iPhone 3G drives AT&T's quarter, outselling Storm four to one

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
While AT&T on Wednesday credited sales of 1.9 million iPhone 3Gs for helping to drive its fiscal fourth-quarter results, rival carrier Verizon won't tell how many BlackBerry Storms were sold in its first quarter on the market.



Today AT&T announced full-year earnings per share of $2.16, up from $1.94 for 2007. *The Dallas-based telecom giant posted $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the fourth quarter, attributing it directly to its partnership with Apple.



"Fourth-quarter EPS reflects the success of AT&T's iPhone 3G launch," the company said in a statement. *AT&T activated 4.3 million iPhone 3G devices in the second half of 2008 nationwide, including 1.9 million in the fourth quarter. *About 40 percent of iPhone activations were for customers switching from a different provider.



"iPhone 3G continues to deliver high-value subscribers with significantly higher average monthly revenues per subscriber and lower churn (subscribers leaving) than AT&T's postpaid subscriber average," the company added.



Meanwhile, New York-based Verizon reported its results Tuesday without details of its iPhone challenger that launched in November. *Where the Research In Motion smartphone was briefly mentioned in the results report, the terms were vague.



"Customers across the country lined up to purchase the new BlackBerry Storm," Verizon's release said. *"The Storm offers customers the reliability of the Verizon Wireless 3G network and the full power of a revolutionary touch-screen, multimedia smartphone with global connectivity."



According to the Wall Street Journal, Verizon activated about 500,000 Storms nationwide. *The iPhone sold almost four times as many in the fourth quarter with 1.9 million units.



Comparing results in each device's first quarter on the market, Apple's iPhone 3G saw five times the number of U.S. activations than the Storm, or 2.4 million.



Earlier this week, RIM and Verizon's eagerness to launch the device before the holiday shopping season was outlined as a possible explanation for the Storm's rocky debut. *Poor reviews and early adopter complaints have hampered the success of the device, which some reports claim was rushed to market before it was ready.



Research In Motion's co-chief executive officer Jim Balsillie said software patches will help improve the Storm, acknowledging flawed software, but argued that bugs in complex phones are the "new reality."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 53
    ivladivlad Posts: 742member
    "Customers across the country lined up to purchase the new BlackBerry Storm," Verizon's release said. "The Storm offers customers the reliability of the Verizon Wireless 3G network and the full power of a revolutionary touch-screen, multimedia smartphone with global connectivity."



    Revolutionary?

    I'm sorry that is copyrighted by Apple. Please wait for court date in the mail.



    LOL Blackberry is everything but revolutionary.
  • Reply 2 of 53
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Apple didn't 'quadruple Storm sales', it 'outsold Storm 4:1'.

    They mean the opposite and imply that Apple somehow did the quadrupling for RIM.
  • Reply 3 of 53
    markbmarkb Posts: 153member
    this part of the article says it all:



    Quote:

    "iPhone 3G continues to deliver high-value subscribers with significantly higher average monthly revenues per subscriber and lower churn (subscribers leaving) than AT&T's postpaid subscriber average," the company added.



    Of course if you look at the business pages, they have titles like:



    ATT profits down on iPhone, costs



    and



    ATT profits dented by iPhone subsidies.





    I guess I am being an idealistic fool going long on apple as there are vast fortunes to be made with constantly shorting the stock.
  • Reply 4 of 53
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    Apple didn't 'quadruple Storm sales', it 'outsold Storm 4:1'.

    They mean the opposite and imply that Apple somehow did the quadrupling for RIM.



    I read it as if Apple helped the Storm sell more units.
  • Reply 5 of 53
    4 to 1? I believe the iPhone is in more countries than the Storm. It should sell more.

    the Storm sold over 1 million units in just 1.5 mths = a lot.



