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Moore’s iPhone News Reader - Friday, October 19, 2007

By Charles W. Moore Friday, October 19, 2007.
Filed under: iPod � iPod News �

876

Strategy Analytics: iPhone Becomes AT&T Top Seller
Survey: iPhone Has 'Outstanding' Customer Satisfaction Rating
Review: Accessorizing the iPhone
Why The Open iPhone Frenzy Misses The point
Apple Ready to Own the Smartphone Market - I just can't wait to see how Palm and Microsoft answer Apple's move

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Strategy Analytics: iPhone Becomes AT&T Top Seller

iPhone Delivers an Estimated 1.1 Million Units in Q3

[ Press Release ]

The latest Strategy Analytics data from its ProductTRAX program projected that nearly 1.1 million units were delivered to US consumers through the combined AT&T and Apple outlets during Q3, totaling 1.325 million units since the iPhone was launched in late Q2. "The iPhone has become AT&T's top selling device, commanding some 13 percent of AT&T's overall handset sales, and the 4th top selling handset in the US market," according to Barry Gilbert, VP of the Strategy Analytics BuyerTRAX programs.

"Although the iPhone hasn't had an expansionary impact in the market, the iPhone has quickly assumed a leading market share position and raised the ante for smart devices," according to Mr. Gilbert. "The sales trajectory we are observing with the iPhone could make it the top selling device in the US over the next 1-2 quarters."

Currently, the top selling handset in the US continues to be Motorola's RAZR V3, however, this appears to be losing momentum as new and more competitive models that erode both its share and popularity are being introduced. ProductTRAX research notes that the top 10 handset models account for approximately 25 percent of total handset sales in a typical quarter despite an increasing number of device offerings.

"The typical iPhone buyer is upwardly mobile, college educated with a six-figure household income," according to David Kerr, Vice President of the Strategy Analytics Global Wireless Practice. "While the largest percentage of iPhone buyers is between 20-30 years old, the fact that nearly 25 percent were between 50-60 years old demonstrates that the device attracts buyers across a broad age spectrum." Thus far, iPhone users are quite satisfied with phone design and features, however, they are slightly less enamored of actual iPhone reliability, battery life, documentation and customer support.

ProductTRAX from Strategy Analytics captures these quarterly key metrics for handset buyers to support its sell-through volume estimations.

For more information, visit:
http://www.strategyanalytics.com

Survey: iPhone Has 'Outstanding' Customer Satisfaction Rating

MacsimumNews's Dennis Sellers reports:

ChangeWave's latest consumer cell phone survey—completed Oct. 2—focuses on key market share changes among the major manufacturers and service providers. A total of 3,654 Alliance members participated in the survey, which found the iPhone doing great.

The iPhone has been on the shelf just three months, but its impact is clearly being felt by the major phone manufacturers, according to ChangeWave. Apple's cell phone market share among the respondents (two percent) has increased by one percentage point since our last survey in July - solid growth in line with previous expectations.

For the full report click here.

Review: Accessorizing the iPhone

The Associated Press's Michael Felberbaum reports:

Anyone who owns Apple Inc.'s iPhone knows that it can be mighty difficult to keep the sleek smart phone shining. But is it necessary to shell out more money to keep the gadget in pristine condition?

If you're among the million people who've snatched up the combo iPod-cell phone, the answer is probably yes. The touch screen is used for everything, and all that finger tapping and swiping can make for a bit of an oily mess at the end of the day. It's hard to be hip with a messy status symbol.

But fear not, those few extra bucks will help keep your iPhone looking like new. And early adopters can use the $100 credit they got from Apple as an apology after it cut the price of the 8 gigabyte model to $399 from $599.

The good news: The best set of accessories (for cleanliness and protection) will only set you back about $45.

For the full review visit here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071018/ap_on_hi_te/tech_test_iphone_accessories

Why The Open iPhone Frenzy Misses The point

Fortune BigTech Blogs says:

When Apple CEO Steve Jobs declared in an open letter this week that the company will soon let developers write software for its popular handset, the "open iPhone" news dominated headlines. After all, this is what hackers everywhere have been begging for: Clear rules for tapping into the iPhone's power.

Too bad an open iPhone wasn't the truly big news. Tucked in at the end of Jobs's letter is the real bombshell: Apple will let developers write software for the iPod touch.

Who cares about the iPod touch?

A lot of people, it turns out..... for software developers, the open iPod touch actually will be a bigger deal than the open iPhone.....

For the full commentary click here.

Apple Ready to Own the Smartphone Market - I just can't wait to see how Palm and Microsoft answer Apple's move

PalmAddicts' Neil Tomlinson says:

The iPhone is truly an awesome device, there really is no point in trying to deny that. But as good as the iPhone is, I could never see it truly being a competitor to either Palm OS or Windows Mobile devices, because unlike those devices the iPhone has been severely limited due to the fact that it's a closed platform, meaning running applications that didn't come installed on the device was quite a task and one that required the user to hack their phone.

In a way this closed platform has been extremely beneficial to the user as it meant the iPhone is an enormously stable device, rarely requiring the user to reset the device due to the phone locking up. As nice as stability is, there is a flip side to this route to stability, which has been having a device that could do only so much and no more. Unlike Windows Mobile and Palm OS devices, the iPhone is generally used only in the way Apple wanted users to, unless users were brave enough to try the aforementioned hacks.

Well all that is about to change, Apple now seems really ready to take on the Smartphone market as they have announced they are now developing a software development kit (SDK from here on out) for the iPhone, which will allow developers to officially make applications for the iPhone (and iPod Touch)......