Verizon iPhone could sell 25 million units in 2011, according to an analyst. That number is a substantial rise over other analyst estimates for the smartphone.
How many units
will the Verizon iPhone sell?
William Power,
an analyst with R.W. Baird & Co., is reportedly suggesting some 25 million
iPhones will be activated by the carrier in 2011, a number deduced from a
1,000-person survey. That includes not only current Verizon smartphone users
switching to the iPhone, but also a sizable percentage of the carrier's
feature-phone users deciding to upgrade.
According
to AllThingsD, Power is cautioning that his astronomical sales figure is a
"directional number" as opposed to a set-in-stone forecast. Factors such as
manufacturing capacity could significantly affect the number of iPhones
eventually reaching Verizon customers.
Other analysts
peg Verizon iPhone sales at a somewhat lower number. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene
Munster suggested in a Jan. 10 research note that 15 million units would find
their way into Verizon customers' hands by the end of the calendar year,
while
Gleacher and Co.'s Brian Marshall put the number at closer to 12 million.
Ahead of the
Verizon iPhone's unveiling, Munster also theorized that the smartphone's
appearance on the carrier's network could have a negative effect on Android
phone sales.
"Android
phones outsell iPhones in the U.S., but we believe when Verizon gets the
iPhone, that trend could be reversed," he wrote in a Dec. 7 research note. "As
an example, in countries where the iPhone is available on multiple carriers and
competes with Android, we see the iPhone outselling Android."
Since the
Verizon iPhone 4's unveiling at a high-profile event in New York City Jan. 11, pundits
and analysts have also debated on how the smartphone's presence on the new
carrier will affect the fortunes of AT&T, which previously had an exclusive
lock on the iPhone in the United States. Analysts generally feel there will be
some cannibalization, as a percentage of AT&T iPhone customers jump onto
Verizon, but they disagree on exact numbers.
Due for
general release Feb. 10, the Verizon iPhone will sell for $199 for the 16GB
model and $299 for the 32GB model with a two-year contract. It will not
leverage the carrier's faster LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network, which is
currently ramping to life in various parts of the country, because of what Apple
COO Tim Cook has cited as the company's unwillingness to make "compromises" in
hardware design.
Hardware- and
software-wise, the Verizon iPhone features few differences from the AT&T
version, with the exception of a redesigned exterior antenna. Verizon and Apple
executives claim this redesigned antenna will make the device compatible with
the carrier's CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)-based network. However, it
may have also been to prevent the same sort of reception issues that plagued
AT&T's iPhone 4 throughout the summer.
Verizon plans
on offering a 3G wireless hotspot feature with the iPhone 4 for $20 per month
for 2GB data,
according
to online reports.
Print
