With the iPhone 4 still backordered three weeks online, Apple is presumably losing potential sales due to lack of inventory. But aside from simply fixing that problem, which the company presumably (and had better, for its sake) work out before the 2010 holiday season revs up, there are a pair of things that could rev up iPhone demand to a new level even once current demand is matched by supply. One is the white iPhone 4 model, which was announced months ago yet still hasn’t shipped after multiple false starts. The other is a Verizon iPhone, which doesn’t officially exist and never has, but has been clamored for by Verizon customers going all the way back to the day the original iPhone was announced as being AT&T-exclusive more than three years ago. So the question, then, is which of these two (presumably) upcoming iPhone additions is more vital for the iPhone’s growth.
The answer is likely more straightforward than one might think, and really comes down to one question: how many people want an iPhone 4 but have thus far refused to buy one because it’s not available in white, compared to how many people want an iPhone 4 but have held off buying one because it’s not available from Verizon? The question is partly answered by the fact that Apple itself has said that the black iPhone has traditionally been more popular than the white iPhone (the remark was made before iPhone 4 went on sale). Any remaining doubt is answered by simple common sense: while color choice, style, and a sense of personalization make a bigger impact on purchases that most consumers would like to admit to themselves, the bottom line is that there’s no one who’s currently in the midst of a contract which prevents them from buying a certain color, nor is there anyone who believes that one color of iPhone 4 gets better reception in their neighborhood than the other. So regardless of how much or little difference there actually is between the AT&T iPhone 4 experience and the would-be Verizon iPhone 4 experience, public perception of those experiences (seemingly unchangeable in the minds of many a million Verizon customers after years of trying) outweighs the actual experiences.
In other words, getting the white iPhone 4 out the door is the easier of the two to pull off (then again, based on how many times it’s been delayed, maybe not), but getting a Verizon iPhone 4 out the door sooner than later is the one that could really, truly grow the platform.
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Check out Beatweek Magazine issue #85: Maroon 5 cover story interview – New iPhone cases – Serj Tankian interview – Michael Franti and Spearhead – Bargain game apps – Esmée Denters
With the iPhone 4 still backordered three weeks online, Apple is presumably losing potential sales due to lack of inventory. But aside from simply fixing that problem, which the company presumably (and had better, for its sake) work out before the 2010 holiday season revs up, there are a pair of things that could rev up iPhone demand to a new level even once current demand is matched by supply. One is the white iPhone 4 model, which was announced months ago yet still hasn’t shipped after multiple false starts. The other is a Verizon iPhone, which doesn’t officially exist and never has, but has been clamored for by Verizon customers going all the way back to the day the original iPhone was announced as being AT&T-exclusive more than three years ago. So the question, then, is which of these two (presumably) upcoming iPhone additions is more vital for the iPhone’s growth.
The answer is likely more straightforward than one might think, and really comes down to one question: how many people want an iPhone 4 but have thus far refused to buy one because it’s not available in white, compared to how many people want an iPhone 4 but have held off buying one because it’s not available from Verizon? The question is partly answered by the fact that Apple itself has said that the black iPhone has traditionally been more popular than the white iPhone (the remark was made before iPhone 4 went on sale). Any remaining doubt is answered by simple common sense: while color choice, style, and a sense of personalization make a bigger impact on purchases that most consumers would like to admit to themselves, the bottom line is that there’s no one who’s currently in the midst of a contract which prevents them from buying a certain color, nor is there anyone who believes that one color of iPhone 4 gets better reception in their neighborhood than the other. So regardless of how much or little difference there actually is between the AT&T iPhone 4 experience and the would-be Verizon iPhone 4 experience, public perception of those experiences (seemingly unchangeable in the minds of many a million Verizon customers after years of trying) outweighs the actual experiences.
In other words, getting the white iPhone 4 out the door is the easier of the two to pull off (then again, based on how many times it’s been delayed, maybe not), but getting a Verizon iPhone 4 out the door sooner than later is the one that could really, truly grow the platform.
Scroll down to comment on this article (no registration required!)
Check out Beatweek Magazine issue #85: Maroon 5 cover story interview – New iPhone cases – Serj Tankian interview – Michael Franti and Spearhead – Bargain game apps – Esmée Denters
With the iPhone 4 still backordered three weeks online, Apple is presumably losing potential sales due to lack of inventory. But aside from simply fixing that problem, which the company presumably (and had better, for its sake) work out before the 2010 holiday season revs up, there are a pair of things that could rev up iPhone demand to a new level even once current demand is matched by supply. One is the white iPhone 4 model, which was announced months ago yet still hasn’t shipped after multiple false starts. The other is a Verizon iPhone, which doesn’t officially exist and never has, but has been clamored for by Verizon customers going all the way back to the day the original iPhone was announced as being AT&T-exclusive more than three years ago. So the question, then, is which of these two (presumably) upcoming iPhone additions is more vital for the iPhone’s growth.
The answer is likely more straightforward than one might think, and really comes down to one question: how many people want an iPhone 4 but have thus far refused to buy one because it’s not available in white, compared to how many people want an iPhone 4 but have held off buying one because it’s not available from Verizon? The question is partly answered by the fact that Apple itself has said that the black iPhone has traditionally been more popular than the white iPhone (the remark was made before iPhone 4 went on sale). Any remaining doubt is answered by simple common sense: while color choice, style, and a sense of personalization make a bigger impact on purchases that most consumers would like to admit to themselves, the bottom line is that there’s no one who’s currently in the midst of a contract which prevents them from buying a certain color, nor is there anyone who believes that one color of iPhone 4 gets better reception in their neighborhood than the other. So regardless of how much or little difference there actually is between the AT&T iPhone 4 experience and the would-be Verizon iPhone 4 experience, public perception of those experiences (seemingly unchangeable in the minds of many a million Verizon customers after years of trying) outweighs the actual experiences.
In other words, getting the white iPhone 4 out the door is the easier of the two to pull off (then again, based on how many times it’s been delayed, maybe not), but getting a Verizon iPhone 4 out the door sooner than later is the one that could really, truly grow the platform.
Scroll down to comment on this article (no registration required!)
Check out Beatweek Magazine issue #85: Maroon 5 cover story interview – New iPhone cases – Serj Tankian interview – Michael Franti and Spearhead – Bargain game apps – Esmée Denters