Apple iPhone launch 'imminent' says US research firm

By Stuart Corner
Sunday, 02 April 2006 09:37

IT Industry - Strategy

Also see   It's a wireless world, but not for Apple

US market research company, Visiongain, is tipping Apple to launch its much-rumoured iPhone mobile phone to co-incide with the launch of Helios, a US mobile virtual network operator with which it has close ties.

According to Pam Duffey, telecoms analyst at Visiongain, "There exists a relationship between Apple and Helio management that goes back to the ROKR iTunes phone, and Helio has declared a target audience identical to iPod's existing market. Helio's top rank executives have also publicly voiced frustration with mainstream carriers and appear to be on a crusade to radically shake-up the industry."

Helio is a partnership between US ISP, Earthlink and Korean telco, SK Telecom, in which the two are estimated to have invested $US440milion.

According to Visiongain, Helio CFO, Todd Tappin has said that Helio plans to sign about three million customers and generate more than $US2 billion in revenue by 2009. He also said that Helio would subsidise its handsets, and that its target demographic was both willing and able to pay for high-end phones.

"The iPhone will most likely be produced in South Korea by an existing handset maker, and made available exclusively through Helio," Duffey predicted, adding "the iPhone will likely be as disruptive to the existing carrier market as the iPod was to the mobile music industry. When the iPhone adds VoIP capability, it will be even more disruptive to carriers."