfolios, such as LG and Samsung, while Apple has been hit by stock-outs in North America and lackluster demand for its overpriced iPhone in Western Europe," said analyst Neil Mawston.
According to RegHardware, the recent move by UK wireless provider O2 and its retail partner Carephone Warehouse to offer the 8GB iPhone at a 100 pound discount has resulted in a near sellout of the device, with O2 indicating that restocking is unlikely.
Carphone Warehouse's website currently lists the 8GB handset as "out of stock" while O2's own site claims the model is "no longer available." In addition, O2 is said to have issued a memo to its stores and partners stating that it "will not be replenishing stock of this product as it has now gone to end of life."
In its own report issued Friday, research firm Strategy Analytics said that despite Apple having shipped 1.7 million iPhones during the first quarter of the year, tight supply of the touch-screen handsets resulted in the company's global market share falling for the first time, from 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
"Motorola and Sony Ericsson lost marketshare to rivals with stronger handset portfolios, such as LG and Samsung, while Apple has been hit by stock-outs in North America and lackluster demand for its overpriced iPhone in Western Europe," said analyst Neil Mawston.
Comments
The 3G iPhone will be here soon! I expect a release before WWDC in June.
At this rate it would seem so. It would not be good business for Apple to have 9 weeks without any iPhone sales.
That is 17.3% of the first year of iPhone sales wasted to a lack or inventory. Not exactly what I expect from and successful company, much less Apple. Even waiting until the WWDC would a major blow to unit sales.
At this rate it would seem so. It would not be good business for Apple to have 9 weeks without any iPhone sales.
That is 17.3% of the first year of iPhone sales wasted to a lack or inventory. Not exactly what I expect from and successful company, much less Apple. Even waiting until the WWDC would a major blow to unit sales.
The 8Gb is gone, the 16GB remains at £329.
I don't expect to see a 3G phone till after June or even later. If they were trying to clear the decks of non 3G handsets the 16GB would have also dropped in price, which it hasn't.
Think about it, the 16GB unit would be WAY more costly to be left with on shelves once a 3G iPhone hits.
Unless, as indicated in the Apple earnings conference call, the networks will discount the hardware. e.g. £99 16GB iPhone, £200 for a 3G version. Although I can't see this happening unless they start doing contract sign ups in-store. For example, you sign up in store for the £75 deal and you get the phone for free (as long as you stay on that tariff for 6 months minimum before changing it).
Maybe £200 for the 16GB on PAYG (no 3G)
Interesting times..
At this rate it would seem so. It would not be good business for Apple to have 9 weeks without any iPhone sales.
That is 17.3% of the first year of iPhone sales wasted to a lack or inventory. Not exactly what I expect from and successful company, much less Apple. Even waiting until the WWDC would a major blow to unit sales.
I think they are ramping up for sales that will go through the roof, once the 3G model comes out (and yes, sooner the WWDC)
Not having something sooner, will kill Apple, as many folks WILL NOT wait forever for something they know nothing about.
Yes, it will likely bo cool ?
Yes, it will likely kick some serious butt on the competition, but they will have already purchased, so it won't matter how cool how good, how neat, how fast, how slick or anything - because the mass market folks, don't have a spare "X" number of dollars to through away, waiting for the latest and greatest Apple product.
Apple didn't get where they are because they are dumb or slow, but ?
Skip
While European iPhones sales have so far been somewhat sluggish, it is fair to say that this has been primarily due to the fact that existing 3G smart phones created a perception that the 2.5G iPhone would be vastly inferior to existing offerings. We now know that the opposite is true. But it is only really since Christmas that Europeans have discovered that the IPhone's functionality more than compensates for slower 2.5G download speeds. A 3G iPhone that also has Wifi is keenly anticipated. I know so many people who are holding off purchase until the 3G model arrives. In the light of this pent-up demand, the question is no longer: will Apple surpass Blackberry, but when?
What will be interesting to see is whether Apple will adopt an unlocked iPhone business model, which it has adopted for the italian launch, elsewhere. A different revenue model may be the key to exponential growth as much as a 3G model.
I can't wait to see how Apple has changed the 3G iPhone. I wonder if it'll have a radically different form factor or just incorporate 3G technology into the existing design. Either way, it will be excellent and either way shall replace my 8Gb iPhone with a 16Gb 3G one.
Steve Jobs announced that Apple had sold 4 million iPhones by January 2008 and with 1.7 million sold in Q1 2008, Apple is easily on target to hit its January 2009 target of 10 million.
