macnn
04/16/2008, 11:35am, EDT
Wednesday, April 16th
Piper: European iPhone selling light, 3G device soon
Changes in the European iPhone market may have a dual significance, argue analysts with Piper Jaffray. Following a 75 percent price cut in Germany earlier this month, the UK has also slashed the price of the 8GB iPhone by 37 percent, to reach £169 ($335). Piper argues once again that this is a sign European carriers are attempting to clear out stock in advance of a 3G iPhone, anticipated for June; it may also however be emblematic of sales below expectations, a factor typically attributed to the iPhone's unusually high price in Europe, and a widespread acceptance of 3G that Apple cannot currently deliver on.
Aiding speculation that a 3G device is set for June is that according to Piper, stock of 2.5G iPhones has remained low in America for two weeks, in both its 8 and 16GB variants. On April 15th the company polled 22 Apple Stores, and found that 82 percent had a limited supply of the 8GB phone, while just 50 percent had any 16GB models for sale. Piper reasons that Apple is deliberately "trickling" a limited stockpile into the market, so that like Europe, it is not caught with a host of unmarketable products following the switch to 3G.
Piper believes that the 3G iPhone will have a redesigned exterior, and a base price between $349 and $399.
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And it could just be that no one's buying it because its too expensive, its too restrictive, or they just don't plain want it. (Oh, right, it can't be that last item, because everyone wants an iPhone. They all must be waiting for 3G, even though we all know it is useless, since, well, Apple didn't include it).
In my local 02 store there are a variety of prices for a given phone based on pay-as-you-go, contract (and price/emgth of contract), and finally one that says phone only.
In my local 02 store there are a variety of prices for a given phone based on pay-as-you-go, contract (and price/length of contract), and finally one that says phone only.