Apple iPhone could take a bite out of Motorola profits
Apple Computer plans to introduce its own branded multimedia cellphone, which could put a dent in Motorola's profits, according to a Barron's Online story.
"We think Motorola's PBL, SLVR and Q products, along with the RAZR, will boost 2nd half [2006] sales," the analyst told investors.
Leon sees a new, more robust Motorola SLVR handset that can hold more than 500 songs as being the company's answer to any such Apple iPhone.
Recently, several Wall Street analysts have made comments that suggest an Apple-branded cell phone may soon become a reality.
In one report, released last week, analysts for PiperJaffray said they believe there is a "75 percent chance" that Apple will debut an iPhone product within the next 12 months.
According to the report in Barron's, which is causing much of today's iPhone hoopla, Apple is said to be in talks with Tiawanese-based Hon Hai over a contract that would allow it to help produce the phone.
Also known by its US trade name, Foxconn, Hon Hai is one of Apple's largest manufacturing partners, whose resume includes production services on the PowerMac G5, Mac mini, iPod and AirPort Express, among other products.
The Apple-branded phone would make a debut in the fourth quarter of the year, according to the report.
55 Comments
Bring it on. Can't wait to see what they can do with a phone. Hopefully it will be a little bit more than just an iTunes phone.
The phone will die a long and painful death. The large Cell Phone market is there only for those who want ot play nicely with the service providers. Most people aren't going to spend $$$ on a new cell phone, when they can get one free or for a measly $ from their carrier.
And carriers won't subsidize your phone if you don't let them disable a boatload of features that they can then turn around and charge for, like downloading music, dumping stuff to/from the computer, etc.
Hell, just look at Motorola. They could only get Cingular to carry their iTunes music phones...
Yeah I'm not too interested in dealing with the Wireless Gestapo. I hope someday VOIP over Wireless WAN eats into their sales something fierce.
Cell phones have all the earmarks of something Apple could do much better than others ... if they tackled some of the outstanding issues.
Cell phone that used cell service when out and about but also, at home connects to land-line by acting as a cordless phone to a base station so you could pick up land-line calls (perhaps using wi-fi for greater range?).
Complete Addressbook integration with all labels, all phone #s preserved, ability to use groups (unlike on iPod today) to browse. Automatic group by company names so can look up by company as well person. unlimited number of names and addresses (except as memory limited). Easily get other numbers of person recently called or who called you, not just the one used.
Comfortable headset with good mic that could switch between music and calls easily. Or switch to car speakers.
Ability to sync Filemaker databases to phone/iPod.
I think whatever they release, it will integrate seamlessly with the Mac OS, offering a cell phone experience akin to the iPod experience which has proven to be such a big success. That's the best way for Apple to improve upon cell phones already out there. Make it work well with a computer OS, something that motorola and company simply don't have the ability to do.