Apple stores will open early to cater to throngs of aspiring iPhone 3G owners in more than 20 countries and analysts say sales could pass the billion-dollar mark within days.
IPhone fanatics began camping outside Apple's flagship store in
"I am a huge Apple fan and I'm excited to buy the iPhone, which I find is far better than any other cellphone," said 25-year-old graduate student Hiroyuki Sano who was first in line in
If Sano's anticipation is any indication, Apple's latest device will be a smash hit.
Online orders for iPhone 3G handsets at British telecom carrier O2 reportedly topped 13,000 per second on Monday, overwhelming the website and causing it to crash.
Industry tracker iSuppli predicts Apple might sell as many as two million iPhone 3G devices at the launch.
Apple intends to gradually roll out the coveted mobile phones, which it is billing as twice as fast and half as expensive as the debut model, in 70 countries.
First-generation iPhones are sold in six countries but have been taken to many others and modified to work on local telecom networks.
"It is clear there is a demand for iPhones in many more countries," Apple founder Steve Jobs said while unveiling the new device last month.
It is designed for faster Internet downloads, longer talk times, and takes advantage of the high-speed third-generation (3G) networks to provide built-in GPS mapping.
Early iPhone 3G reviews have been favorable, saying the device delivers as promised but expressing mild disappointment with battery life. The higher performance of the 3G network saps power faster than its predecessor.
Apple will sell iPhone 3G models in the United States for 199 dollars and 299 dollars, depending on memory capacity. The original eight-gigabyte iPhone was priced at 600 dollars when it debuted in June last year.
IPhone 3G prices in some countries will be as low as a euro (1.57 dollars) provided customers purchase multi-year service plans that translate into lucrative long-term revenue streams for carriers.
Apple is continuing its strategy of locking iPhones exclusively to one telecom carrier per country.
IPhone service providers are AT&T in the United States, T-Mobile in Germany, O2 in Great Britain, and Orange in France, where iPhone 3G launches on July 17.
Belgium will evidently be home to the most expensive iPhone 3G devices, which will be priced at 826 dollars (525 euros) and 968 dollars (615 euros) because law there prevents subsidizing hardware costs with service plans.
Apple and numerous technology websites have posted online tips on how to navigate Friday's anticipated buying frenzy.
The second-generation iPhone will let business users send and receive Microsoft Exchange email, in a direct shot at rival BlackBerry made by Canada-based Research-In-Motion.
BlackBerry handsets have long let people "push" work email to the devices using the Microsoft email system.
IPhones are the third most popular "smart phones" in the world, with 5.3 per cent of the market.
BlackBerry claims 13.4 per cent of the market while Finnish handset colossus Nokia dominates with 45.2 per cent," according to research from Gartner.
The popularity of iPhones has led to copying by competitors such as Nokia and Samsung, which have released touch-screen mobile telephones with Internet capabilities. BlackBerry is also planning a touch-screen device.
Apple reported selling six million iPhones as of June. Analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray predicts Apple will sell more than 12 million new iPhones this year and more than triple that number in 2009.
The Economic Times dt. 10 7 2008
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