14 DAY TRIAL // Reports from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley financial analysts say Apple will snap up smartphone marketshare from competitors because Apple knows exactly what to offer high-end customers.
The Cupertino-based company is well known for its great understanding of customers' desires, needs and taste and I'm sure they've made no exception with the iPhone.
Keith Bachman at Bank of America spoke with those at Nokia, Apple's strongest competitor. They predicted the high-end phone market will flourish, estimating 250 million phone sales by 2008.
The market today is very welcoming to multimedia-enabled phones using cutting-edge technology and innovative design. Reports show smartphone owners rely on the device for playing music and taking photos.
Bachman said that while Nokia and Apple are basically on similar levels, the Mac-maker still has its advantages, namely its devoted fan base and proficiency in user interface design.
Katheryn Huberty at Morgan Stanley says few are those who are relatively immune to iPhone's entering the market. She names RIM's BlackBerry line as not being vulnerable, and speaks of Palm's Treos as being most at risk. According to a Morgan Stanley survey, Treo owners are very likely to own Apple hardware so they might become iPhone buyers as well.
Both analysts predict a bright future for Apple's latest device and they also agree the price could be a draw-back. They think Apple should broaden their line of phones with cheaper ones. They've also named the 2-megapixel camera (compared to 3 to 5 megapixels in other phones) and lack of 3G as weak points for the iPhone.
For more information on iPhone pros and cons and market statistics keep your eyes on this space.