High speed, more memory iPhone heightens users' eagerness
June 21, 2009
By Connie Guglielmo
Apple released a new iPhone on Friday, aiming to tempt consumers with faster speed and more features, as competitors crowd the market for web-equipped phones.
The maker of the iPod media player and iBook laptop opened its 211 US stores at 7am to sell two models of the iPhone 3G S, which offers a video camera and more memory.
Some current users, who lined up for the first iPhone in 2007 and for the second in July, say they're ready to buy again.
"Apple is nonstop at doing things right, never cutting corners," said Carol Hannan, a freelance advertising director.
She ordered the $299 (R2 424), 32-gigabyte iPhone 3G S for delivery to her home in Aventura, Florida.
The latest iPhone will face off against increasingly sophisticated rival products, such as Palm's new Pre phone and Research In Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry Tour.
The Pre, the brainchild of former Apple boss Jonathan Rubinstein, features a touch screen, a slide-out keyboard and the new WebOS operating system. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, is aiming to broaden the iPhone's appeal to cost-conscious shoppers.
The firm is now selling the 8-gigabyte version of the year-old iPhone 3G for $99, half the original price. That may help push iPhone shipments to 18 million units this year and 28 million next year, said Mike Abramsky, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.
"We are thrilled by the customer response to iPhone 3G S," said Steve Dowling, who is an Apple spokesman.
Jobs' leave
Two years have passed since chief executive Steve Jobs released the first version of the iPhone, whose success spurred rivals such as Palm and RIM to develop similar touch-screen models. Jobs is on medical leave. He is expected to return at the end of this month.
Sunnyvale, California-based Palm began selling the Pre this month, while RIM began selling the BlackBerry Storm last year.
All three companies have pursued more innovative designs as they strive for a bigger share of the market for so-called smart phones.
Shipments of those types of devices may provide the only area of growth in handsets this year as the overall market shrinks, according to research firm Gartner in Stamford, Connecticut.
Apple's new iPhone operating system software adds more than 100 new features and works on the 3G S and older models. That software, according to Abramsky, could "sustain delight" with Apple's phone and encourage even more developers to create applications for the device.
Jacquie Brennan said she downloaded the new iPhone operating system software because she wanted immediate access to the new features, including copy and paste.
The Houston attorney said she was drawn to the latest model's extended battery life and voice controls.
Stock performance
Apple rose 30c to $135.88 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have gained 59 percent this year. RIM, in Waterloo, Ontario, dropped 66c to $76.55, while Palm declined 61c to $13.06.
The iPhone 3G S starts at $199 for a model with 16 gigabytes of memory. Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster predicts that Apple will sell as many as 500 000 over the weekend, half as many as the iPhone 3G in its July debut.
That's partly because Apple is only selling the new model in eight countries today, versus 21 a year ago, according to the Minneapolis-based analyst.
Apple plans to offer the latest iPhone in more than 80 countries, according to the company.
Shopping online
Apple let buyers preorder the iPhone 3G S through its website for home delivery or pickup today at retail stores.
AT&T, the exclusive US wireless carrier for the iPhone, will carry the product in its outlets, as will Best Buy and Wal-Mart Stores.
As many as 200 people lined up in front of Softbank's flagship store in Tokyo on Thursday to reserve their purchases ahead of the product's June 26 debut in Japan, said Natsuko Kameda, a spokeswoman at Tokyo-based Softbank. - Bloomberg
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