Filed under: Products and services, Launches, Apple Inc (AAPL), Marketing and advertising, AT and T (T), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Research in Motion (RIMM), iPhone
So what happened?
For months now that investors and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) enthusiasts have been expecting the 3G iPhone. The past few weeks, there was so much hype that speculation over features, dates and even a new business model surfaced daily, from bloggers, reporters, investors and analysts.
Finally the day came and Steve Jobs announced a 3G iPhone for $199 to be released on July 11 in 22 countries at first with the intention of selling the iPhone in 70 countries. Not only that, but the new model includes a GPS and push email.
Well, nearly all analysts have concurred that for Apple to reach the 10 million iPhones sold in 2008 target, and the iPhone to attract more business users and take market share from Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK), it would have to do just that — get a 3G iPhone with push email and GPS.
Apple also said it will soon open up its iPhone software store where iPhone software add-ons and third-party programs could be purchased, another key revenue source for Apple.
So with all that, why was the stocks down 3% this day? For one thing, it could be the steep price cut in the iPhone. For another, it could be because the new business model is more traditional and eliminates the revenue-sharing model where AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) paid shared monthly service revenue with Apple. It also could be that the anticipation had already driven the price of Apple stock and when no earth shattering news were announced, investors took some profit.
Personally, while of course I believe the iPhone is great and will contribute more and more to Apple’s revenue, I’m a tiny disappointed the focus was nearly solely on that business segment. I’d have wanted more Mac developments, even though in Jobs mind, he likely sees the two converging at some point in the future…
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