News
Almost One Third of iPhone 3G Users New to AT&T
(07 Oct 2008, BWCS Staff)AT&T is claiming a marketing coup as it revealed that around 30% of its new iPhone 3G customers switched carriers specifically to get their hands on the new handset. The number of subscribers changing service provider to get the new phone was recorded by research company NPD Group. AT&T has had exclusive rights to provide the iPhone 3G version in the US since June.
According to the figures from the NPD report, which covers the three months from the start of June to the end of August this year, the largest number of iPhone switchers (47%) came from Verizon while only 24% of new iPhone users left T-Mobile and 19% came from Sprint.
In a statement analyzing the trend Ross Rubin, NPD director of industry analysis, said "While the original iPhone also helped win customers for AT&T, the faster network speeds of the iPhone 3G (have) proven more appealing to customers that already had access to a 3G network."
During the three month period under analysis, Apple's iPhone 3G outsold its rivals by some way. The next best selling smart phones were, according to NPD: Research In Motion's BlackBerry Curve, RIM's BlackBerry Pearl, and the Palm Centro.
Before the June launch of the new 3G version, Apple's iPhone accounted for only 11% of the total market for smart phones in the US. Three months later the company was able to claim a 17% market share.
Back