The newly released Apple iPhone is set to grab 10 per cent of smartphone sales by the end of the year, analysts at Strategy Analytics have predicted.
"We forecast 20 million smartphones to be sold in the US during 2007. We expect Apple and its Apple iPhone portfolio to account for two million of that total, giving it a 10 per cent share by the end of the year," said Neil Mawston, associate director at Strategy Analytics .
This would put Apple ahead of Windows Mobile in terms of smartphone sales. Windows Mobile-based devices currently represent 6 per cent of smartphone sales. That puts them behind Linux (17 per cent) and Symbian (72 per cent), a report in May stated .
"A critical question will be what percentage of Apple iPhone buyers will be churning from other operators," said David Kerr, vice president at Strategy Analytics.
Nokia N series
"A second key issue is whether the Apple iPhone will draw users who would otherwise have bought Nokia N series music and multimedia devices, eroding their premium tier share, or will the Apple iPhone most dramatically impact the Sony Ericsson Walkman series fortunes?"
Strategy Analytics predicts that the Apple iPhone will generate $1.4 billion worth of new revenue for Apple. There's also a chance that Apple will exceed predicted sales and go on to sell as many as three million units in the US before the year end, it said.
