In a note to investors, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty writes that the way forward for Apple to reach out to more customers is by reducing the cost of ownership of the iPhone besides reducing the cost of the service plan. She writes
“We expect Apple to launch new iPhones in June that offer both a lower total cost of ownership and new functionality, potentially including gesture-based technology.”
It is likely that Apple resort to this strategy. You might recall that the iPad has been priced pretty aggressively (against an original estimate of $999) with carrier charges not more than $30 per month. I think if this trial works out to be successful, Apple could also be looking to price iPhone 4G the same way in the light of stiff competition from the Android handset manufacturers like Google, Motorola and HTC.
Having said that, we need to note that this is merely an analyst’s take and does not reflect company policies. Katy Huberty is the same analyst who had called for the end of AT&T exclusivity in order to increase iPhone’s reach. As we know, that has never happened so far.
[via Apple Insider]