More Apple pwnage

[Asher]

Originally posted by Kidicious
You should really drop that. The inventory at the A&TT store is a drop in the bucket, and they probably aren't even counting it.

Yes, I agree with you that Apple's PR department is sure to be as conservative as possible in their sales estimates.

[Nostromo]

I saw the new Nano today, BTW. It looks great. Its tiny and it doesn't look "fat" one bit. I think I'll upgrade my thrusty 4 GB Mini (frankly, I feel cramped with only 4GB) to either the 8GB Nano or the new 80GB classic.

[Asher]

Great? I just saw it on a list near the top of a "Ten Ugliest Apple Products Ever". It looks fat, I don't say how you can say it doesn't...it's short and...fat?

Anyway:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multimedia/display/20070910150908.html

Earlier this year AT&T, the only carrier that sells iPhones in the U.S., said it sold 176 thousand of Apple’s cell phones in the first two days. Keeping in mind the rush sales of iPhone, it is hard to believe that Apple sold less than a half of that number. Therefore, sales of Apple iPhone have been gradually decreasing over the following 72 days of sales to about 10.8 thousand of iPhones sold daily in average.

While Apple yet has to launch the cell phone in Asia and Europe, current dynamics of iPhone sales indicates that the much-anticipated device is not successful on the market. Perhaps, 10.8 thousand of phones sold daily in a little more than two first months is not a bad result. But the company decided to reduce the pricing on its iPhone by 33% in order to “make it affordable for even more customers� just 69 days after the introduction, an indicator which may mean that sales of the iPhone dropped well below average 10.8 thousand a day.

Apple once promised to sell as many as 10 million iPhone devices in 2008 and to achieve that goal Apple needs to sell 27.4 thousand of iPhones daily worldwide. While 10 million is a negligible number for the market of cell phones that may surpass one billion units a year milestone in 2007, it may turn out that the company will have a hard time achieving this goal.

[Nostromo]

I had my doubts also, but now that I saw it in person, I sorta like it. Its not as pretty as the old Nano, but I wouldn't say its ugly. Its about half the height of the old Nano. Its wider, of course, but its certainly not thicker. Its so thin, I have a hard time calling it fat.

[snoopy369]

I have to admit I was shocked also when I saw it this weekend... I was convinced it was too small for video and not good looking from the internet pictures i'd seen. However, seeing it in person, it's actually possible to watch video on it - the resolution is good enough that it works.

I still think the old nano was more 'sleek' and probably more in line with the Apple Image, but the new nano might just be a better compromise for video (which Apple probably decided was necessary to be competitive).

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Asher

Yes, I agree with you that Apple's PR department is sure to be as conservative as possible in their sales estimates.

That's the accounting depts responsibility.

[Nostromo]

Frankly, I don't give a flying **** about video. I'm more interested in the fact that it supports gapless music play, unlike my Mini.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Nikolai
Another reason not to buy iPhone just yet(http://news.com.com/8300-13579_3-37-...d=Interdigital):

That's the first good reason I've seen in this thread not to buy an iPhone.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Kidicious

You should really drop that. The inventory at the A&TT store is a drop in the bucket, and they probably aren't even counting it.

You wonder if some people understand what "just in time" manufacturing means.

IIRC Apple only keeps about a week of inventory (this is somewhat of a rule with them as they used to be really slack with inventory in the 90s, and had a bad patch with the tech crash). If the million figure refers to shipped units, then the vast majority of them will have been sold. Even if the 1800 AT&T stores have 20 phones in stock (and they didn't have a hell of a lot at launch, and certainly would not be re-ordering them if they weren't selling), or even 40 phones in stock, that's not going to be more than about 70,000 phones in stock total for AT& T (and that is a ridiculous overestimate given the size of a lot of those stores – some are not much bigger than cupboards, and I know for a fact that the AT&T stores had very little in the way of stock on the opening weekend).

But Apple didn't say that. They explicitly said they had sold a million phones. Even the New York Times reports that.

The suggestion that there are hundreds of thousands of unsold iPhones sitting in stockrooms is simply not supported by the facts. Y'know... facts... those inconvenient things...

[Agathon]

And on the subject of the price cut

Mobile phones tend to be more prone to price declines because the pace of product introductions is faster than for televisions or DVD players. Motorola, for instance, introduced the ultrathin Razr phone for $499 with a two-year service contract in early 2005. Six months later, Motorola realized it had a hit on its hands and dropped the price to $199 in an effort to aim at more mainstream buyers. By the end of 2005, the price was $99.

Radical price cuts for top selling mobiles are not unprecedented, since the sticker price doesn't even come close to the total cost of ownership for the device.

Link

[Asher]

Originally posted by Kidicious
That's the accounting depts responsibility.

And to the accounting dept, when the item is sold to AT&T, it's sold and not Apple's anymore.

Just like Nokia did with the NGAGE and its cell phones, Motorola did with the RAZR and its other cellphones, Microsoft did with its game consoles, Sony does with its game consoles, Nintendo does with its game consoles, and what every retailer does with every product they bring in their store...

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Asher

And to the accounting dept, when the item is sold to AT&T, it's sold and not Apple's anymore.

There is a way to account for the sales at AT&T stores. It's a widely used method so that accounting is more accurate. They might even have instant information sharing.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
You wonder if some people understand what "just in time" manufacturing means.

Actually, it's clear that you don't.

"just in time" manufacturing has to do with components and manufacturing, not retail strategy.

And when your products are made in China with 1-2 month lead times in shipping, "just in time" replenishment (which is I think what you were referring to) is not an option.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Kidicious
There is a way to account for the sales at AT&T stores.

It is not their concern. They have already sold their product, they don't keep track of AT&T's sellthrough rates except through how much they order to replenish stocks. Even then, that is not something the accounting department cares about, and it's certainly not something the PR department will say. AT&T's sellthrough rate will ALWAYS be lower than Apple's sell rate to AT&T.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
And on the subject of the price cut

Radical price cuts for top selling mobiles are not unprecedented, since the sticker price doesn't even come close to the total cost of ownership for the device.

Link

Six months is 300% longer than two months...

And what philosophical argument technique is this:

Radical price cuts for top selling mobiles are not unprecedented, since the sticker price doesn't even come close to the total cost of ownership for the device.

Radical price cuts for top selling cars are not unprecedented, since the sticker price doesn't even come close to the total cost of ownership for the device.

It's the one that demonstrates that the reasoning is fundamentally flawed?