Loose Grip, All Right

Poornima Gupta and Noel Randewich, writing for Reuters, “Apple’s Grip on Carriers, Suppliers Loosens”:

Asked whether carriers are now in a better position to negotiate lower prices with smartphone makers such as Apple, Fran Shammo, chief financial officer of Verizon Communications, said having four strong platforms - Apple, Android, Windows and BlackBerry - is leading to more competitive pricing.

“The more operating systems we have to compete in this area the better the competition,” he told Reuters.

Yet Verizon’s just-reported quarter showed the iPhone accounting for 63 percent of all smartphone activations, outselling Android about 2-to-1. Those numbers are higher than ever for Verizon. 84 percent of smartphones sold by AT&T were iPhones. And Reuters is saying these numbers show Apple is “losing its grip”?

★ Tuesday, 29 January 2013