Despite bad reviews from Consumer Reports and many industry insiders saying customers should wait for the iPhone 5, and the continuing problems with dropped calls, the iPhone 4 at Verizon has still sold more units than any of Verizon’s other products ever.
So says a new report by a very happy Daniel Mead, Verizon Wireless Chief Executive.
Mead’s report was unquestionably an answer to recent rumors that the sales were not as high as Verizon wanted them to be. These rumors were in response to very short lines at key Verizon outlets that were monitored by mobile industry analysts when the iPhone 4 launched. Small lines at those locations made the rumors start flying, but until sales numbers are confirmed and released by Verizon, nothing is settled.
Mead said the iPhone 4 sales numbers would be released during the next regularly scheduled earnings statement, even though he said those numbers are very hefty. He told reporters that the high amount of online sales is the reason lines at the brick and mortar locations were short. He also said that Verizon is using an ad strategy to stretch out iPhone sales over time.
Timothy Hora, an analyzer firm Oppenheimer & Company, predicted that between three and four million iPhone 4s will be sold by Verizon in the first quarter of 2011, making around 10 million for the year. In contrast, Apple sold 1.7 million iPhone 4s in the first 3 days of its worldwide release.
However, unlike Apple, Verizon let people pre-order the iPhone 4 beginning February 3, and started selling them in brick and mortar stores on the 10th. That one week online-exclusive could have accounted for a large portion of sales, as Mead implies. Many customers prefer buying things online.
So, whether or not you believe Mead or the rumors about Verizon having poor sales, it’s a known fact that the iPhone 4 is the phone being discussed. For Apple and Verizon, that has to be very good news.
Verizon does more than just act in its capacity as a cell phone carrier, they also offer broadband service for Internet and TV.
