What sets Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on top of the mobile hill? Apart from the amazing features and apps, what has been impressive about the recently launched iPhone 5 is the pace of the roll out, given concerns around production shortages. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) plans to sell the latest iPhone through 240 carriers worldwide by the year’s end, as compared to 140 different carriers it selected for the launch of iPhone 4S. Apart from this, the innovative company also intends to launch the latest iPhone in 30 more countries, considering the last model was launched in 70 countries, iPhone 5 will reach 100 countries. Such huge plans make the launch, the fastest iPhone launch ever.
Advance booking for the latest iPhone started online on Friday (9/14), and in 24 hours the company booked 2 million preorders, that’s double the amount of iPhone 4S. The first shipment of the device will be on the 21st of September, and it will be shipped to the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. On the 28th of September the iPhone 5 will be launched in 20 more countries, and by the year’s end, the product is expected to be available in 100 countries.
To boost the demand further, the company plans to expand into prepaid markets much sooner. By the end of the month, iPhone 5 will be available on Cricket Wireless, General Communication, Inc. (NASDAQ:GNCMA) of Alaska, Cellcom, and Appalachian Wireless. The introduction of iPhone 5 in prepaid markets is way sooner, when compared to iPhone 4S, which was launched in October 2011. Pre-paid focused carrier Cricket Wireless started selling the iPhone 4S by June, while Appalachian Wireless, Cellcom, and GCI Wireless took it only in April 2012,
The iPhone maker has officially confirmed that the initial demand has exceeded the inventory; as a result, many of the pre-orders will now be shipped in October against the earlier date of September 21st. According to a report from Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) (NYSE:BCS), the shipment might get delayed till December, due to the shift toward in-cell display technology, “We still believe Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is facing significant production constraints, due to a move toward in-cell display technology, which should push a significant amount of units into the December, and even March quarters.” The report said that Sharp in-cell production will start this month, while LG Display and Japan Display are providing the vast majority of screens at launch. Basing its estimates on such factors, the report says “estimate iPhone unit sales will surge to 45.21 million, up 22.0% y/y and 93% q/q, in the December quarter (F1Q13). We even believe production plans call for about 50 million iPhone 5 units alone, in the December quarter, not including millions of lower-priced older models.”
