This is all conjecture, but here’s my guess on why Apple chose to give Cingular the exclusive on the iPhone:

I’m guessing this is $800-900 device.  The way these deals usually get done is the manufacturer has to make a deal with the carrier to sell  a minimum X number of phones at a retail price that is palatable to consumers (in this case, $499 or $599 depending on the storage capacity of 4GB or 8GB), in exchange for the exclusive and being able to lock the subscriber up for 1 or 2 years.  Cingular agrees to eat a few hundred dollars per device that they hope to make back by locking you into that contract, and for a device like this, enticing you to sign up for a $39.99 all you can eat data plan to go with the phone and whatever voice plan you choose.  When they don’t meet their minimum X, they are generally sold off to secondary retailers and authorized resellers such as inphonic (wirefly.com) or Amazon.

If you read your Cingular contract carefully, you will see there is a replacement cost for your phone that will generally exceed the price you are paying by quite a bit.

Let’s face it, this will be a hot cingular iPhone, so I’m sure it wasn’t a hard deal for Cingular to stomach, even with the steep subsidy cost. Having an exclusive allows Cingular to control their profit or loss on the device. It’s good for Apple, because they can get distribution of their device at a retail price that is well below their cost while they work with their manufacturer on finding cheaper components to raise margins for their version 2 device.

Apple’s marketing plans clearly called for a device to be sold outside the U.S. (read the 10:48 comment at engadget that mentions Europe in Q4 07 and Asia in 08) - so that cut out Sprint and Verizon, whose CDMA networks aren’t very compatible with any other place except Korea.  That leaves T-Mobile and Cingular, who have GSM networks.   I’m sure they shopped the deal, but if i were doing this deal, I’d look at the demographics of both networks and probably arrive at the same conclusion.

Posted on May 21st, 2007 by admin
Filed under: Cingular iPhone | No Comments »

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) shares rebounded on Thursday after tumbling nearly 3 percent Wednesday under the weight of false rumors regarding product delays.

The precipitous drop began when technology news blog Engadget.com reported that Apple was planning to postpone the launch of both its much-anticipated iPhone and the next version of its Mac OS X operating system , Leopard.

Ryan Block, the post’s author, initially cited an “authority” as a source providing news of the supposed delays. The information was soon discovered to be bogus — but not soon enough to prevent some major financial ramifications.

The loss attributed to the post was estimated at approximately US$4 billion.

“This one doesn’t bode well for Mac fans and the iPhone-hopeful: We have it on authority that as of today, the iPhone launch is being pushed back from June to … October (!), and Leopard is again seeing a delay, this time being pushed all the way back to January,” Block wrote.

Getting to Market

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company’s stock almost immediately plunged nearly 3 percent to $104 as investors voiced concerns over the possibility of another round of delays for the OS, as well as worries over moving the iPhone debut past its scheduled late June date.

However, Apple released a statement refuting the iPhone rumors, insisting the product launches were still on schedule.

“Apple is new to the mobile and wireless market, so it’s not unreasonable to believe that the iPhone might be delayed,” Zippy Aima, an analyst with Frost & Sullivan , told MacNewsWorld. Its first jump into the space might be slowed by regulatory compliance and “trying to ensure the product meets relevant standards.”

A Leopard delay could be more significant, Aima said, and that report was likely what caused the skittishness among investors.

Phony Memo

It appears the “authority” cited in the blog was actually a fake memo circulated within Apple and then forwarded to Engadget.com.

The e-mail claimed the company was issuing a press release stating the iPhone had been pushed back to October, and Leopard would be delayed until January.

Apple conceded the phony e-mail came from within its headquarters but did not identify the culprit. It emphasized that the iPhone would arrive on schedule in June and that Leopard is on track for its planned October 1 release.

Unhappy Investors

Although Apple has squelched the rumors, many investors aren’t happy with Engadget over its role in spreading the hoax, which resulted in adverse effects on many portfolios.

Posts on Engadget.com and Apple’s investor boards charged the blog of shoddy journalism, costing many investors a lot of money. Apple’s stock has since regained the lost ground.

Posted on May 18th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News | No Comments »

Prima is pleased to introduce our newest Premium LEather Flip Case for iPhone.

