BOC Brands: iPhone

Less than ten years ago, the idea o touchscreen technology in a phone might have seemed like just a fantasy. In 2007, Apple released the first version of the iPhone which was very innovative technology at the time. For the better part of the decade, there was one phone brand that had the largest market share. Blackberry was producing desirable phones with features that consumers were looking for in smart phones. Apple developed a phone that provided the similar services but  had the technological advancement of touchscreen that allowed them to provide something unique. The phone was priced very high for a phone during that time but units were still selling out all over the world. In a very short time, Apple created a huge market share for themselves even though they had never produced phones before. "According to research firm IDC, shipments of BlackBerry phones plummeted from 46 percent of the U.S. market in 2008 to 2 percent in 2012" (New Blackberry Q5 Unveiled As Cheaper Alternative, BBM Heads To iPhone And Android, Fox News Latino). At one point, Blackberry was listed as one of the biggest companies to go out of business. Apple users also tend to use their phones more than any other providers. "Apple nabbed 25.86 percent of global mobile internet usage in January 2013, beating out Samsung’s 22.69 percent and Nokia’s third-place slide to 22.15 percent" (iPhone Continues Worldwide March of Domination, Latest Stats Show, Christina Bonnington). Its hard to dispute the fact that the touchscreen technology allowed Apple to substantially increase their market share. At first, Apple was not manufacturing enough phones to meet demand, not people believe that they hold back shipments so that it seems as if there is limited quantities. Now that touchscreen technology is available for everyone to use it has lost its excitement. There are now other providers that have been consistently taking market share away from Apple. "Although the threat of Samsung as a competitor is very real, Apple still took 70 percent of profits in the handset industry in Q4 of this past year" (iPhone Continues Worldwide March of Domination, Latest Stats Show, Christina Bonnington). Initially, consumers were attracted to the product because it was very expensive and in limited quantities. There are so many versions of the iPhone available in different price ranges that is has also contributed to the lack of luster. "One thing is for sure, with the release of such super handsets as the Samsung Galaxy S4, Sony Xperia Z and, HTC One the next iPhone will have to seriously up its game" (iPhone 6 release date, news and rumors, Dan Grabham). With so many iPhones available and the availability of information, there have been issues rising that question the quality of the product. Some consumers say that they "were sold the device with on-off buttons that stopped working shortly after the 1-year warranty was up" (Lawsuit claims Apple sold iPhone 4 with bad on-off button, Dara Kerr).