Apple iPhone Secrets Unveiled - Patent Filings and Contract Orders
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August 2006 saw Apple filing a patent with the U.S Patent and Trademark Office for a device which encompasses a cell phone, media player, and a portable computing device. This is the whiff that sent the industry on the trail of Apple's phone. In November industry watchers noted that Apple has placed an order for 12 million "iPhones" to be built by Taiwanese partners Hon Hai Precision, who are contract manufacturers for Sony, Nokia, Cisco, and Dell as well as Apple.
Analysts point at competition coming from Microsoft, who released their Zune portable media player in direct competition to Apple's iPod. With Microsoft stating its intentions to release a Zune mobile phone, Apple may need a response to stay proactive against the Redmond giant's threat.
Also other mobile phone companies such as Motorola and Nokia are interested in breaking into the portable media player/mobile phone market with their smart phones, since analysts such as Bernstein claim that music playing and sharing capabilities could be the main drivers for mobile phone sales in the next few next years. Apple would not like a situation where their portable media players are eclipsed by Nokia and Microsoft devices which combine mobile phone and MP3 capabilities (Motorola is aligned with them, however that alliance is fast degenerating). This could be particularly unpleasant when combined with the current economic models in the telecoms industry where telecoms carriers subsidize the cost of phones (we will look at how Apple intends to price their phones, bucking the trend of the current model).
Another Patent
In October Apple filed another patent which will allow devices (specifically a portable media device) to transmit samples of songs wirelessly to servers that identify the samples, and provide the device with varying media formats in audio and video for purchase and download.
The patent cross references touch pads for handhelds and a computer enclosure.
The Questions
Is Apple's next phone going to be GSM, VoIP or CDMA? Or are they going to flood the market with several "mobile phones" using either GSM or CDMA technology with MP3 capabilities, and then release an iPod with VoIP technology (like the Linksys phone)? If it is based on GSM technology, is it going to be a 3G phone? Or will it be a 2.5G phone? When will the phone come out? How will Apple sell the phone? Let us work backwards from the last question and see what analysts expect from the Apple phone.
Next: The Answers: Apple's Pricing Strategy >>
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