There have been plenty of rumors suggesting a low cost “nano” iPhone will make its debut at MacWorld 2009. A smaller iPhone Nano?…or a full-size iPhone with no 3G and reduced storage? Hmmm?
Regardless of the size (“Even the small talk will be big!”) of any new iPhone model that might be introduced at MacWorld … iPhonAsia believes that Apple intends to address the truly massive numbers of prepaid wireless users in China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines.
Pre-paid wireless users are not under contract and don’t pay a monthly package fee for service. Prepaid users buy the airtime as they need it and generally do not have to pay a deposit for service. Topping up prepaid accounts is often done by going on-line, or by phone, bank machine or with a prepaid SIM card.
Apple COO Tim Cook addressed the Goldman Sachs Technology Conference in late February 2008. He hinted that Apple would address the pre-paid market. The two largest pre-paid markets are India and China. Approximately 2/3rds of China Mobile’s 400 million subscribers are pre-paid.
?Apple COO Tim Cook: See > HERE
“When you look at some of the international markets, you find that the markets are very different … you might find one where there is no post pay business … or minimal (post pay) … that might need a different business model. You might find one (market) where being exclusive might not be in our best interest.??And so I am not announcing what we will and won’t do … I am announcing that we are going to intelligently think about each one (each market) and then decide what is best for the company to do … And I will tell you that there is no shortage of interest in the iPhone by the carriers. You know I think that they see it as an enormous way to increase ARPUs (Average Revenue Per User) on their system … I think they see it as a fundamental, revolutionary device that gets people interested in data and really using their (the carriers’) network.”
