Goldman Sachs, the much reputed firm has announced that it believes there is a demand for , hold on to your seats, 14 million iphones before the end of 2008. The figure has been further broken up into 4 million in 2007 and 10 million in 2008. Apple has managed to hold on to a lot of captive audience from the iPod. Almost 75% of the consumers who own iPods wish to own a iPhone. the study was carried out in the consumer markets of India, China, UK and of course, the United States.
While only 15% of consumers in the United States were agreeable to switching careers for the sake of the iPhone, the figure went up to 30% in the UK. Consumers in India would not face such a problem since there are no 'locking' methods carried out by service providers. Consumers are free to buy the cell phone of their choice and put in a SIM card from the service provider that they prefer.
There is a catch in the statistics though, the survey was carried out before the pricing for the phone was announced. Apple has been severely criticized for the pricing which experts believe to be on the higher side.