    These two units are probably the best devices on the market right now!
  • Reply 6 of 53
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    In Rims defence it has to be pointed out that the storm is only one of their phones, as a company they sold one hell of a lot more than 500,000 handsets.
  • Reply 7 of 53
    noirdesirnoirdesir Posts: 1,027member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by italiankid View Post


    4 to 1? I believe the iPhone is in more countries than the Storm. It should sell more.

    the Storm sold over 1 million units in just 1.5 mths = a lot.



    These two units are probably the best devices on the market right now!



    The 1.9m most likely are U.S.-only, as Apple sold 4,363,000 iPhones in total in the last quarter.
  • Reply 8 of 53
    mjtomlinmjtomlin Posts: 2,673member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by saarek View Post


    In Rims defence it has to be pointed out that the storm is only one of their phones, as a company they sold one hell of a lot more than 500,000 handsets.



    I'm sure we all understand that. The point of the article is to throw egg on Verizon's face for talking up the Storm as the next iPhone killer.



    Personally I just don't understand these sales comparisons? As long as a company can show they are making sales and making profits, what's the point? And how come they are always iPhone-killers? As if their sales won't impact other devices as well. I always thought it was funny that Android was being compared to the iPhone, when it actually competes more with Windows Mobile.
  • Reply 9 of 53
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    I read it as if Apple helped the Storm sell more units.



    Whatever the intention of the original quote I am sure that Apple did in fact help RIM sell more Storms. There must be many people who have heard so much about the touch screen interface and functionality of the iPhone but who are not willing or able to get one. The Storm seems to be a blatant attempt to cash in on a hot idea. The marketing pretty much suggest 'iPhone by RIM'. In a sense the iPhone validates the Storm which otherwise may have seemed too 'different'. That the Storm has turned out to be somewhat of a dud is of course another story.
  • Reply 10 of 53
    My step bro wanted a Storm for Christmas, the wife actually went out and looked at one. The other 2 guys in his office building (that had them) told him NO. At least not until the battery "issue" was fixed. Seems it tears thru battery life and you have to recharge every time you turn around.....not really good for a traveling sales person.....



    So, it seems that Apple isn't the only company to have rocky starts in the smart phone catagory.....\
  • Reply 11 of 53
    mactelmactel Posts: 1,275member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by italiankid View Post


    4 to 1? I believe the iPhone is in more countries than the Storm. It should sell more.

    the Storm sold over 1 million units in just 1.5 mths = a lot.



    These two units are probably the best devices on the market right now!



    It is really funny that this article is comparing to just the Storm as if RIM only makes one handset. Our company only buys curves and that 2 gens back. What about the Pearl and Bold eh? Suddenly it is no longer 4:1.
  • Reply 12 of 53
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    It's interesting to see that 45% of iPhones are still sold in the US despite the phone being available in over 70 countries.



    I'd love to see a break-down per country but I'm guessing that we'll never see accurate figures.
  • Reply 13 of 53
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Research In Motion's co-chief executive officer Jim Balsillie said software patches will help improve the Storm, acknowledging flawed software, but argued that bugs in complex phones are the "new reality."



    What is it with the term "new reality" when it comes to "bugs" in complex products when companies release ineffective, works almost great, half ass products!?



    The other day I was at a Ford dealership and the person in the parts dept. said that 1998 was a great year for Ford products like my SUV Explorer Sport. When I told her I was inconvenienced by 5 RECALLS, she implied that one recall every two years is satisfactory and nobody is perfect. I don't know if she appreciated my answer of my 1987 Toyota Pick-Up with it's NO RECALLS and no major mechanical defects other than wear and tear auto consumables.



