Remember when forecasts of 10 million iPhones in 2009 were considered optimistic? That figure could become the new floor with Apple projected to sell 11.3 million iPhones for the fourth quarter.
Broadpoint AmTech analyst Brian Marshall is telling investors he expects Apple will sell 11.3 million iPhones for the quarter, up from a previous prediction of 10 million of Cupertino’s iconic handsets. Apple “remains the best technology company on the planet,” Marshall announced.
Driving this new optimism is a confluence of increased markets and new products. Marshall is heartened by Apple’s growing strength abroad. In France, Apple reportedly has sold between 1.8 million and 2 million iPhones this year, giving the company 8.5 percent of the cell phone market. In a reported entitled “The iPhone, France’s favourite smartphone,” the nation’s Le Figaro newspaper said the phone selling without exclusivity was a major factor.
Elsewhere, China Unicom reports selling 300,000 iPhones following a road show demonstrating its many “fun and practical uses.” That news comes after a China Unicom exec said the iPhone would make up just 4 percent of new smartphone purchases.
In yet another bright spot for international iPhone sales, the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS are now the No. 1 and No. 2 top-selling phones in Japan. The two handsets give Apple 46 percent of the market. As we reported, the iPhone even kicked a Sharp phone off the top-selling pedestal and nearly halved the Sharp W-ZERO3 marketshare.
The iPhone’s improved international presence comes as Apple departs from its initial tactic of naming exclusive carriers for each country. In the UK, for instance, three mobile carriers – Orange, Vodafone and Tesco Mobile – sell the iPhone. AT&T’s contract as the exclusive U.S. iPhone carrier expires in July 2010, prompting speculation Apple may name a second carrier, such as Verizon.
[Via 9to5Mac, Mac Rumors]
