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A few months after the iPhone launch, Apple could count the rollout as a major success. However, the company is facing new challenges as global rollouts proved that it is more complicated than its iPod and iMac lines.
When the company rolled out its first Macs, Apple’s challenge began in securing the post popular operating system. Several years ago, the iPod player was launched and Apple successfully convinced music labels to sell songs through Apple’s online store for 99 cents. This move increased Mac computer sales.
However, the global release of iPhones has proved to be more complicated. Apple dominates the smartphone industry by cutting exclusive deals with a single carrier for each country; a great example would be AT&T’s deal with Apple since last June. In return for such exclusivity, Apple demands revenue sharing that aims to collect about $5 to $10 for each subscriber monthly.
According to John Ruffolo, Deloitte’s national leader of the technology, media & telecommunications industry group, Apple uses the strength of its products only to strong-arm carriers like AT&T, but has been backfiring in some cases.
Recently, Apple and Rogers Communications made a deal allowing the carrier to sell iPhones in Canada. However, Apple may have understood that exclusivity and revenue sharing may not work in every market.
Since releasing the iPhone in Europe last fall to exclusive carrier partnerships in France, Germany and Britain as well as Austria and Ireland last month, Apple has reduced the iPhone price and revamped its technology to prevent iPhone unlocking. Recent sales reports have suggested that the iPhone sales in other countries cannot compare to that of the U.S. sales.
“Apple is going to have to be more flexible with its carrier agreements if it really wants to get the product out,” Ruffolo commented.
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Apple Faces Challenges in the iPhone’s Global Rollout
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