RSSJobs: iPhone has 19.5% of US smartphone market
By Nate Mook | Published January 15, 2008, 12:29 PM
In his Macworld 2008 keynote Tuesday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs told the audience that the company has sold 4 million iPhones in the 200 days since it went on sale.
Apple is shipping an average of 20,000 iPhones each day, and in shipments for the first quarter holds 19.5 percent of the smartphone market in the United States. This puts the device behind on RIM's BlackBerry in terms of market share.
As expected Jobs announced that the software development kit for the iPhone will be released next month. In the meantime, new software is being release for the iPhone in the form of firmware version 1.1.3.
New features coming to the iPhone immediately include Web Clips, an updated version of Google Maps that can automatically triangulate the user's location, song lyrics, the ability to send an SMS to multiple people, as well as a custom home screen.
Apple partnered with Google and Skyhook for the pseudo-GPS functionality. "I can flip right into directions, and it uses my current location to start," Jobs said.
Web Clips are essentially bookmarks that are stored on the home screen. Jobs showed how users can add new clips simply by clicking a button in Safari, much like how Web Clips work for Dashboard in Leopard. "I can create up to 9 home screens, and I can move between them with the flick of my finger," he said.
Applications for the iPhone will also go to the iPod touch, including Mail, Stocks, Notes and Weather. Maps will include the location feature when connected to a Wi-Fi network.
But there is a catch to this new functionality: existing iPod touch users must pay $20 for these features, while they come free with newly purchased players.
Without wishing to be offensive it just goes to show how many suckers live in the US. iPhone may have nearly 20% share of the market in the States, but I can tell you for a fact it doesn't have any impact where I live. Since the iPhone was released on O2 in the UK, I have only seen one person with an iPhone. Sure I have walked past the O2 shops and seen loads of people playing with the iPhone demo, but out on the streets I have only seen one person with an iPhone in the 3 months it's been released. And I think that says an awful lot about what UK consumers want (and probably European and Asian consumers too) - at the very least 3G and also a damn good camera.
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|19.5 percent "marketshare"? BS. Sales volume maybe, but absolutely no way in hell it has that in total U.S. marketshare of "smartphones" no unless you have an asterisk footnote qualifying "smartphone" as being touch screen only.
I have nothing against the iPhone at all. It's pretty cool. I have a Blackberry, but that's because my company buys it. I would rather spend my own money on beer or sex personally, but some people prefer phones over those vices.
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|Really cool stuff. It is very impressive to see Apple gain such a large market share so quickly. But when you introduce a revolutionary device, people will flock to it.
When people have a choice, the iPhone wins easily.
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|ROFL, revolutionary? seriously? Its a nice phone but your smoking some pretty crazy stuff to believe that.
19.5%? Is this in CA only, maybe? I've seen 1 Iphone and I work at a company that has over 10,000 employees. (Granted I haven't looked at all 10,000 of them but I see more blackberrys and other smartphones then the Iphone) Its only made for At&t so this seems like just smoke really. Now, if the device was able to be used with all carriers (without hacks) I could see it selling more and reaching that # because it does work but I predict in the coming months someone will come out with a design to challenge Apple which will make it even more interesting...
Everything Apple has done someone has done before the difference is they do it with style and simplify it and watch where others made mistakes.
Name any device and I guarantee someone has done it before, just apple is better at marketing it.
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|Sounds to me like Apple's new multi-home screen is a copy of the HTC Touch's "TouchFlo" interface (among others).
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|ROTFLMAO
YOU ARE KIDDING RIGHT?
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|Here's a thought instead of being a fanboy how about you explain the difference because they do appear to be the same and HTC was first.
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|i still see this thing as a kiddy phone like the sidekick. i just don't the CEO of my company using this as a smart phone. the iphone is more of a fashion statement than a functional smart phone. i am a blackberry exclusive user.
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|The VP of Marketing at my company has one, and we (our system admin and I) spent hours trying to get the damn thing to work with Exchange 2007 so it would actually sync email.
Meanwhile, following the IMAP setup wizard with a Blackberry worked perfectly out of the box, as did ActiveSync and/or IMAP for Windows Mobile.
Sorry, but beauty may impress initial buyers, but functionality/brains are what really get the job done.
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|As I've said before on this forum ... the iPhone and iPod are purchased by kids and sheep.
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|Our CEO has one and loves it..
He replaced his Blackberry with the iPhone.
Anyone else care to speculate wildly without facts to back their fanboy opinions up?
Oh, see below... lol
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|You haven't a clue!
In such an environment, this is exactly what most want!
Image and uniqueness - even if everyone else has one trying to be trendy!
The irony is, for something so 'pedestrian', why haven't the more 'mature' manufacturers released a more impressive device that has supplanted such a 'silly and simplistic' device?
Or are they just be considerate as they are afraid that they will hurt Apple's sales?
ROFLMAO
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|Typical Apple greed. Have to pay for Service Packs.
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|Slight correction it is not a service pack it is a service UPGRADE there is a difference. usually unknown to MS types of course ;)
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|since when shipping share becomes real market share?
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|Here at BetaNews, any time it applies to Apple looking good, Sony looking good, or anyone else looking bad.
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