With iPhone sales already heading to outperform pre-release forecasts, a cheaper version would likely pose a formidable threat to rival phone makers like Samsung, LG, Nokia, Motorola and Sony Ericsson
July 11, 2007 (Press Release) --
Apple whose new iPhone handset has become a massive hit will release a more affordable model of the smartphone in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Reuters news agency.
With iPhone sales already heading to outperform pre-release forecasts, a cheaper version would likely pose a formidable threat to rival phone makers like Samsung, LG, Nokia, Motorola and Sony Ericsson.
Apple earlier this month submitted a patent application to Taiwan's Intellectual Property Office in order to produce a new model of the iPhone in the country.
The cheaper iPhone is expected to marry an iPod Nano music player with a mobile phone and a multi-touch display. It would likely sell for less than US$300.
Apple is planning the affordable model because it believes the $500 to $600 price tag of the current iPhone is too expensive for most U.S. consumers, Retuers said. Eighty five percent of American cell phone buyers pay less than $100 for their phones.
The cheaper phone could achieve sales of 30 million to 40 million units, far more than Apple's 2008 sales target of 10 million for the original iPhone, Reteurs said.
Apple released the iPhone -- a mobile phone with a music player and Web browser -- on June 29 with an eye on the high-end market.
To counter Apple's aggressive moves, rival cell phone makers are joining hands with major Internet services such as Google and Yahoo.
Samsung Electronics has launched four kinds of Google phones and seven Yahoo phones, while LG Electronics has introduced a phone equipped with Google search. It plans to release another ten kinds of Google and Yahoo phones. On these phones, a click of a button lets users immediately access the portals.
Source: http://english.chosun.com/
With iPhone sales already heading to outperform pre-release forecasts, a cheaper version would likely pose a formidable threat to rival phone makers like Samsung, LG, Nokia, Motorola and Sony Ericsson.
Apple earlier this month submitted a patent application to Taiwan's Intellectual Property Office in order to produce a new model of the iPhone in the country.
The cheaper iPhone is expected to marry an iPod Nano music player with a mobile phone and a multi-touch display. It would likely sell for less than US$300.
Apple is planning the affordable model because it believes the $500 to $600 price tag of the current iPhone is too expensive for most U.S. consumers, Retuers said. Eighty five percent of American cell phone buyers pay less than $100 for their phones.
The cheaper phone could achieve sales of 30 million to 40 million units, far more than Apple's 2008 sales target of 10 million for the original iPhone, Reteurs said.
Apple released the iPhone -- a mobile phone with a music player and Web browser -- on June 29 with an eye on the high-end market.
To counter Apple's aggressive moves, rival cell phone makers are joining hands with major Internet services such as Google and Yahoo.
Samsung Electronics has launched four kinds of Google phones and seven Yahoo phones, while LG Electronics has introduced a phone equipped with Google search. It plans to release another ten kinds of Google and Yahoo phones. On these phones, a click of a button lets users immediately access the portals.
Source: http://english.chosun.com/
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