UBS’s predictions on iPhone

UBS Securities analyst Ben Reitzes have weighted the facts and decided to unravel how many iPhones are sitting in the inventory. Firstly Sanford Bernstein analyst said that Apple have 670,000units unsold. Interestingly enough, he lowered this number to 480,000 after 4 days, saying that there was enough iPhones sold but not activated with carriers like AT&T, and instead unlocked.

Apple’s CFO Peter Oppenheimer said this week, he thinks the number for both unlocked phones and channel inventory of iPhones is lower than might seem, and that the whole matter has been worried over too much.

Reitzer said many iPhones purchased in December have not been activated by year’s end, and hence unaccounted for. And so, “[W]e expect that the ‘unlocked’ number for 2007 was in the 800K range,” compared to Sacconaghi’s estimate of 1 million unlocked phones.

Even though 800,000 unlocked iPhones makes a big loss from carrier revenues for Apple, it is also popularizing iPhone in other countries, where it is yet to appear.

He also believes that with the new #g model coming out, apple will reach its 10 million units sold even earlier then predicted – around September 2008.

Thanks: Barrons

Tags: app, Apple, AT&T, iPhone, O2, OS, unlock

Related posts:

1. Can Apple sell 10 Million iPhones this year?
2. Are unlocked iPhones helping Apple?
3. Apple lowers iPhone sales predictions for 2008?

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