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Mac Users Stay Loyal with Overwhelming Number of iPhone 3G Purchases

On July 11th, while many of us were waiting in line to grab our piece of the 1 million iPhones sold this last weekend, members of investment bank Piper Jaffray were conducting a survey in the New York and Minneapolis queues that quantified everything from launch demand to the mix of 8GB and 16GB models, to the phones from which customers were upgrading.  The results were then compared to those of a similar survey taken during the launch of the original iPhone on June 29th, 2007.  Here is what was discovered:

The survey shows that out of the total respondents on July 11th, 2008, 61% of those in line to purchase the iPhone 3G were already loyal Mac users.  Compared to last year, where 75% were Mac user and the remaining 25% PC users, this shows that Apple is beginning to adopt influence over Windows users.  Unfortunately, the survey also shows that those who answered “yes” when asked if they would “use an iPod in addition to their phone,” dropped by 17%, showing that the iPhone is indeed cannibalizing the user-friendly (destined to be obsolete?) iPod.  On the service front 62% of those in line this year claim to be existing customers of AT&T, up from last year’s 48%. Which clearly shows that AT&T is definitely putting a dent in its competitors networks and user base.

Now here is where is gets interesting:  Of those waiting in line, 38% already owned the original iPhone and were purchasing the 3G as an upgrade.  20% were upgrading their phone from a Motorola, 3% from a Treo and 6% from a Blackberry.  Last year 35% switched over from Motorola, 13% from Treo, and a mere 6% from Blackberry.  The #1 cited reason for purchasing the iPhone 3G was the new features added to the phone…Which would explain the 38% coming to double-dip in the iPhone jar.  I wonder what percentage of people will be planning to hock their first generation iPhone on eBay? After all, the recently released iPhone 2.0 software is available on a first generation iPhone, so they aren’t entirely obsolete.

While we find the numbers in the survey to be entirely feasible, the author failed to note the conditions of how the survey was conducted.  For example:  The results of a survey where those in the front of the line since 3 a.m. were questioned would provide vastly different results than those questioned strolling into queue at 8 a.m. with their 10 pound Dell laptop tucked neatly under their arm.  We’re just saying….

While the number of iPhones sold in the first weekend clearly exceeds Piper Jaffray’s initial estimate of 425,000 units from Friday to Sunday, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster issued an updated report to clients in which he estimated the majority of that upside was driven by stronger than anticipated demand internationally.  Specifically, he estimated that 400,000 units were sold here in the U.S., 250,000 units sold in the U.K., and an average of 18,000 units were sold in each of the remaining 19 countries.  “Global demand for the iPhone is better than expected. 

This trend will likely continue as Apple rolls out an additional 58 countries in the next several months,” Munster said.  You can find specific contry/carrier information by checking out the MacBlogz iPhone World Map. “In addition, we expect Apple will sell phones in China and Russia by year end.  The only problem is production, but we continue to believe 45 million units for 2009 is achievable.”  Yes, he did say 45,000,000. Pretty soon everyone is going to have one.  At least then we won’t have to worry about getting jumped on the bus on the way home from work while daydreaming and listening to the Moody Blues.

via AI