Fortune relays reports that Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster had summarized the recent influx of iPhone deals to interested clients today. While they had anticipated Apple to announce a multitude of deals with international carriers, by no means did they expect to see the rate and volume rise so quickly. He states that “The iPhone’s international rollout is about 8 months ahead of our original schedule.”
Key figures in his report include the drastic jump to 46 carriers worldwide (to date), up from a mere 6, as well as 575 million potential customers, up from 153 million. While the iPhone currently holds 3% market penetration, analysts feel confident that Apple will meet its sales target of 12.9 million iPhones in 2008. By these figures, they certainly should meet expectations as 3% of 575 million would equate to 17.25 million iPhones.
Munster maintains an estimate of 45 million iPhones in circulation for 2009, a seemingly high target amongst many Apple analysts. He notes that Apple has the potential to achieve these figures, by 1) adding China and Japan, with a total available market of 1.1 billion, 2) introducing a lower-cost iPhone, and 3) increasing market penetration to 6%.
