| iPhone - the Paris Hilton of mobile phones? |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Friday, 05 December 2008 | |
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Page 3 of 4 Strand Consult continues:Featured Whitepaper
5 Best Practices for Smartphone Support
“Not only do they want a kick-back from the data traffic generated by the phone, but they also keep all revenue from the iPhone-generated sales of Apple's own applications and music. “Is it not fair to say that Apple is actually in the process of positioning the mobile operator as a dumb bit pipe that is spending subsidies on reducing the price of Apple's hardware, while at the same time letting Apple keep all the premium revenue streams generated by the product after the customer has purchased it? “8. There are already a number of operators that have issued profit warnings related to their iPhone ventures and our research shows that there is not one single Apple partner in the world among the mobile operators that has increased their overall turnover, profit and market share due to the iPhone. “So apart from the press coverage, what value has the iPhone actually created for the shareholders of the operators that have chosen to become Apple iPhone partners? “9. Across the world there is a huge market for unlocked iPhone's (sic). People purchase a phone that has been marketed, sold and subsidised by an operator who thereafter does not receive the data traffic and revenue from that handset. “These phones are most often used on other non-Apple partner networks, resulting in the Apple iPhone partner operator ending up with a high SAC, while another non-Apple partner only needs to sell a SIM-only product with a low SAC and attractive voice and data prices. Strand Consult’s final point, and some of my additional views, are on the next final page. Please read on. |
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