Sales

Apple missing some 2.8 billion potential iPhone customers due to carrier demands

Ed Sutherland ∙ May 6, 2013

Much talk surrounding Apple has centered on a cooling consumer demand for its flagship product, the iPhone smartphone. However, it may be time to shift the narrative to feet-dragging by a number of global operators that could hold the key to as many as 2.8 billion iPhone customers, according to a Monday report.

Instead of a slowdown in demand, a Monday report by Bloomberg suggests the larger problem is vastly limited access to customers. Two numbers go far to tell the story: 240 and 800. While Apple has 240 carrier agreements throughout the world, rival Samsung has inked deals with virtually every of the 800 wireless providers. Indeed, Apple is lacking agreements to boost sales of the iPhone in some of the most-populated regions, including China, Japan, India and Russia...

Apple starts countdown to 50B app downloads

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple on Thursday started a countdown to fifty billion app downloads. The promotions is available via a dedicated iTunes page. Like the previous countdowns, Apple will award the lucky person who downloads the fifty billionth app with a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card. iTunes Gift Cards can be used against any content purchase, including mobile and desktop applications, music, television shows, movies, etc.

In an interesting tweak to this year's countdown, the company will also give away a $500 App Store gift card to each of the next 50 people who download an app...

Post-PC news: China zooms past US in PC sales, netbooks on life support

Ed Sutherland ∙ April 30, 2013

For US PC buyers accustom to receiving items from China, here's a switch: new research indicates more computers are being shipped into China than America. After China became the largest PC market in terms of buyers, the country is now also the world's top market when it comes to shipping.

According to IHS iSuppli, in 2012 69 million PCs were shipped into China, compared to 66 million units headed for the United States. Despite its size, China still has some catching-up to do with the rest of the world. For instance, while most countries have moved on from desktop computers, a full half of PCs shipped to China are desktops.

That's just one of many intriguing differences in the world's largest PC market...

Are Apple earnings a candle in the wind?

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Apple, which for years has acted as an engine for much of the tech industry, may report slowing profits for the first time in a decade. Talk of a slowdown comes as the consumer tech giant deals with the triple-threat of slimmer profit margins, falling iPhone demand and heightened competition. Ahead of Tuesday's second-quarter earnings report, Wall Street has entered a "show-me mode" as investors look for reassurance the firm can promise a rosier future...

Apple vs Samsung price war in India

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

In another era, Apple and Samsung would be competing gasoline retailers, locked in a war to entice more automobiles to the pump. Update the picture to the 21st century, replace gas with smartphones and you have the modern-day equivalent of a price war playing out in India, according to a Wednesday report.

Android-based Samsung smartphones initially had the majority of the India market to itself. However, now Apple is shaking things up by offering discounts on its iPhone 4 - a move fueling the company's challenge of rival Samsung.

The South Korean company has responded with discounts on its Galaxy family of products - on top of the current payment plan. Both companies are jockeying to control a market full of potential smartphone buyers...

Verizon responds to T-Mobile with Device Payment Plan for smartphones, due April 21

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 13, 2013

Boy, did T-Mobile's 'Uncarrier' initiative hit a nerve. As you know, the nation's fourth-largest carrier landed the iPhone yesterday and just recently "canceled our membership in the out-of-touch wireless carrier club" by unleashing monthly installments separate of wireless service, reducing upfront cost of unsubsidized gear a great deal.

And just as T-Mobile yesterday announced "gangbusters" iPhone opening (even if that's not really a number), Verizon swiftly responded by delaying phone upgrades from 20 to 24 months. The backlash ensued and Verizon quickly realized the change may not be “consistent with how the majority of customers purchase new phones today,” as it argued.

Therefore, the big red carrier followed up by announcing a one-year monthly installment plan for high-end smartphones costing over $349.99. It's called Device Payment Plan and we have all the details right after the break...

iPhone 4 discount triples India sales in under a week

Ed Sutherland ∙ April 12, 2013

More positive feedback on Apple's efforts to reshape practices in the face of emerging markets. Sales of the iPhone 4 in India tripled in only five days, following a trade-in program. The program is viewed by some as a "disguised discount" but the results are obvious for Apple and its plans to compete in a nation where smartphone sales are just taking off.