Apple could make this 10M unit goal without even releasing a 3G iPhone. The v2.0 with 3rd-party apps and Exchange support would be enough to stimulate consumers. With v2.0 coming , a 3G model, and more countries coming aboard I still say that around 10M units will be sold in the last 6 months of 2008. That will be about 13.3M units for the calender year, which sold also satisfy those who mention that 1% of all cell phones is no longer 10M.
While European iPhones sales have so far been somewhat sluggish, it is fair to say that this has been primarily due to the fact that existing 3G smart phones created a perception that the 2.5G iPhone would be vastly inferior to existing offerings. We now know that the opposite is true. But it is only really since Christmas that Europeans have discovered that the IPhone's functionality more than compensates for slower 2.5G download speeds. A 3G iPhone that also has Wifi is keenly anticipated.
Things we've learned over the past year:
— A better OS and faster HW helps the iPhone render pages with enough speed to make many a slower phone on a 3G nearly inconsequential
— Europeans seemed to be misled on the "3G" marketing and unknowingly compared EDGE to GPRS speeds
— O2 throttled their 3G to speeds lower than that of the average US EDGE speeds
I can't wait to see how Apple has changed the 3G iPhone. I wonder if it'll have a radically different form factor or just incorporate 3G technology into the existing design. Either way, it will be excellent and either way shall replace my 8Gb iPhone with a 16Gb 3G one.
Is it ready for a change? I wold like a better antenna, but making the back plastic (as stated in one rumour) cheapens the look, may makes it less durable, and is a step back from being 'green'.
I think they are ramping up for sales that will go through the roof, once the 3G model comes out (and yes, sooner the WWDC)
Not having something sooner, will kill Apple, as many folks WILL NOT wait forever for something they know nothing about.
Yes, it will likely bo cool ?
Yes, it will likely kick some serious butt on the competition, but they will have already purchased, so it won't matter how cool how good, how neat, how fast, how slick or anything - because the mass market folks, don't have a spare "X" number of dollars to through away, waiting for the latest and greatest Apple product.
Apple didn't get where they are because they are dumb or slow, but ?
Skip
I wonder how many people are like me in that it really doesn't matter how much the new phone is, I will buy it on day 1? I'm not rich, and I can't piss away money, but money spent on Apple stuff just doesn't seem like money as much as it seems like An investment in sanity and calm, resulting form the tech support calls I will never make and the headaches I will never have.
It won't matter what the cost is. It won't matter that I have to then get rid of an 8GB phone. This goofy thing is seriously the coolest toy I have ever had, and most of it makes my life a little easier.
I wonder how many people are like me in that it really doesn't matter how much the new phone is, I will buy it on day 1?
Count me in. I don't know if the 3G chip in the iPhone will be as fast as my AT&T Sierra Wireless USB Connect 881 but I can say that any speed increase will be welcome. Not that my internet speeds with the EDGE iPhone is by any means poor, but you can't have too much bandwidth.
They will announce new apps and lots of sessions there are devote to the iPhone.
bring it on.
WWDC is the place. 3G will come.
They will announce new apps and lots of sessions there are devote to the iPhone.
bring it on.
Apple's current home page is for the WWDC, featuring an iPhone front and center.
Apple's current home page is for the WWDC, featuring an iPhone front and center.
Ockham Shavingcream points to a focus on the Mobile OS X SDK, not a 3G iPhone.
The same applies to the Apple TV - I really need something _like_ the Apple TV - I'm fed up of connecting my MacBook Pro to my projector to watch things, but it's cost - £199 is too high for me to justify, especially as I'd have to convert everything I watch from AVI. Apple should learn from the iPhone and make an Apple TV SDK - allow any media format and make the Apple TV into a programmable set-top box and I'd say you've got a winner. As it is I think I'm going to have to get a Mac Mini and use XBMC on it...
The 8Gb is gone, the 16GB remains at £329.
I don't expect to see a 3G phone till after June or even later. If they were trying to clear the decks of non 3G handsets the 16GB would have also dropped in price, which it hasn't.
Since the 8GB phones are gone, leave the 16GB at the same price and see what happens (depending on inventory). If people still want them, they will buy them.
If they don't sell and Apple thinks they will have a bunch left at the 3G launch (based on current rate of sales), they can always drop the price whenever.
Besides, dropping the price on them now would simply send a signal to the public and even more people would possibly wait, thereby furhter dropping sales.
Ockham Shavingcream points to a focus on the Mobile OS X SDK, not a 3G iPhone.
But 3G is the "killer app" that tells devs that the platform is getting ready to explode.
