Brian GarnerAlthough Nokia and Samsung are the world's largest two cellphone makers, Apple has bested both in terms of total operating profit, says research firm Strategy Analytics.
Reuters reports that although Apple does not disclose profits by line, operating profit was estimated at nearly $1.6 billion in the third quarter of this year, compared to $1.1 billion in profit by Nokia for the same period of time.
The news only serves to reiterate what has been known for some time: Apple, along with competitor Research in Motion, carries a much higher profit margin on its handsets than competitors. This summer, a report stated that though Apple and RIM together only control 5 percent of the cell phone market, they take 58 percent of its total operating profits.
Another report said that Apple sees an estimated 32 percent of global handset profits, which is 8 percent of all mobile revenue. Those numbers are not just limited to the smartphone market segment, but account for all mobile phones sold in the first half of 2009.
Last quarter, Apple announced that the average selling price of each iPhone is just over $600, demonstrating that consumers typically opt for the high-end iPhone 3GS. Though consumers only pay a fraction of the value of the handset, the rest is subsidized through a contract with a wireless carrier.
Tuesday, Samsung introduced a new smartphone platform dubbed Bada, which is poised to directly compete with both the iPhone and Android platforms. Bada is an attempt by Samsung to create its own self-contained smartphone operating system like competitors Apple, Palm, and RIM. The first phones sporting the new Bada platform are slated for early in 2010.
Nokia also has a new operating system in the works, called Maemo. Nokia's first Maemo-based phone, the N900 started shipping Tuesday.
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115 Comments
Holy Moly!
I guess many companies are starting to look at Apple from the rear view, if not exactly in the front view...
Kudos to Apple. They are the company of the first decade of the 21st century. Let's see how the game will be played in the next decade!
Now we know why Nokia is suing Apple.
Sore losers.But I think Apple's iPhone success is limited, the competition is catching up and dozens of cheaper iPhone knockoffs appearing.
Especially the Droid, that's going to hurt. Stupid AT&T lock-in.
Apple will have to come up with something EVEN BETTER like they did with the iPod as to knock them out.
With the iPod they came out with smaller versions, different colors and so on to lock up the whole market.
Will Apple do the same with the iPhone?
A larger iTablet type version? A smaller less expensive option?
The $100 a month for the iPhone is turning me off, especially when I fish a lot and can lose it overboard.
$15 a month is more my style. Not that I'm cheap, it's no sense wasting a good phone for the fish to use to tele-market people with.
Fish need money too.
Now we know why Nokia is suing Apple.
Sore losers.But I think Apple's iPhone success is limited, the competition is catching up and dozens of cheaper iPhone knockoffs appearing.
Especially the Droid, that's going to hurt. Stupid AT&T lock-in.
Apple will have to come up with something EVEN BETTER like they did with the iPod as to knock them out.
With the iPod they came out with smaller versions, different colors and so on to lock up the whole market.
Will Apple do the same with the iPhone?
A larger iTablet type version? A smaller less expensive option?
The $100 a month for the iPhone is turning me off, especially when I fish a lot and can lose it overboard.
$15 a month is more my style. Not that I'm cheap, it's no sense wasting a good phone for the fish to use to tele-market people with.
Fish need money too.
I'd keep the iPhone but leave it in the car when I fish if I were you. That makes me think.. what would it cost to replace a lost one ... I can't see AT&T kicking in and insurance companies might balk at taking one in a boat .. \
They have nearly 50% more operating profits than the number position. That could their profits this next quarter. Quite amazing considering they did this with the iPhone 3 a full 6 months after it was on the market and less than two years into the cellphone business.