iPhone News Updated

Verizon Wireless May Report a Drop-Off in Apple IPhone Sales, Goldman Says

Verizon Wireless May Report a Drop-Off in Apple IPhone Sales, Goldman Says

Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S.
wireless provider, will probably say sales of Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s
iPhone dropped when it reports second-quarter results, a Goldman
Sachs Group Inc. (GS) analyst said.

“IPhone sales will likely be a touch below the 2.2
million” Verizon sold in the first quarter, said Jason Armstrong in a research note. Verizon began sales of the
smartphone Feb. 3, more than a month into the first quarter.

Armstrong said he met yesterday with investor relations
executives from Verizon Communications Inc., which co-owns
Verizon Wireless with Vodafone Group Plc. (VOD) Brenda Raney, a
spokeswoman for Basking Ridge, New-Jersey based Verizon
Wireless, declined to comment.

AT&T Inc. (T), based in Dallas, had held an almost four-year
exclusivity on the Apple handset in the U.S. The iPhone is
Apple’s best-selling device, accounting for half of revenue in
the Cupertino, California-based company’s fiscal second quarter.

Sales of Verizon’s other smartphones, which includes the
HTC Corp. ThunderBolt that works on Verizon’s faster fourth-
generation network, were above the carrier’s expectations,
Armstrong said.

Verizon, like AT&T, sells the iPhone 4 for $199.99 or
$299.99 with a two-year contract. AT&T also offers an older
variety, the 3GS, for $49 with a contract.

Verizon Communications, based in New York, rose 43 cents to
$37.15 at 11:12 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite
trading and had gained 2.6 percent this year before today. Apple
rose $1.07 to $335.11 on the Nasdaq Stock Market and had jumped
3.6 percent this year.

[Thanks: http://www.bloomberg.com]

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