AT&T Earnings From iPhone Different than Apple Reported
AT&T said today that it activated 146,000 iPhones after the first two days of sales, which fell on the final days of the second quarter. Apple shares fell the most in six months after analysts said demand may be slowing for the iPhone, which Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs expects to become the company’s third major business. This is way below analysts’ estimates, which had ranged from 500,000 to 1 million.
The iPhone - part iPod, cell phone and Internet device - was first announced in January. Jobs has projected sales of 10 million iPhones in its first year. With two models priced at $499 and $599 depending on storage capacity, that would generate more than $5 billion in additional retail sales. Apple’s shares had climbed from about $95 in January to a record high $143.75 on Friday.
Analysts cautioned against reading too much into AT&T’s activation numbers, saying the actual number of iPhones sold may be much higher but was not reflected in the figure because many users had activation problems and couldn’t sign up for a few days.
Weighing 135 grams (3.8 ounces), the iPhone has an Apple OS X operating system and 4 or 8 GB of storage. It is able to play videos as well as music and has a 3.5-inch screen.