RIM Seems No Slow Down As Analyst Questions 10M iPhone Target

Apple’s goal of selling 10 million iPhones in 2008 is being tossed under the microscope just as Blackberry maker Research in Motion (RIM) announced that its smart phone business has remained uncharacteristically strong through the start of the new year.

Speaking to clients in a research report on Friday, Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi called Apple’s self-imposed 10 million iPhone sales target “optimistic,” especially if the company insists on maintaining carrier revenue share agreements without a significant price cut or new model introductions.

The analyst noted that iPhone sales averaged 180,000 units a week in the fourth calendar quarter of 2007, which stands as Apple’s busiest period of the year. As such, he estimates to company will sell just 7.9 million units during the course of the year, given no change to its strategy.

iPhone Version With 3G Next Year

AT&T Inc. CEO Randall Stephenson confirmed most awaited 3G version of iPhone.

Apple Inc. will introduce a version of the iPhone next year that can download from the Internet at a faster rate, and also the battery will be improved to address the battery drain issue with faster networks.

With the recent firmware update version 1.1.2, there are reports thats the iPhone performance has increased and has become faster. So, we can expect better improvement in terms of performance in the new version, and add 3G and few more features to it, definitely the next version will become more popular than the current one. There are no indications yet on how much the new iPhone version would cost.

The prospect of a new handset may make some shoppers put off buying an iPhone this year, Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray & Co. in Minneapolis, said in an e-mail. The number of shoppers who delay a purchase won’t be “enough to make a difference,” he said. Munster has advised buying Apple shares since June 2004.

Hopefully it will cover most of the features it is lacking currently when compared to those offered by most of the smart phones available today.

Apple Releases New iPhone With 16GB and iPod Touch With 32 GB

While many people waiting for iPhone version with 3G, Apple added new models of the iPhone and iPod touch which have double the memory, doubling the amount of music, photos and videos that customers can carry with them wherever they go.

The revolutionary iPhone now comes in a new 16GB model for $499, joining the 8GB model for $399. iPod touch now comes in a 32GB model for $499, joining the 16GB model for $399 and the 8GB model for $299.