I'm not saying they'll be selling the things in the lobby of the Moscone, just that it seems likely that, given the apparent emphasis on the iPhone at the conference, 3G will be announced, with shipping soon after.
The same applies to the Apple TV - I really need something _like_ the Apple TV - I'm fed up of connecting my MacBook Pro to my projector to watch things, but it's cost - £199 is too high for me to justify, especially as I'd have to convert everything I watch from AVI. Apple should learn from the iPhone and make an Apple TV SDK - allow any media format and make the Apple TV into a programmable set-top box and I'd say you've got a winner. As it is I think I'm going to have to get a Mac Mini and use XBMC on it...
For the iPhone, they use Xcode (for mobile OSX) right? How come they made a separate "DashCode" for dashboard apps?
Shouldn't it all be interrelated? Although dashboard doesn't have a multitouch interface, it would seem to me that the bulkier interface is more similar to the iPhone than OSX.
Would bringing Dashcode & Xcode (for mobile OSX) together, and also enabling these smaller apps for AppleTV, make sense?
I wonder how many people are like me in that it really doesn't matter how much the new phone is, I will buy it on day 1? I'm not rich, and I can't piss away money, but money spent on Apple stuff just doesn't seem like money as much as it seems like An investment in sanity and calm, resulting form the tech support calls I will never make and the headaches I will never have.
It won't matter what the cost is. It won't matter that I have to then get rid of an 8GB phone. This goofy thing is seriously the coolest toy I have ever had, and most of it makes my life a little easier.
I'm just the same. Though I'm holding out for the 3G iPhone. I got myself a first-gen iPod, and I wasn't willing to do that again with the iPhone. But, its probably worth mentioning that the darned first-gen ipod still works like a charm...
Apple could make this 10M unit goal without even releasing a 3G iPhone. The v2.0 with 3rd-party apps and Exchange support would be enough to stimulate consumers. With v2.0 coming , a 3G model, and more countries coming aboard I still say that around 10M units will be sold in the last 6 months of 2008. That will be about 13.3M units for the calender year, which sold also satisfy those who mention that 1% of all cell phones is no longer 10M.
Things we've learned over the past year:
? A better OS and faster HW helps the iPhone render pages with enough speed to make many a slower phone on a 3G nearly inconsequential
? Europeans seemed to be misled on the "3G" marketing and unknowingly compared EDGE to GPRS speeds
? O2 throttled their 3G to speeds lower than that of the average US EDGE speeds
The problem is simply EDGE coverage. EDGE is 30% of the UK, 3G is 70%.
If I had EDGE coverage everywhere I go, I'd be perfectly happy with the current iPhone. But while I rarely am out of 3G range, it appears that nowhere around Coventry has EDGE.
Amorya
And if 2G gives better battery life your guess is as good as mine.
Apple didn't make a mistake with the availability of the iPhones but they underestimated the popularity of them.
Things we've learned over the past year:
? A better OS and faster HW helps the iPhone render pages with enough speed to make many a slower phone on a 3G nearly inconsequential
That's certainly true although the only speed comparison I've seen is the E61i v iPhone and here the E61i (same hardware as the E61) is a lot slower hardware - 200Mhz with no GPU and a previous gen ARM to the iPhone - and it's 3G is only the 384kbps kind whereas 3G here ranges from that up to 7.2mbps today.
It doesn't negate the fact a modern phone should have decent 3G here, especially one with a rich internert browser built in, which was why most of us Europeans that cared were going "huh?".
? Europeans seemed to be misled on the "3G" marketing and unknowingly compared EDGE to GPRS speeds
No, I don't think so. We skipped EDGE mostly which truly left us with GPRS speeds when there is no 3G. If you remember back to the iPhone launch in the UK, people were reporting EDGE appearing around London a few weeks beforehand on O2 - a network that didn't have EDGE at all. At launch O2 even admitted they didn't even have the whole of London covered. O2 still really haven't rolled EDGE out much past London and big cities whereas 3G is pretty much total coverage except in rural areas where hills get in the way.
I don't think we've been misled on 3G marketing either. We've had 3G marketing for a number of years now and we're just not buying football video clips and videoconferencing with our kids as they wanted us to do. We have however been buying USB 3G modems in droves, often replacing land based ADSL. You can get deals for a free 3G USB modem and an 18 month contract for as little as £5 a month now - that's cheaper than most ADSL lines even if they generally have a very low usage cap.
? O2 throttled their 3G to speeds lower than that of the average US EDGE speeds
That certainly didn't help. I was somewhat confused by the choice of O2 by Apple back then and my opinion of O2's service hasn't changed.