Monday, August 11, 2008

Globe banking on Apple’s stylish iPhone


More iPhone News

MANILA, Philippines -
Globe Telecom, Inc. is banking on Apple’s third-generation (3G) iPhone to temper the effects on profits of declining consumption due to rising consumer prices.

The iPhone, exclusive to Globe subscribers, will hit stores on Aug. 22 and will cost P42,000 for the base eight-gigabyte model — four times the suggested retail price of $199 or less than P10,000 in the US.

In a press briefing Wednesday, Globe President Gerardo Ablaza said the introduction of the iPhone, coupled with the launch of value-added services, would drive company growth for the rest of the year.

An analyst said the iPhone would be received well, saying the price "would not stop the wave of fanaticism of Apple users." "The iPhone craze is one thing [Globe] can take advantage of," said Astro C. del Castillo of First Grade Holdings, Inc. He said Globe could sell up to a million iPhones.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ablaza said the company was disappointed that a record increase in subscribers in the second quarter had failed to translate into a proportionate hike in wireless revenues.

Its subscriber base grew by 1.5 million to over 22 million subscribers in the second quarter mainly due to the strong performance of the network’s low-cost brand, TM. But wireless revenues dipped by 2%. Mr. Ablaza said sales would likely settle in the low single digit for the year. The company hopes to do better as prices stabilize. — Paolo Luis G. Montecillo, BusinessWorld


Source: GMANews.TV

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