Apple is set to restrict sales of their new iPhones untill 2008. The move has been made because of supply issues. Analysts are saying that only 4 million units will be available this year so customers looking for an iPhone may have to wait weeks as units are expected to be on back order for several months as supply is controlled.
Apple will only ship four million iPhones this year and 12 million in 2008, according to a recently released report from Merrill Lynch. The report indicates that monthly shipments will initially total 200,000-300,000 and ramp to about one million units by the end of the year. Apple insiders who have confirmed the estimates say that they anticipate a back order situation immediatly.
It is believed that Cingular Wireless (now AT&T) have already taken over 1 million calls from people wanting to place an order for the iPod. Executives at Cingular have said that they are “certain” that a back order system will have to be implemented from day one that the phone goes on sale as only 200,000 a month will be available for sale.
The iPhone is expected to begin shipping in the US in June and in Australia “sometime in 2008.”
Based on its forecast, Merrill Lynch added that component suppliers for the device are unlikely to see a boost in their revenues in the short-term, though the iPhone should help drive demand for higher-end handsets, which should help suppliers in the long-term.
Leading handset vendors such as Sony Ericsson and Nokia also believe Apple’s entry into the handset market will help push sales of high-end feature-rich models, with Nokia CFO Rick Simonson recently stating that this represents an opportunity for Nokia. Concerning any competitive threat in the market, Nokia said it would respond quickly with added-value functions and new handset models, Simonson pointed out.
According to a recent report from In-Stat, despite a rapid increase in the number of multimedia-capable phones, US wireless subscribers have not yet been persuaded to take advantage of these capabilities. However, if Apple can deliver on the hype, it would changes the underlying dynamics of the market, and may give a significant boost to all wireless carriers.
