According to a new Digitimes report, Apple plans to ship 24 million iPhone 4G units by the end of the year, with their Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn ready to ship 4.5 million in June alone.
While Apple may have giant expectations, 24 million seems over the top. Since 2007, the company has sold just over 50 million units, with three different iterations of the smartphone.
Cnet proposes that the company may be planning a large price cut on the model, which would certainly help move units. Potentially, Apple is readying a CDMA-version of the phone, which would work on Verizon, the largest phone carrier in the nation.
Confirming what Gizmodo revealed last month, Digitimes says the smartphone will have an ARM Cortex A8 processor and 512MB of memory, which is double that of the 3GS, and should give enough power to handle the multi-tasking functions of the iPhone 0S 4.0.
Additionally, new to the iPhone 4G are a front-facing camera for video conferencing, a better standard camera (including larger lens and flash), a Micro-SIM slot (just like the iPad), 960×640 resolution, a second mic, metallic exterior (not plastic) and split side buttons for volume.
Result for: phone carrier
The popular CBS NCAA March Madness iPhone app, which includes live streaming of the NCAA Tournament, will support streaming over Wi-Fi and 3G this year, with 3G being a welcome addition from past years.
However, the app will double up in price, to $9.99 from $4.99 last year.
The company will offer a free “lite” version of the app, but it will not include any live streaming, just highlights and box scores.
The NCAA March Madness on Demand (MMOD) app begins coverage starting on March 14th with the selection show, and will end after the tournament has run its course.
The added price to the app is thanks to a deal between CBS and exclusive iPhone carrier AT&T, which for years has not wanted to put additional strain on its data network, but seemingly will for some extra revenue.
Adds Rob Gelick, Sr. Vice President and GM, CBS Mobile: “The CBS Sports Mobile 2010 March Madness products appeal to both casual and diehard fans, keeping them connected to the action via live video and highlights, news, scores, and brackets. Last year CBS Sports Mobile witnessed a huge appetite for mobile video when we were the first to stream live sports events over the iPhone, and this year, by including Wi-Fi and 3G, we expect that appetite, and audience, to grow even more.”
Result for: phone carrier
Although not officially anounced yet, the date for next years Apple Worldwide Developer’s Conference appears to have been chosen.Not surprisingly it will begin on June 28 to coincide with both the anniversary of the original iPhone’s release and the expiration of AT&T’s exclusive carrier deal.
With all the bad publicity and customer ill will generated by AT&T during their time as the ecxlusive iPhone partner you can be sure this will be more than just another iPhone launch. It will be Apple’s chance to make a new start, either with a new US carrier deal or a completely open arrangement like Google is planning for their Nexus phone.
Assuming there is also an accompanying OS update, as their has been with each successive iPhone launch, it will also be the first time iPhone owners have been charged for it.
Thanks to the restrictions placed on them by the same accounting rules which have required them to charge iPod Touch owners for previous updates, they must charge for updates released more than three years after an iPhone is sold. Changes to these rules could mean Apple can offer free updates for the life of the device. They would also be able, for the first time ever, to immediately show the full amount of revenue generated from the next iPhone launch on their books.
In the past that revenue had to be spread across the same period during which free updates were offered.
