iPhone Deal Between Apple and Sprint Could Mean Apple A Step Closer To Apple "Owning" Carrier

Part of the prelaunch buzz of the next iPhone by Apple in a few hours is Sprint's supposedly deal with Apple to buy more than 30 million iPhones worth $20 billion over the next four years.

That comes out to about 7.5 to 8 million iPhones a year.  Crazy, I know but it makes for fun speculation while we wait for the main event. 

The Next Web suggests that Apple pretty much will own Sprint in many respects.  Figuratively, I would say that will be the case.  Sprint is counting on Apple to not only stop the bleeding at Sprint but also start to steal users, probably carriers without the iPhone and those who might be enticed by Sprint's offer of unlimited wireless data access.

Financially, TNW suggests Apple could become a virtual carrier on its own.  This isn't a new concept but one that has not been discovered for a while.  They also suggest Apple could buy out Sprint at some point in the future and set up Apple Wireless (I came up with that).  

Perhaps, as a part of tomorrow's announcement, Apple's one more thing is that "Apple has bought Sprint".  Okay, probably never gonna happen.  However, Sprint as the third iPhone carrier has possibilities that Apple can probably explore. 

And if Apple wanted to buy out Sprint, it would cost a mere $10 to 12 billion - so as yourself this.  Would go the better deal, a possible Apple buyout of Sprint or Google's $12+ billion Motorola buyout?

Obviously, Google has probably thought about becoming a carrier itself.  Google did bid on wireless spectrums a few years ago.  And that was before Android become such a dominate mobile force.  

Should Apple or Google ever consider becoming carriers, their entry into the wireless carrier market would be scrutinized until time ends.  That is just how powerful both companies have become.  And should either of them decide to get into the business of providing wireless access, they would likely be forced by regulators to make sure they cannot exclude devices from competing mobile platforms working on their network.

Between, the two, I see Apple as not the type who would share.  However, Google, who is more interested in selling ads, probably would not mind as much.

11 Hours Away From Apple's fall Event

Just like that the title says, we are 11 hours from Apple's fall event. I wanted to check in and say that we are no closer to find out just Apple has in store for us tomorrow.

What's clear is that the anticipation is building rapidly. I am hoping someone will have some sort of a true breakthrough that and broke some kind of information a bit early. And there will be. So, let me say this: read but do not trust because we will be unable to verify.

Amazon Sold Nearly An Estimated 100K Kindle Fire Tablets

How many Kindle Fires Amazon will sell is a secret that no one will know but it has not kept others from trying to figure out how many Fires has already been pre-sold.

These estimate is around 95K but I think it's conservative.  100K is likely on the first day and a lot more since.  Is that a success?  Definitely has gotten hold of reader and tablet user interests.  That's for sure.  And reviews along with word of mouth should also help.  It's very likely the initial hands-on from bloggers has helped the Fire as well. 

At the same time, I think the success of Fire will only heat up competition among Android tablets as well as the iPad.  

Furthermore, a new estimate out today says that Amazon could be make money on each device and that's before it even sells a single ebook.  But I'll leave that out since Amazon making money off each Fire sale is not all that relevant to the mobile experience.  

Having said that, I'm still waiting for other Android tablet makers to respond.  It's likely that they'll dabble in the market but I reckon they're waiting to see what Microsoft has to offer.  The main thing is we don't know yet how Google's own 7" tablet via Motorola will be positioned.  

We already know about Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7 Plus.  Now, we want to know how much they cost.

Source:  Android Community.

There Could Be A WiMax iPhone

An update to the Sprint story I shared earlier.  According to WSJ, Sprint could get an exclusive iPhone designed with WiMax.  If true, this would be a dramatic departure from Apple's previous behavior.  However, it would make sense given that the iPhone is very much the premiere device despite Sprint being heavily invested in Android.

Do I think this is likely?  I'm leaning towards possible WiMax iPhone but no exclusive design just for Sprint.

Source:  Macrumors.

Sprint Bets Big On iPhone - More Than 30 million

Over the next four years, Sprint is committed to buy 30.5 million iPhones from Apple. That is at a cost of $20 billion or more.

That is a big big number. But is it risky? Probably not. And Sprint likely has no choice but to do this.

At the same time, don't be surprised if Sprint finds that 30+ million iPhones won't be enough.

Now, I like to know how many iPads is Sprint committed to.

Source: Yahoo.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Zune Hardware Back on Website - But Why Bother? It's a Distraction

The Zune HD is back on the Zune website.  My question is why?  The focus should be on Windows Phone OS and the ecosystem that is slowly getting its footing.  The focus should be on WP 7.5, Mango.  The showcase should be on the new hardware.

Oh, don't be surprised if we see WP on a Zune upgrade then.  That or the Zune HD has actually been discontinued but not everyone at Microsoft is aware of it.  Likely, someone jumped the gun here.

Zune Hardware Likely Discontinued But Lives on As An App And Service

It appears any thought of a Zune come back has been hushed as Gizmodo reports the Zune player is no where to be found on the website.  All you see are mentions of Zune as a service and app.

Zune was Microsoft's answer to the iPod first and then the iPod touch.  However, they failed to catch on and to make matters worse, it effectively killed off other players that reply on Microsoft for DRM services.  Few music players continue to exist or matter after the Zune came onto the market.

Now, it's only going to exist as a music and video service.  Frankly, it's a brilliant move.  Zune would only serve as a distraction to Windows Phone devices.  

Source: Gizmodo.