iPhone 3G hype grows
Apple’s long-awaited iPhone 3G goes on sale in major international markets today, but South African consumers will have to wait a little longer to get their hands on an iPhone locally.
Until the iPhone 3G is released locally by Vodacom users can pre-order an iPhone on the Vodacom website (http://www.vodacom.co.za/iphone/iphone_details.jsp). The iPhone 3G is expected to be released locally by the end of July.
The iPhone 3G is the second-generation of the phone now ranked number four globally in the smartphone market according to Nielsen Mobile statistics. Nielsen Mobile says there are more than 2.3 million US mobile subscribers using an iPhone, accounting for 1% of the mobile phone market.
The iPhone has an 11.6% share of the smartphone market in the US, fourth behind HTC (25.2%), Research in Motion (23.4%), and Palm (19.3%).
The iPhone has played a significant role in popularising the idea of multimedia phones and Nielsen Mobile found in its research that 75% of iPhone owners use the phone’s MP3 player, 68% use the Wi-Fi functionality and 76% of users send email over their phone.
The iPhone is also popular as a mobile entertainment device – 20% of users play games on them, 37% watch video and 82% access the Internet on their iPhone.
"iPhone buzz is through the roof," says Nielsen Mobile director of insights, Nic Covey. "One out of every 100 new blog posts is about the iPhone – more than Barack Obama or John McCain. And while the blogosphere may pay special attention to new technology, this buzz underscores the important role the iPhone is playing in raising awareness of and interest in multimedia phones.
"The 3G iPhone is now a viable contender for the lead spot in smartphone market share, but Apple is still just a two-trick pony compared to other manufacturers. They’re pretty good tricks, though."
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