Made of Soft, Aniline Leather, the Prima iPhone Case contnues the tradtion of Fine LEather Form Fit Cases, at an affordable price.

-Form Fit to compfortably house your iPhone

-Flap over protection

-3 Credit Card Slots

-2 SD Slots

-Magnetic Closure

-Removable Swivel Clip

This case available in the following colors:

• Black
• Red

The price of this iPhone case is $39.95 and Prima takes pre-orders now for shipping at Memorial Day.
                      From Primacase

Posted on May 16th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Accessories | No Comments »

In a pre-launch channel communications sales brief to its retail stores, wireless carrier AT&T has instructed employees not to form wait lists or conduct pre-sales for Apple’s upcoming iPhone.

According to the internal document published at the BoyGeniusReport blog, the world’s largest wireless carrier will soon provide its staffers with web based training, workbooks and other iPhone product overviews to help in preparation for next month’s launch.

The memo also includes the following notes of interest:

• “iPhone release date will be  sometime in June.The exact date has not been announced, specific dates should not be provided to customers.”
• “Sales for the iPhone will be on a first come, first served basis.
• No wait lists of names will be taken and NO pre-selling is allowed.”
• Two models of the iPhone will be available, a 4GB will retail at $499 and an 8GB will retail at $599.”
• “If asked what the price will be, answer that the prices have been announced as $499 for the 4G and $599 for the 8G, respectively.”
• “There should NOT be any additional speculation/discusson about pricing.”
• “AT&T will be the only wireless carrier in the U.S. launching the iPhone and will have exclusivity for the foreseeable future.”

Posted on May 14th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News | No Comments »

One additional tidbit from Apple’s shareholder meeting notes was a revealing blurb that Apple still hadn’t completely decided whether or not they will open the iPhone software to 3rd party developers.

Jobs did acknowledge that the company is still struggling to decide if third-party developers will be able to create software that will run on the iPhone. It’s a decision Apple “is wrestling with,” according to Jobs.

    Apple’s choice to limit iPhone development has been the target of a lot of criticism against the iPhone. In the days after the iPhone announcement, Jobs stated that while you will be able to purchase and install additional applications on the iPhone, that this would be limited and in a “controlled environment”. As a result, the iPhone has been described as a “closed device” which could make enterprise market penetration difficult.
                     
From Macrumors 

Posted on May 13th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Software | No Comments »

Posted on May 11th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Videos | No Comments »

Citing expectations for unusual sequential growth in iPod sales this quarter, Caris & Company on Tuesday increased its price target on shares of Apple, adding that it expects the company to be shipping 25 million iPhones per year by fiscal 2009.

“We are increasing our price objective on Apple from $110 to $115 as our channel checks suggest that iPod shipments (usually down in the June quarter) will grow quarter-over-quarter,” analyst Shebly Seyrafi wrote in a research report. “Our checks are on the HDD-side, which is a data point for the video iPod (about a third or a fourth of iPod shipments) and suggest better than seasonal growth in the 1.8-inch drive market (dominated by the iPod).”

Instead of forecasting iPod units to decline quarterly from 10.5 million units during the first quarter of the year to 10.0 million units in the second quarter, the analyst now estimates that units will increase about 13 percent to 11.9 million units. He added in his report that he has heard ample speculation that Apple will replace the 1.8-inch HDDs used in the video iPod with NAND flash later this year, at least for capacities below a certain level.

For iPhone, Seyrafi is modeling Apple to sell around 17 million iPhones for fiscal 2008 (12-month period ending Sept. ‘08) and 25 million in fiscal 2009 (ending Sept. ‘09) — well ahead of Apple’s own stated estimate of 10 million units in fiscal 2008. Seyrafi even went as far as to predict that there is room for “ample upside” to his already aggressive iPhone targets.

“It is true that smart phones account for less than 10 percent of the 1 billion+ unit worldwide cell phone market, but we believe that Apple can catalyze smartphone penetration into the cell phone market while it gains share in the smartphone market,” he explained. “Pessimists (such as Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer say that Apple’s high price ($499/$599) will preclude widespread adoption, but we believe that after Apple ’skims’ higher-priced customers it will drastically lower prices to around $300.”

