The iPhone business is now a three-player competition with the addition of the iPhone 4S on Tuesday, adding the nation’s third-largest carrier to the vendor fray.
Sprint Nextel’s slice of the pie reportedly comes at a hefty price, with the carrier committed to buying more than 30 million of the hit smartphones, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. That would likely make the 4S a money loser for the carrier until as late as 2014, when the company hopes to build up enough of a user base to start turning a profit.
It’s a no-brainer for Apple, which needs more carrier coverage in its battle to catch up with Google’s Android operating system. Devices running Android make up 52 percent of the U.S. market, according to research by NPD Group. But while the 29 percent share for Apple’s iOS is much smaller, its is nonetheless impressive given that it is only on one device, as opposed to numerous Android handsets made by a range of manufacturers.
Opportunity Awaits
Sprint, at least for now, did not get an exclusive deal to carry the iPhone 5, when it is introduced, as some reports circulating Monday suggested.
Sprint Nextel, which has about 52 million subscribers, is looking solidly down the road with the iPhone deal, banking on AT&T, which holds the majority of iPhone service contracts, slowly losing share and hoping to successfully battle Verizon Wireless for strays and newcomers.
“AT&T’s iPhone lead will shrink over time as more carriers start to offer the device,” said wireless analyst Kirk Parsons of JD Power and Associates. “[For them] it’s more about keeping existing customers and having them upgrade to the new offering rather than try to lure other customers away from the competition.
“Sprint currently offers unlimited data plans so that’s still a competitive advantage.”
Both AT&T and Verizon…
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