Dean Bubley

Mobile Phone Industry in Denial About Economy

The iPhone example is an interesting one - but coupled with other factors it's still quite a US-centric model that doesn't work quite so well elsewhere.

Bear in mind that in the rest of the world, the majority of people use prepaid cellphone plans (often with unsubsidised devices), not monthly contracts. iPhones can be $500-1000 upfront in those cases.

SImilarly, "ditching the landline" is unlikely in markets which tend to use ADSL rather than cable for broadband, especially if there is no legal imperative to sell unbundled DSL without an associated PSTN telephone account. Generally it is only the economically disadvantaged that "cut the cord" - it's not aspirational, except in a few countries like Finland.

I'd certainly agree that Apple is better-placed than the Android ecosystem at this point in time. Slightly less true of non-US markets where people generally buy high-end Nokias because of brand, or basic preference for their voice and SMS user experience.

Also, worth noting that in many parts of the world users would rather have a mobile broadband USB modem for their notebooks, than a smartphone.

Dean Bubley