Apple sees only 30,000 iPhone sales in China since debut

13 November 2009 @ 06:10 pm EDT

Apple Inc, which is expected to ship 11 million iPhones in the quarter, has sold 30,000 units in China since its debut on October 30, according to an analyst note issued on Friday.


Apple sees only 30,000 iPhone sales in China since debut
A mock iPhone is displayed in front of a booth selling new the iPhone 3G in Hong Kong July 11, 2008. The new iPhone is expected to attract hordes of buyers when it goes on sale on Friday in more than 20 countries and regions, helping Apple Inc handily beat its target to sell 10 million of them by the end of 2008.
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According to Brian Marshall, analyst at Broadpoint AmTech, the China iPhone ramp will prove to be a catalysts for Apple's continuous growth.

However, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Daniel Amir isn't optimistic about Apple's prospects in China going forward given the phone's high price tag, the note said.

In October, iPhone shipment to China reached 700K units even though sell-through has been much lower largely due to the high price point.  Apple is likely to continue diverting 10 percent of the iPhone build to the Chinese market, as the opportunity for China could be significant to future growth.

"Overall, in our opinion, the high price point remains a barrier for further iPhone adoption and the current run rate is below expectations," Amir said.

Despite the relatively low performance in China, iPhone sales in the UK turned better than expected. Orange UK on Tuesday started selling iPhone in the country with the first-day sales of 30,000 units.

According to Marshall, the global iPhone ramp is in early innings with the iPhone now available in 80 more countries. Though Apple hasn't seen significant in China, it may boost sales by ending its exclusivity.

This article is copyrighted by International Business Times.

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