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Rumors that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is field-testing a new iPhone have begun making the rounds, and if they're true, shareholders could expect more largess next year.
In the meantime, the iPhone appears to have found a reasonably warm welcome in South Korea, where about 60,000 units had been pre-ordered by the time the device went on sale Saturday, according to reports.
That's in stark contrast to the device's relative belly-flop in China, which matched feeble sales in India and Japan.
iPhone aside, is Apple missing a growing opportunity in e-readers? After all, Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) claims that demand for its Kindle e-reader hit new heights in November.
Over the past month, Apple's share prices have fluctuated a bit. It closed at $188.50 Oct. 30, hit $207 on Nov. 17, and fell to $199.91 Nov. 30. It closed at $196.97 Tuesday. That's up about 4.5 percent over 30 days.
Something New, Bright and Shiny
Pandav, an iPhone development firm that offers the iBART app for navigating San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit system, tipped off the MacRumors blog that its records showed an unreleased model of the iPhone was used to access its products.
The device's internal identification number was "iPhone 3,1." The iPhone 3GS has the internal identification number "iPhone 2,1," according to MacRumors. These numbers are assigned by Apple.
Since it debuted the iPhone in 2007, Apple has introduced a new version each June, so it's quite plausible that a new version is currently being tested. "I completely expect that Apple employees are field-testing new prototypes as we speak," Carl Howe, director of anywhere consumer research at the Yankee Group, told MacNewsWorld.
Judging by Apple's past schedule, a new device is likely some months away. "I wouldn't expect to see such a phone launch until summer next year, simply because of the time required to work out all the bugs associated with new devices, to get them up to Apple's quality standards, and to deal with the delays associated with FCC certification," Howe explained.
Apple could be going one of two routes in working on the new iPhone -- it might come up with something more powerful and feature-packed than the iPhone 3GS, or it could be coming out with a less expensive version with fewer features for the lower end of the market.
Either way, shareholders might be in luck. "A new iPhone could boost Apple's share prices," said Brian Marshall, an analyst at Broadpoint AmTech.
Getting on the Seoul Train
The iPhone has received a fairly warm welcome in South Korea. In September, Daum, the second largest Internet portal in the country, announced plans to give roughly 1,000 staffers iPhones for free, according to the Telecoms Korea blog. Further, in the one week or so that the iPhone's sole Korean carrier, KT, began offering the device, consumers pre-ordered 60,000 units.
One possible reason for the popularity of the iPhone could be its low price compared to other devices on the South Korean market. Samsung, which reportedly controls more than half the mobile phone market in South Korea, slashed the price of its flagship smartphone, the T Omnia 2, Telecoms Korea reported. Meanwhile, that device's distributor, SK Telecom, increased its subsidies.
Those actions put the T Omnia 2 on par with the iPhone, price-wise. The iPhone's advent could drive down prices in the South Korean smartphone market overall, Telecoms Korea stated.
That's good news for Apple shareholders, as Cupertino needs to tap new markets in order to keep demand for the iPhone growing. The device is doing well in South Korea, where incomes are high and it's priced lower than the local competition. China and India, however, are different stories -- incomes are generally lower and much less expensive phones are available.
"I think it's becoming important to have enough disposable income to justify the investment in an iPhone," Broadpoint AmTech's Marshall told MacNewsWorld." China and India have been disappointing to date."
Apple may need to change its strategy with respect to international markets. This is where the new iPhone rumored to be under development may come in. If it's a less expensive device with fewer features than the 3GS, it could be aimed at the international market.
Going Slow on E-Readers
While Apple has said nothing official about a possible new product category, expectations of a Mac tablet computer of some sort have lingered for months. This has coincided with a steady rise in popularity for e-reader devices. Amazon has, after all, announced that demand for Kindle in November set a new record for single-month sales.
There's no shortage of rumors concerning Apple and e-readers. For instance, there's a report that Cupertino has applied for a patent on a tablet PC. Meanwhile, major media companies are reportedly talking to Apple about distributing their publications through a new device from Cupertino.
However, Amazon.com won't quantify its statistics. "We don't disclose unit sales," company spokesperson Drew Herdener told MacNewsWorld, although he did say the record was set for all Kindle models with six-inch screens. There has been no independent verification of this claim.
As for Apple, Broadpoint AmTech's Marshall is confident it will bring out its tablet, which might be used as an e-reader in addition to other functions, next year. "That will likely be a large driver for business if priced below $500," he said.
For now, Cupertino's likely focusing its efforts on iPhones and iPods, which are its real money-spinners, Yankee Group's Howe said. "E-reader sales aren't likely to go much past 2 million this year," he explained. "iPhones and iPods in the aggregate will probably account for somewhere between five and 10 times as many units and significantly more profit than in a still-nascent market like e-readers."
