Less than two years after saying it would enter the business, Apple now says it is the third-biggest maker of cellphones in the world by revenue, after Nokia and Samsung. And it sold more phones than Research In Motion, the maker of the iconic BlackBerry, says the NY Times.
Apple sold 6.9 million 3G iPhones in the first quarter, more than their first model sold in a year.
In the quarter ended in September, Apple said iPhone sales represented 39 percent of the company’s $11.6 billion in revenue (adjusted for some accounting technicalities). That means Apple sold $4.5 billion worth of iPhones in the quarter.
That represents average revenue of $652 per handset. Since the price of the phone in the United States is $199 to $299, it appears that carriers are kicking in well over $300 in subsidy per phone, a bit more than is typical with other handsets.
AT&T says it activated 2.4 million iPhone subscribers (about a third of Apple’s 6.9 million total) last quarter, including about 40% to customers who were new to AT&T. That helped the carrier add 2.0 million net new wireless subscribers last quarter, ahead of expectations.
“We’re very pleased to have grown revenue 35 percent and to have generated $9.1 billion in cash in fiscal 2008,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO.
Apple’s $4.6 billion in revenue from phones is more than its sales of computers. Analysts expected Apple to sell about $4 billion in Macintosh computers and $1.6 billion in iPods in the quarter.
It will be interesting compare iPhone sales to the T-Mobile G1 ($179) which goes on sale today.
There are already over 50 apps available in Android Market today. You can view a showcase of some of these apps—which include multimedia, location-based tools, barcode scanners, travel guides and games—at http://www.android.com/market/. The Android Market has only free apps available for now while Handango has both free and pay downloadable applications. Here’s a list of T-Mobile’s 3G cities, a coverage map and FAQ.
You must select a specific T-Mobile voice plan ($29-49/mo), then choose a data plan in order for your T-Mobile G1 to work. You can choose a data plan that offers unlimited data access and unlimited messaging (text, IM and email) for $34.99 a month. Or for $24.99 a month you get unlimited data access and 400 messages (text, IM and email). Prepaid service for the T-Mobile G1 is not available at this time.
Meanwhile, Nokia has sold more than 180 million Symbian smartphones and has developed the platform’s most successful user interface, the Series 60 (S60). Since June 2008, 40 companies have confirmed commitment to the Symbian Foundation initiative, including the ten initial board members: AT&T, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, NTT DOCOMO, Samsung Electronics, Sony Ericsson, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone. The Symbian Foundation promises an open approach, somewhat similar to Google’s Android.
Their open platform could be a killer — next year.
