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by technoslut 5349 days ago
There are other factors that did give Samsung an advantage such as no new iPhone launched by Apple this quarter. It remains to be seen what the impact is of new iPhone, Sprint availability and a 3GS that is free with a contract. Apple is predicting that they will generate $40 billion during the next quarter.

With a 'free' 3GS Apple is pretty much competing with Samsung and Android now at every price point.
2 comments
nextparadigms 5349 days ago
Apple might win the next quarter, because of the launch boost of iPhone 4S, but it will be their last one. After that it's all Samsung all the way. And no, Apple isn't competing with the Android manufacturers on every price point. This is a common American fallacy, thinking that the contract price is all that matters, and that it's the real price of the phone.

But an iPhone 3GS still costs around $400, while Android manufacturers can make even $100 phones today. What this means is that the iPhone 3GS will still be sold on an expensive contract, while the "free" Android phones will be even on $10 contracts.

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bad_user 5349 days ago
On the other hand, keeping the 3GS on the market will mean new iOS versions have to remain compatible with it and it will also mean further fragmentation of the platform (hardware capabilities and resolution).

So it will cost them something. Competition is a bitch.

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