While Google passed the 40% smartphone share (Microsoft must be happy!) in the US threshold, Apple continues to outpace the industry as a whole posting modest 1 point gains in the US smartphone category according to comScore. Apple moved up from 25.5% in March to 26.6% in June on the year old iPhone 4 model which also saw its US debut on Verizon.
Apple also moved up in the hardware category, below:
Update: AT&T has officially verified this information.
A new change for AT&T Wireless’ Unlimited Data subscribers will soon be taking place. Rumored to be starting in the first week of October, we’ve heard that AT&T will start throttling the data speeds of the network’s top data hogs. As Verizon (PDF) and Virgin have recently done, AT&T will be adopting a similar plan to try to curb the problem of data congestion and overall network issues that have hurt its 3G network’s performance since the onset of the iPhone.
AT&T will also be releasing its first LTE devices later this year.
We’ve heard that AT&T will rejigger its insurance structure that week as well, which makes us think a certain high profile device may be launching on or around that time.
The throttling plan will work like the others’. The heaviest users will see significant speed decreases for one billing cycle once they go over a threshold of data (we’re guessing 2-4GB?). These heavy users will still be able to access the network, but at a much slower speed. At the start of the next billing cycle, their speeds will return to normal. We don’t have numbers for AT&T’s throttle speeds but Virgin takes you down to 256Kb/s once you’ve reached their 2.5GB limit (not too bad actually – sometimes we’re happy to get 256kbs). Interestingly, Virgin’s throttle also will also be implemented in the first week of October which may indicate that they’ll be carrying a certain high profile mobile device as well.
Frankly, throttling isn’t so bad if done fairly. It is a good way to penalize heavy users but without them having to worry about overage charges. For high end users, however, it wold make sense for AT&T to add the ability to buy more regular speed data like they do now…
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XYbVwg5B7g]
There is a new Facetime ad as well, below:
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Last Month, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo told an investor conference call that the Verizon iPhone would be a World phone. The CFO was also the first to reveal the Verizon iPad. Many think that the current Verizon iPhone’s inclusion of a worldphone-capable Gobi chip from Qualcomm is a preview into the future of the iPhone line.
Again, today Shammo told the Reuters Global Technology Summit a bit more:
While Verizon has sold fewer iPhones than some analysts expected, Shammo said he was happy with sales of the “six-month-old phone” that only works in some countries.
When the next iPhone model launches Verizon will be able to offer it at the same time as AT&T. Verizon’s version will also work in as many countries as AT&T’s iPhone, which has global coverage, Shammo said.
Some customers held off on buying the first Verizon iPhone because they were waiting for a model that supports Verizon’s high-speed wireless service, which runs on a new technology called Long Term Evolution (LTE).
Shammo said that even if the next iPhone does not support LTE, Verizon will have enough high-speed alternatives to sell.
That’s a pretty good clue that the next iPhone won’t be LTE, which Apple CFO Tim Cook all but revealed himself at the last earnings call:
Since BGR broke the news that Apple is testing, or has tested, a version of the iPhone that works on T-Mobile USA’s network, we started thinking about the future of the iPhone. Specifically, the fifth-generation product that is not too far off from public consumption. Right now, the iPhone 5 – or whatever Apple ends up calling it – does not seem to be such a big hardware upgrade. Sure there are reports that peg a gesture-based home button and 3.7 inch display (which we would love), but more reports are talking an iPhone 4 design, an A5 chip, and possibly a better camera.
What could Apple throw into the purported iPhone 5 package to make it a better device and a device that more people would buy? Right now, the general consensus is that Apple is going to use a Qualcomm chip within the iPhone 5 that can connect to both Verizon (CDMA) and AT&T (GSM) networks around the world. What about T-Mobile? Apple is obviously testing the T-Mobile iPhone (4S?) and with the technology available for Apple to create an antenna system that supports both types of GSM networks, what stops Apple from making an AT&T+T-Mobile iPhone 5? We received an unconfirmed report, from a connected individual, that Apple is actually testing a device that runs on both networks…
COMPUTERWORLD: After a CES no-show, Verizon is teasing us with an iPhone-generated Tweet today on the eve of its press event where it is expected Verizon will at last introduce the iPhone, meaning US customers will now enjoy some choice of which network carries their iPhone. The move should also boost Apple in its battle with Android. So, what do we know?
