If there's one thing Apple does well, it's designing slick products and pushing brand awareness (with relatively little marketing). Okay, that was two things. But, Apple's just as fallible as any other company.
The iPhone is a great example of a device that was poised to bring about a revolution in the way that the US wireless industry does business. Sure, the iPhone brought the touchscreen smartphone to the forefront of many previously clueless consumers' minds, but it fell far short of moving the wireless industry (especially in the US) away from the entrenched business model of handset exclusivity and long-term contracts.
So, the question is, will Apple allow the iPhone 3G to be sold to pre-paid customers?
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster seems to think so. He estimates that 53% of the iPhone 3G market-base will be comprised of pre-paid customers - those that don't want to be tied to a particular carrier and don't mind paying more for wireless service or hardware. And more they will certainly pay.
Munster believes that pre-paid iPhone 3G handsets will command a $600 (or more) price-tag. Based on the assumption that carriers will be paying Apple $425 for each iPhone 3G handset, and will then mark up the device another $175, or so, iPhone 3G hopefuls looking to skirt contracts should be prepared to shell out about the same as early iPhone adopters did for the original contract-locked iPhone.
Global iPhone sales-projections have Apple shipping 12.5 million iPhones in 2008 (of which 2.7 million will go to pre-paid customers) and 45 million in 2009 (5.7 million going to the wireless contract-averse). If these figures pan out, Apple could capture a considerable 20%, or more, of the smartphone market in North America and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Asia).
So, will a $600 iPhone 3G be on your next pre-paid handset wish-list?
[Via: WorldOfApple]
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