Appletell

Apple is remaining confident that it will sell ten million iPhones this year, but is still keeping quiet about plans to introduce a new 3G model of the device. Apple’s CFO, Peter Oppenheimer refused to comment on anything to do with the rumors of a 3G iPhone. Oppenheimer however did say that the company is “excited” about new products it has on schedule. COO at Apple said that they had sold more iPhones than they expected to during this quarter of 2008, inventories fell and stores were rapidly losing stock due to the sales. He also admitted that a “significant number” of unlocked/hacked iPhones are being imported into countries which do not have the iPhone yet. iPod revenue has also climbed 8 per cent thanks to the international success of the iPod touch, which contributed to a higher average selling price on iPods.

The demand for the iPhone looks to be increasing, as more and more impatient customers are awaiting its arrival in their country. One of the main reasons for the iPod Touch’s success is that it is sold everywhere in the world, and can be used anywhere in the world.

Via [Macworld UK]

Right after a recent patent application that sparked rumors of new stores, Nielson Online is reporting that Apple’s online web traffic and sales has grown significantly.  Last year at this time, Apple had a three month average unique visitors amount of 42.9 million, but that has now reached 48.4 million.  On top of this, total minutes spent on the site increased from 9.4 billion to 10.5 billion over the same time span.  From this extra time, the amount of purchases on the site has increased from 322,000 to 424,000, also.  Those are some pretty impressive numbers and really show that Apple is gaining popularity.

What is your thoughts on these numbers?  Is this another sign Apple is increasing its market presence, or just an expected growth due to the hype around new Apple products such as the MacBook Air?

Via [a href="http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/04/22/apples.web.traffic/">MacNN]

iPhone sales appear to be rapidly increasing, thanks to the £100 price cut on the 8GB model. A report claims that last week’s price cut has led to the 8GB model selling out in the UK. Both Carphone Warehouse and O2 are reporting themselves to be out of stock on the low-cost model of the iPhone. Mobile Today cites one Carphone Warehouse employees who reportedly said sales have “doubled” since the announcement of this £100 price drop last week.

This leaves the 16GB iPhone behind at an extremely pricey £329. If O2 would do the same price reduction on the 16GB model, I may just get an iPhone. The price cut has proven a good marketing choice on O2’s behalf, bringing many more iPhone customers. I can’t help but think this price cut is only because a new iPhone is coming very soon.

Via [Macworld UK]

According to recent figures from NPD MusicWatch revealed by Ars Technica, Apple has become the leading music retailer in the US, overtaking Wal-Mart for the first time. Another interesting statistic from the report is that one-in-four music sales in the US are now in the form of paid downloads: 70.9 per cent of music sold is in physical formats while 29.1 per cent is digital - while that may seem quite low, it has increased from a much lower figure in the past. Many customers prefer physical formats for music because the quality is lossless and there is no DRM attached. However, with iTunes Plus DRM-free 256kbps songs, I am more tempted to go for digital - it’s just much easier and quicker to download a song than having to buy a physical disc, especially if you’re only going to listen to it on your iPod.

Via [Macworld UK]

When we thought 9% was a lot of US-based PC retail sales for Apple, it gets even bigger. In February of last year, Mac market share was at 9%, that number has now raised to a whopping 14%. These numbers are for retail stores, and this excludes Dell and other online computer stores. The other stat that the market research firm NPD had was the Mac dollar share. In February of 2008, Apple had 25%, where last year they had 16% The dollar represents how much money was spend on the computer, so for every $4 spent in February, $1 was for Apple.

If Apple wants to continue this growth, they should be opening many new retail stores. Chains like CompUSA that sold Macs are now out of business, mainly due to the success of the Apple Stores. Andy Hargreaves, a Pacific Crest Securities analyst predicts that the iPhone Enterprise solution may create a Halo effect, that could bring more Macs in the business environment.