SAI breaks down Piper Jaffay Apple follower Gene Munster’s predictions for 2011, complete with probabilities. I’ve got to say, these are pretty conservative. (I like Appleholic’s 2011 list much more). Anyway, here we go…
– Verizon launch of the iPhone: Probability 95% (March qtr) (our est)
– Mac App Store: Probability 100% (Jan. 6 launch)
– iTunes cloud services: Probability 90%
– iPad geographic expansion: Probability 100%
– iPad subsidies from carriers: Probability 80%
– OS X Lion: Probability 100% (summer 2011)
And here’s when we can expect upgrades to the hardware:
– iPhone (March quarter). We are modeling for Apple to launch a CDMA version of the iPhone at Verizon in the March-11 quarter. The fifth generation iPhone will likely ship this summer with NFC capability.
– iPad (spring). We believe the second generation iPad will launch in spring 2011.
– Macs (uncertain). We have moderate confidence that Apple will release redesigned MacBook Pros in 1H11 and redesigned iMacs in 2H11.
– iPods (fall). As usual, we expect Apple to refresh its iPods in the fall.
If the leaked Skype mobile video help pages weren’t enough, Skype now has a full blown teaser page demonstrating a bunch of mobile video examples. Enough! Give us the goods already.
Tran says that [Android] phones made from the BCM2157 chipset will retail for under $100 and may dip as low as $75. Those devices should debut in just 3-6 months (and we might hear about them next month at CES).
That means that popular pre-paid Android devices that currently can be found as low as $180 will drop by half in the next half year.
Apple’s low-end strategy so far has been to offer the last year’s model for $99 with a two year contract. That contract is at least worth $350 (AT&T’s ETF) which puts old retail iPhones at $450. Buying an iPhone 4 off contract costs $650.
What’s more important is that with Apple’s AT&T agreement, you have exactly one data plan option in the US (soon to grow). Even with Verizon and maybe even Sprint and T-Mobile, there isn’t going to be a $25/month data plan for the iPhone anytime soon. For the budget conscious, Android is the only smartphone game in town.
So how does Apple respond?
Ever get the feeling that these companies like to mess with us? After the reported Skype iPhone video conferencing ‘leaked help document’ Skype took the document offline. Today however, it is back up with some new company joining in the fun:
Verizon.
So there you have it: Skype, Verizon, iPhone. CES. Join us for coverage on Jan 6th.
Also, Skype is hyping an iPad only version of their software as well.
Even though the iPhone application is fully compatible with the iPad, we’re still always striving to bring the best to our Skype users, which is why we’re developing a Skype application designed specifically for the iPad. Watch the website for further updates.
Look, we want the most awesome iPhone available to be on Verizon’s network ASAP. But the rumor today about the 4G iPhone waiting in stockpiles isn’t realistic at all.
Remember how Apple’s original iPhone was EDGE at a time when most new phones were coming out with the new 3G technology? The reasons: Cost, complexity, size, battery life and benefit to the user.
Every single one of those factors also applies to 4G. The chips aren’t mature, the network is just being rolled out, and the battery life will take a hit. Have you seen how long an EVO 4G battery lasts with 4G on? How big it is?
Besides, one of the big benefits of 4G is use as a hotspot, something no un-jailbroken iPhone can do yet.
So iPhone 4G? Yes! January? No.
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Asymco has an interesting report today in which analyst Horace Dediu argues that Verizon may need the iPhone more than its letting on, and suggests Google Android may not be as big a business as many think it to be.
To be fair, while Dediu makes a good argument for his points, critics are already pointing out that they are based on data which may not be 100 per cent accurate, and that Verizon’s best month was in August, two months after iPhone 4 shipped. (Though it was only a slightly better month on back of hype around new product from Samsung).
We’ve had an update from the sources of the orginal data, which is posted at the foot of this article: