"How long before carriers realize that the iPhone is poison to them??"
That's a very important point, one that I consider the one truly critical to Apple's incredible profitability and, more importantly to investors, to the sustainability of that profitability. I am always on the watch for any hint that the carriers are revolting against the "iPhone tax." So far, we have not seen decreased ASP, carriers switching away from offering the iPhone, carrier marketing trying to deprecating iPhone in favor of less subsidized devices, etc.
On the one hand, it's fairly clear than $1980 in revenue over 2 years is worth a $400 up front payment. On the other hand, all things being equal, it's better to pay $200/250 to acquire a customer than $400. For now, some carriers obviously feel that the iPhone is delivering business they would not otherwise get.
Also, I'll note that these rumored volume commitments cleverly aligns Apple and the carriers' interests. Worse than paying $400 for a customer is paying $650 for a phone that sits in a warehouse. |
