How many iPhones?

An analyst with RBC Capital Markets says Apple may sell as many as 14 million iPhones in 2008 and as many as 8 million this year.

Those paying attention will remember that Apple's goal was to sell 10 million in 2008 (antler tip to Daring Fireball). RBC's Seeking Alpha is off on the numbers, though. The 10 million figure does not include 2007. Tim Cook's verbiage in the quarterly conference call is somewhat confusing, but Apple's stated goal is really to sell 1 percent of the cell phones sold in calendar 2008, which they say will be 10 million units. Of course, that's using 2006 numbers. The market should reasonably be larger by 2008, so Apple may be trying to have it both ways, hoping to come in with at least 10 million and hopefully 1 percent.

But they should beat that as RBC's analysis expects. With the sales figure coming close to 1 million already, 8 million this year certainly seems doable to the horned one what with the holiday buying-each-other-crap-we-don't-need season still ahead.

Meanwhile, a survey of 200 iPhone owners says 50 percent switched from another carrier.

But the Macalope's sure those competitors are still breathing a sigh of relief the iPhone launch wasn't really successful or anything.

[pauldwaite]

my subject needs to be at least 10 characters

&gt; "8 million this year certainly seems doable to the horned one what with the holiday buying-each-other-crap-we-don't-need season still ahead."<br /><br />And the Europe launch. I hope.

[Bergamot Orange]

Not to mention,

Among phones, the iPhone is uniquely giftable, because you can buy one in a box, off the shelf, without having the recipient there and signing a contract.

[luomat]

1mil iPhones already activated

The 'lope wrote: "With the sales figure coming close to 1 million already"....<br /><br />There are reports that <a href="http://blogs.business2.com/apple/2007/07/report-1-millio.html">1 Million iPhones were activated within the first week</a>. That doesn't even account for the people who bought them and then hacked it so they didn't have to sign up for AT&amp;T.<br /><br />I'd be willing to wager they are over 1mil now.

[Please use care when sele]

Vermont (and Canada)

Vermontors (and Canadians) still can't buy an iPhone. In Vermont AT&#38;T has no <br />coverage (too many trees) and in Canada the only GSM provider (Rogers) has <br />data plans that are way too expensive for Apple's taste.

[KLevdc]

Apple Blew it with the phone

In retrospect, Apple blew a huge marketing opportunity. They should have rolled out the iphone -- minus the phone --first. A video, music, wifi device with the iphone interfce could have been a huge hit months ago. Then they could have sold the device with phone later -- and gotten another big sales hit. They could have sold millions last Christmas. Was it because the almighty (praise be he) Jobs was so wedded to the all-in-one concept that he stifled a huge potential market? Or is this coming at Christmas 2008?