Although India does not have a subsidy program to soften the blow of a full-priced iPhone, Apple has found a way to reduce the sticker shock by sharing the handset's cost with a growing network of India's retailers...

Verizon would consider eliminating contracts, but not unless consumers demanded it

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 5, 2013

As T-Mobile this morning started accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 5, its 'Uncarrier' initiative is about to be put to the real test. Will consumer prefer paying $20 in monthly installments for their iPhone 5 (with $99 downpayment) in exchange for a more affordable and simpler wireless service plan?

Or, would they rather continue dropping a hundred bucks or more each month for their overpriced wireless service, with no easy way to cancel their long-term commitment without incurring hefty penalties and hidden fees?

We should know in the coming days and weeks as the Deutsche Telekom-owned telco starts selling the popular smartphone beginning next Friday, April 12.

When T-Mobile announced earlier this year it would kill subsidies and offer Apple’s handset on monthly installments, cowardly AT&T and Verizon employed waiting tactics, opting to instead sit on the sidelines and monitor how the situation unfolds rather than improve their own dealings with customers.

When asked to comment on T-Mobile's new Uncarrier business strategy, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam Wednesday rather ambiguously responded that his company isn't really ready to kill subsidies right off the bat...

Apple reportedly partnering with Barclays on Apple Store $99 T-Mobile iPhone 5

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 2, 2013

Apple's been experimenting with installment payments in emerging markets for some time now. For example, installment payments coupled with increased marketing helped quadruple Apple's single-digit iPhone market share in India. And in China, the online Apple Store offers 1, 3, 6 and 12 payment installment options with no interest, thanks to Apple's partnership with China Merchants Bank.

That being said, in what appears to be another effort to improve its standing in the US market, Apple has reportedly partnered with Barclay's to offer a no-interest option on T-Mobile iPhone 5 sales at Apple Stores...

10M Galaxy S4 pre-orders in 2 weeks, smaller and cheaper version due soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Samsung announced the Galaxy S4 at the weird March 14 presser and although it won't land on store shelves before May, early pre-orders are encouraging. According to one estimate, the volume of pre-orders for the S4 has reportedly surpassed ten million units in the two weeks since its unveiling.

By comparison, its predecessor, the Galaxy S3, saw nine million pre-orders prior to its launch while Apple confirmed its iPhone 5 had been pre-ordered five million times over the launch weekend alone. These are no doubt strong numbers.

Analysts are forecasting cumulative sales volume of the Galaxy S4 of a hundred million units. And in recognition that not everyone prefers a phablet in their pocket, a high-profile publication has confirmed that a smaller and cheaper version of the S4 will follow soon...

Folks not trading-in their iPhones following Samsung’s next big thing announcement

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 18, 2013

Gadget resellers such as Gazelle may have been eagerly awaiting Samsung's new Galaxy S 4 in the hope that Apple fans will jump ship and trade-in their iPhones. Thus far, this hasn't been the case. Quite the contrary - the vast majority of post-S4 trade-ins are for other Galaxy smartphones, not iPhones.

Specifically, Gazelle's CEO said Monday his company has seen a cool 168 percent increase in the number of the Galaxy S III trade-ins compared to the number of Galaxy S II trade-ins, both observed during the same post-launch timeframe for each device...

$149 iPhone 5 now available from Strata Networks

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

As promised last week, Strata Networks, a regional U.S. wireless carrier, finally landed the iPhone 5 today. And, in emulating fellow rural telcos, Strata is offering Apple's device with a $50 discount compared to the asking prices at Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. Specifically, the iPhone 5 is available for $149 for the 16GB model, $249 for the 32GB model and $349 for the high-end model with 64 gigabytes of storage. The iPhone 5 is available in all Strata stores in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.

They don't mention web sales, though Strata did update its web site this morning to reflect the devices' availability. The carrier is also selling the iPhone 4S for $49 and the iPhone 4 for free, with a qualifying contract. Would-be subscribers should be pleased to know that the iPhone 5 is compatible with Strata's 4G LTE network that the company started deploying ahead of Christmas 2012...