bassethound
19-09-11, 16:50
The highly-anticipated launch of Apple's iPhone 5 will attract an unprecedented level of demand from consumers, a financial analyst has predicted.
All indicators are pointing towards Apple calling a press conference on October 5 to officially unveil the fifth iteration of the iPhone, followed by a launch on October 15.
A survey of 2,200 early adopters conducted by ChangeWave for RBC Capital Markets showed that 31% were "very/somewhat likely" to purchase the iPhone 5, up from the 25% who said they were prepared to purchase the iPhone 4 before it launched last year, reports MacVideo.
Despite speculation that Apple's iPhone could struggle to compete with the growing strength of smartphones running Google Android, RBC's financial analyst Mike Abramsky claimed that many existing Apple customers will view the iPhone 5 as a good chance to upgrade.
"With the iPhone 4 nearly 15 months old, 66% of existing iPhone users are very/somewhat likely to buy the iPhone 5, pointing to a large pending upgrade cycle," Abramsky said.
As the survey showed a "still huge" opportunity for the iPhone, Abramsky increased his prediction of sales for the device in 2012 from 105 million units to 110m. He also feels that first quarter 2012 sales alone for the iPhone will rise from the previous expectation of 24.4m to 27m.
RBC also raised its iPad sales estimates for the fourth quarter this year, from 10.5 million to 12.5 million units, due to strong expected back-to-school sales for the iPad 2.
ChangeWave found that 85% of all tablet buyers plan to buy the iPad, up from 82% in February. Only 4% of the respondents said they would rather purchase a Samsung Galaxy Tab, while 2% opted for an HP TouchPad or a Blackberry PlayBook and 1% said they would have a Motorola Xoom.
Abramsky also raised Apple's revenue estimates for 2012, from $134 billion (£85bn) to $140 billion. There has been speculation that Apple will launch the iPad 3 in early 2012, further boosting the company's product lines.
All indicators are pointing towards Apple calling a press conference on October 5 to officially unveil the fifth iteration of the iPhone, followed by a launch on October 15.
A survey of 2,200 early adopters conducted by ChangeWave for RBC Capital Markets showed that 31% were "very/somewhat likely" to purchase the iPhone 5, up from the 25% who said they were prepared to purchase the iPhone 4 before it launched last year, reports MacVideo.
Despite speculation that Apple's iPhone could struggle to compete with the growing strength of smartphones running Google Android, RBC's financial analyst Mike Abramsky claimed that many existing Apple customers will view the iPhone 5 as a good chance to upgrade.
"With the iPhone 4 nearly 15 months old, 66% of existing iPhone users are very/somewhat likely to buy the iPhone 5, pointing to a large pending upgrade cycle," Abramsky said.
As the survey showed a "still huge" opportunity for the iPhone, Abramsky increased his prediction of sales for the device in 2012 from 105 million units to 110m. He also feels that first quarter 2012 sales alone for the iPhone will rise from the previous expectation of 24.4m to 27m.
RBC also raised its iPad sales estimates for the fourth quarter this year, from 10.5 million to 12.5 million units, due to strong expected back-to-school sales for the iPad 2.
ChangeWave found that 85% of all tablet buyers plan to buy the iPad, up from 82% in February. Only 4% of the respondents said they would rather purchase a Samsung Galaxy Tab, while 2% opted for an HP TouchPad or a Blackberry PlayBook and 1% said they would have a Motorola Xoom.
Abramsky also raised Apple's revenue estimates for 2012, from $134 billion (£85bn) to $140 billion. There has been speculation that Apple will launch the iPad 3 in early 2012, further boosting the company's product lines.