    However, it seems that todays products functioning as promoted and advertised is a thing of the past. I don't care if it is Apple's Mobile Me, RIM's Storm or Ford's 98 Explorer Sport. Gotta problem, hey 'bugs in complex products are the "new reality." '
  • Reply 14 of 53
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by paxman View Post


    Whatever the intention of the original quote I am sure that Apple did in fact help RIM sell more Storms. There must be many people who have heard so much about the touch screen interface and functionality of the iPhone but who are not willing or able to get one. The Storm seems to be a blatant attempt to cash in on a hot idea. The marketing pretty much suggest 'iPhone by RIM'. In a sense the iPhone validates the Storm which otherwise may have seemed too 'different'. That the Storm has turned out to be somewhat of a dud is of course another story.



    I'm sure it has. The iPhone has taken the smartphone from a geek and business device, and made it sheik. I don't think the Storm would have been created if not for the success of the iPhone.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTel View Post


    It is really funny that this article is comparing to just the Storm as if RIM only makes one handset. Our company only buys curves and that 2 gens back. What about the Pearl and Bold eh? Suddenly it is no longer 4:1.



    When you position a phone as an "iPhone killer" then you have to be ready to be directly compared against it.



    PS: Has their ever been an <Apple product> killer that actually killed an Apple product?
  • Reply 15 of 53
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    The iPhone has taken the smartphone from a geek and business device, and made it sheik.



    EERRNONSENSE



    I'm not sure the iPhone is an Arabian prince: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh



    Maybe you meant "chic": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chic_(style) ?



    Personally, I only have an iPod touch because the iPhone took so long to arrive (in Switzerland) but it's a *spectacular* device and has nothing to do with being chic or not. For those who know me, fashion is the latest of my priorities (unless it's in the form of a gorgeous barely dressed blonde ;-) )



    Even my quite good Google Dream Phone (dev G1) struggles in comparison with the iPhone and form all I've seen from the BB, the iPhone UI is still the best in all categories. *That* makes it the best, not "sheikness"^W"chicness".
  • Reply 16 of 53
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by italiankid View Post


    4 to 1? I believe the iPhone is in more countries than the Storm. It should sell more.

    the Storm sold over 1 million units in just 1.5 mths = a lot.



    These two units are probably the best devices on the market right now!



    Where did you come up with more than 1 million sales for the Storm? Numbers I'm seeing are from 400,000 to 500,000.
  • Reply 17 of 53
    roos24roos24 Posts: 170member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    When you position a phone as an "iPhone killer" then you have to be ready to be directly compared against it.



    PS: Has their ever been an <Apple product> killer that actually killed an Apple product?



    I agree. And now that all major phone makers have had their chance to show us their "iPhone Killer" I think it is safe to say that the only company that can kill the iPhone is Apple
  • Reply 18 of 53
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by saarek View Post


    In Rims defence it has to be pointed out that the storm is only one of their phones, as a company they sold one hell of a lot more than 500,000 handsets.



    But RIM is comparing the Storm to the iPhone. It is their direct competitor.



    But if you want to be really fair, while I dn't know offhand what RIM's total sales for this quarter are, last quarter, the iPhone outsold ALL of Rims phones around the world. And Rim competes about everywhere the iPhone does, and even in some places where the iPhone doesn't yet.



    So, we can look at it that way too.
  • Reply 19 of 53
    mark2005mark2005 Posts: 1,158member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    PS: Has their ever been an <Apple product> killer that actually killed an Apple product?



    One can argue that the Palm Pilot (and its successors Palm III, Palm V, and Palm VII, along with Handspring) effectively killed off any return of the Newton. (I say "argue" for I recognize that Jobs may have killed the Newton for other reasons as well.)
  • Reply 20 of 53
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTel View Post


    It is really funny that this article is comparing to just the Storm as if RIM only makes one handset. Our company only buys curves and that 2 gens back. What about the Pearl and Bold eh? Suddenly it is no longer 4:1.



    As I've already replied, at least for last quarter, where we have the numbers for both companies (if someone knows this quarter's figures for Rim, please post them), the iPhone sold better than ALL of Rims phones around the world. Rim is all over the place, as Apple almost is.



    That says something, doesn't it, about their other models as well?
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