Via [Computer World]

iTunes movies look to have been very successful. Apple has managed to get contracts with all the major movie studios, and their child companies. Almost every new hit movie will be on the iTunes Store, ready for downloading in an iPod-friendly format - to watch on a Mac, PC or iPod. Sillicon Alley Insider is reporting that Disney today announced that 4 million movies had been sold on iTunes - that’s $123 million. Disney also recently announced a digital sales goal of $1 billion; this includes revenue from advertising online (e.g ad revenue from online video viewing or from any of its sites), online games subscriptions, movie and music downloads, and e-commerce that is not related to its theme parks.

iTunes movies are currently limited to the USA only. Steve promised that the rest of the world will be seeing iTunes movie rentals later this year - this should have a huge impact on the revenue from movie sales.

Via [MacRumors]

I guess what I predicted in earlier posts is true - the iPhone really isn’t doing well in the UK. According to the Financial Times, UK sales of the iPhone weren’t quite up to par, selling 190,000 phones against a target of 200,000 phones. Many analysts predicted the sales to be more than double of that - in the range of 350,000 and 400,000. Many (including me) cite the high price of the phone, saying the average phone is free and the average plan is under £30. On top of the minimum £30 a month fee for 18 months, you have to pay £269 for the phone. This totals to £899 over 18 months - on the lowest price plan. In U.S. Dollars thats $529 for the phone and $98/month for the plan.

Maybe US iPhone owners should consider themselves lucky and stop complaining about their price plans - because if you buy one in the UK - it’s almost double the price. We are also used to better equipped phones than the iPhone, at cheaper prices. For example, most phones have a minimum of 2 megapixel cameras, 3G technology and video cameras - these kind of phones would be free on a contract plan of about £20/month. The iPhone is a terrible deal compared to other phones. And I think that is why it’s failing. Apple needs to lower the price, so that UK customers will actually consider buying it.

Via [Gizmodo]

iPhones are selling very well in France, according to these statistics: Orange has sold over 70,000 iPhones in just the first month of sales - which sounds considerably better than what we’ve heard of the iPhone in the UK from O2. O2 haven’t publicized any statistics of iPhone sales in the UK yet which presumably means they are not good. Around the UK, the word on the street is “iPhones are too expensive - don’t buy them”. The contracts are ridiculously overpriced compared to those in the USA.

O2 expected to sell 200,000 iPhones by the end of this month and they claim to be “in line with expectations”. But I won’t believe it until official statistics can prove it. Orange appears to be happy with the iPhone in France, they expected to sell between 50,000 and 100,000 - they sold 70,000. And even though the Orange iPhone can be bought without a contract restricted to Orange - 82% of buyers went for the iPhone-specific plan. The unlocked phones did sell, too, but fewer than 3,500 customers chose to buy them, most likely for the higher price tag of €999.

Via [Macworld UK]

As 2007 is coming to a close, Apple is attempting to clear out the shelves of old, refurbished Macs. Macs that are in Apple’s refurbished store have been bought, returned, and cleaned up by Apple. Apple even claims them “as good as new”. Buying a refurbished Mac will always save you some money, but now it can save you as much as $800 on a Mac. You can find 17” MacBook Pros that were originally sold for $2799, for only $999, or get a 5G 30GB iPod for only $159. They also have deals on AirPort Extremes, AppleTVs, Mighty Mice, and (if you’re in the market for it) Xserves. Altogether, you can save a pretty penny doing your Christmas shopping from the Refurbished store this Christmas.

Shop [Apple Store]

Apple has traditionally had Black Friday sales across all of their Apples Stores. This year, it is rumored, they are preparing something extra special. It is being kept under tight wraps, but Looprumors seems to have gotten some leaks out of a source that is probably fired now. Apple is preparing to open it’s retail stores early, and has been telling employees to arrive ready to work at 4:00 AM. Also, beginning today, employees are expected to be wearing three different red holiday t-shirts this year advertising it’s three main product lines - iPod, iPhone, and iMac (no AppleTV, surprise surprise). Apple Stores are also expected to put up new Nutcracker displays. Apple is very quiet of specific pricing and discounts, however, it seems that they will be offering one-day discounts on select items.

Via [Looprumors]