Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) CEO Ed Colligan was reported to have laughed off the idea of a smart-phone created by any company, including Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). He seemed "downright nonchalant about rumors that Apple may introduce a mobile phone to the market in the coming year."
Memo To Ed Colligan: WAKE UP! Apple's phone, as reported yesterday in USA Today, is closer than ever to becoming reality. American Technology Research analyst, Shaw Wu said, "From a technical standpoint, the phone is pretty much done. It's a big endeavor and we believe it's beyond speculation."
Look out Ed Colligan (and the folks at RIM), Apple took over the digital music industry, has regained its brand esteem in the computer biz, and it is poised to make some noise in the mobile phone sector too. Did I hear a pin drop?
Just this week, the Taiwanese financial daily, Commercial Times, reported that Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry received the contract for this speculative phone. Little does Mr. Colligan know that Apple's entry into his space will energize hordes of loyal Apple fans around the globe to visit the nearest iPod store, if not for purchase, at least to check out the much hyped phone.
Obviously, Apple has many hurdles to clear, including which phone service provider to align itself with. (Early rumors have Cingular getting the nod.) But Apple understands that it has to introduce a real phone, not just a music player with a phone jammed in, analysts said.
Look for the release of this phone to make noise and turn some heads. Also look for it to grab market share right off the bat. Wu estimates that a 1% share of a billion unit market, with the iPhone carrying an average price tag of $200, could mean about $2 billion a year more for the Cupertino, California-based company. This kind of potential revenue adds a nice ring tone to the stock price.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-21-2006 @ 6:52PM
Delawheresdan said...
I can't wait for the release!
11-25-2006 @ 2:28PM
Jeff said...
Verizon would be a far better partner