iPhone numbers confusion deepens: estimated 1m unlocked
January 31, 2008The search for the missing iPhones continues, with analyst Tony Sacconaghi of Bernstein Research throwing more numbers around in what at least partly looks like an attempt to justify his ongoing warmth toward Apple stock. Sacconaghi suggests that a whopping 27-percent of the iPhones sold in 2007 have been unlocked and, in the vast majority of cases, are being used in countries where the cellphone is not officially available. That works out to around one-million handsets unlocked, each estimated to be generating 50-percent less revenue and 75-percent less profits for Apple compared to those registered to authorised carriers.
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