While acknowledging that competitive offerings — such as Samsung’s Upstage sold through Sprint and Motorola’s Q — offer 3G services, Seyrafi said Apple is still likely to emerge as the “big winner” due to the high publicity surrounding the iPhone and the halo effect from the iPod.

“Plus, we expect a follow-on version with 3G,” he added.

In his report Tuesday, the Caris analyst also said he believes Apple can beat its gross margin guidance for the current quarter, which was modeled down from 35 percent last quarter to 32 percent for the quarter ending June.

“Remember that the decline was guided because of a less favorable component cost environment, higher display costs, and lower prices in the educational segment,” he wrote. ”However, our pricing research on NAND flash suggests that pricing here has been more aggressive over the past few weeks.”

Seyrafi maintained his “Above Average” rating on shares of the Cupertino-based company, but increased his per-share earnings estimate for fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009 from $3.43, $3.54 ,$4.21 to $3.52, $3.73,$4.42.

“Risks to our price objective include slower than anticipated acceptance of the forthcoming iPhone product, increased competition from Dell in PCs, and cannibalization of the iPod by the iPhone,” he wrote.

                                                                                      From AppleInsider

Posted on May 10th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News | No Comments »

The answer to the question of whether the iPhone will be subsidized by AT&T has had many, many, many speculations. Some analysts have argued yes, some have argued no, and the rumors surrounding both sides have been flying. I’ve pretty sure we’ve actually lost track of what the currently-accepted mantra on the iPhone subsidy is. Regardless, the newest rumor to answer that question says that the answer is “probably not.”

AppleInsider reports that notes from UBS analyst John Hodulik gave some clues. He said that comments made during an AT&T investor gathering indicate that while the company may be planning to work on its rebranding during the iPhone launch, subsidies on the iPhone plan would be questionable.

“In fact, AT&T may generate a small margin on sales of the [iPhone] in its stores,” he wrote.

Hodulik add[s] that, “Management would make no comments [sic] on how the phone is activated in its own or Apple owned stores, suggesting that this may be done somewhat differently versus typical handset purchases.”

What’s in it for AT&T, then, if they’re making such a small margin on iPhone sales? Subscribers of course. Handset sales themselves typically don’t represent the meat of a carrier’s business model, and such would appear to be the case with the iPhone as well. That’s the whole purpose of offering subsidies in the first place—to attract new customers and hook them on contracts for x amount of years. However, the iPhone is apparently such a highly-desired device (especially upon initial launch) that AT&T can afford not to offer subsidies. People are going to switch anyway.

Either way, it’s all just speculation until the actual iPhone launch happens. Until then, I’ll keep not holding my breath for iPhone subsidies.

                                                                                                                        From  Arstechnica

Posted on May 9th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Plan | No Comments »

    Thanks  BoyGenius, They got an official letter sent to all corporate AT&T employees.The letter disclosed that the Apple iPhone launch will take place on June 15th with the launch period extended until the 15th of July

  While the mail didn’t confirm an exact iphone release date of June 15th, we can see that AT&T is preparing for  “the biggest selling period we have seen in a few years”, because AT&T isn’t even approving their employees from taking any vacations during that timeframe.

 Below is the full email.

To:              All Company Owned Retail Employees
From:          [Name removed]
Subject:       iPhone Launch Period
Date:           May 4, 2007

 As previously announced, Apple and AT&T will soon debut the iPhone,
which combines a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and
breakthrough internet communications into one small and lightweight
handheld device.  The new AT&T has a multiyear, exclusive agreement to
provide U.S. service for the iPhone. 

To ensure proper staffing during the product launch period, Sales personnel
planning to take approved time off are encouraged to schedule their
vacations before June 15 or after July 15 to participate in the iPhone
launch.

Previously approved vacation will be allowed where voluntary rescheduling
is not feasible

No additional vacation requests will be approved during the launch period
(6/15 – 7/15).

I want to thank you in advance for your understanding as this is likely to
be the biggest selling period we have seen in a few years.

Happy Selling,

[Name removed]

Posted on May 7th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Release Date | No Comments »