iPhone wasala 2

On July 11, 2008, Apple released the iPhone 3G in twenty-two countries, including the original six.^[10] Apple released the iPhone 3G in upwards of eighty countries and territories.^[11] Apple announced the iPhone 3GS on June 8, 2009, along with plans to release it later in June, July, and August, starting with the U.S., Canada and major European countries on June 19. Many would-be users objected to the iPhone’s cost,^[12] and 40% of users have household incomes over US$100,000.^[13] In an attempt to gain a wider market, Apple retained the 8 GB iPhone 3G at a lower price point. When Apple introduced the iPhone 4, the 3GS became the less expensive model. Apple reduced the price several times since the iPhone’s release in 2007, at which time an 8 GB iPhone sold for $599. An iPhone 3GS with the same capacity now costs $49. However, these numbers are misleading, since all iPhone units sold through AT&T require a two-year contract (costing several hundred dollars and including an early termination fee^[14]), and a SIM lock.

Apple sold 6.1 million original iPhone units over five quarters.^[15] Recorded sales have been growing steadily thereafter, and by the end of fiscal year 2010, a total of 73.5 million iPhones were sold.^[16] By 2010/2011, the iPhone has a market share of barely 4% of all cellphones, but Apple still pulls in more than 50% of the total profit that global cellphone sales generate.^[17] Sales in Q4 2008 surpassed temporarily those of RIM’s BlackBerry sales of 5.2 million units, which made Apple briefly the third largest mobile phone manufacturer by revenue, after Nokia and Samsung.^[18] Approximately 6.4 million iPhones are active in the U.S. alone.^[13] While iPhone sales constitute a significant portion of Apple’s revenue, some of this income is deferred.^[19]