14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this week, Apple COO Tim Cook talked about the iPhone and their partnership with AT&T at Goldman Sachs Technology Investment Symposium. He spoke about the decisions they took regarding the iPhone and sales prediction for the future.
Cook reassured attendants that the iPhone will be launched in June, as announced. He also said they intend to sell 10 million iPhones in 2008 and claimed that he's confident people will buy the gadget because, though it's expensive, it's worth every penny.
The COO said the iPhone is a revolutionary product just like the iMac was years ago, and most recently, the iPod.
The Apple second in command said they know from experience how to sell revolutionary products and gives the example of their expensive but highly-appreciated iPod, of which they sold 90 million units. Last financial quarter was remarkable for Apple as they sold 21 million iPods. That's 7 million a month. A survey reported that most iPod users (about 75 percent) will want the iPhone as well, so things are looking up for the Cupertino-based company.
When asked about the possibility of iPhone cannibalizing the iPod, Cook said "it's too early to tell" and that there surely will still be people who want the iPod, it is "being sold for a wide variety of usages" and price tags.
The COO also spoke about their exclusive contract with AT&T, ex-Cingular, and said it was the best choice of carrier for the US, being most popular, but also delivering high-quality services and using GSM. He said "The deal that we struck allows Apple to do the things that Apple is really good at, and it allows Cingular to do the things that Cingular is really good at".
Apple decided not to use 3G for their device, but GSM, because it's a world standard and because the Wi-Fi capabilities the iPhone has will surely deliver iPhone users a great experience.
Tim Cook made no other predictions regarding the future of iPhone and said it's now all about the customers and how they will receive the gadget.