UK Retailers told to keep schtum about Apple iPhone disappointment
(Picture via pressdisplay).
Well I never. I really thought Apple’s iPhone would have done a lot better. The figures aren’t out yet but if this piece if anything to go by, the non-iPhone mobile operators don’t seem to have much to worry about. The big up front cost together with the steep 18-month contract seem to be - at least anecdotally - preventing the massive uptake predicted by many (including me).
Perhaps this news story I published on the launch UK weekend is a good indication of realities:
UK iPhone launch: 18 staff and 3 customers in Winchester (Carphone Warehouse)
The Mail on Sunday is reporting that…
APPLE has banned UK retailers of its heavily hyped iPhone from reporting sales figures amid evidence that British consumers have shunned the device.
In a Christmas season that saw sales of mobile phones soar by number but crash by value, the £269 unit disappointed. But the California-based designer of the phone has told network O2 and retailer Carphone Warehouse not to tell investors the figures, according to industry insiders.
I am not in the least surprised and more than a little chuffed. Bought the iPod touch and love it. Would go for the iPhone but for the shockingly bad deal.
Posted by Barry O'Connell on January 14th, 2008 at 2:39 pm.I’m hoping that another major reason for the UK iPhone’s non-explosive launch was the Great British Public’s antipathy with hype. And let’s face it, as remarkable as the iPhone is to us, it has been over-hyped!
I blogged the poor pre-Xmas sales ten days ago before the Apple clampdown when the most telling comment I found was from a CPW employee: “Our target last week was to sell 36 and we only sold one.’
And Mobile Today also reported that “a typical-sized O2 store [was] selling just one iPhone per week.”
http://normob.blogspot.com/2008/01/iphone-flops-at-christmas-despite-hype.html
No wonder Apple want to keep it quiet!
Posted by HeavyLight on January 14th, 2008 at 7:38 pm.I predicted this. iPhones major selling point is the internet functionality. People don’t want to use phones for that yet because it doesn’t work. It’s a simple cost benefit decision, that is basically it’s too expensive for a device to check your email which is probably the best most people will do with it.
Posted by Anton Mannering on January 15th, 2008 at 2:06 am.Anton this unexpectedly slow takeup seems to be a largely UK (and to a lesser extent, European) phenomenon. From what I can gather, the iPhone is still holding up very well on it’s home turf, allegedly making it the best-selling mobile in the US last year.
Posted by HeavyLight on January 15th, 2008 at 4:27 am.And internet use from iPhones absolutely soared over the Christmas holidays, with more hits on Google from iPhones than all the other smartphones.
More of my rambling thoughts: http://normob.blogspot.com/2008/01/google-xmas-iphone-traffic-was.html
I think we could be on the verge of a rather remarkable tipping point.
I think you’re right re: tipping point HeavyLight
Posted by Ewan on January 15th, 2008 at 4:32 am.[...] SMS Text News » Archives » UK Retailers told to keep schtum about Apple iPhone disappointment APPLE has banned UK retailers of its heavily hyped iPhone from reporting sales figures amid evidence that British consumers have shunned the device. In a Christmas season that saw sales of mobile phones soar by number but crash by value, the £269 unit di (tags: apple iphone sales uk banned dissapointing) [...]
Posted by links for 2008-01-15 : Ewan Spence’s All New Musings. on January 15th, 2008 at 6:25 am.[...] compare this the regular phone market, and maybe I dunno a mention of the numbers in Europe - you know the ones you’ve told everyone not to talk about. 5/6 What the rest of the world needed to hear about was the next iPhone… And about that [...]
Posted by My Accurate MacWorld Predictions for Steve Jobs Keynote : Ewan Spence’s All New Musings. on January 17th, 2008 at 11:35 am.