Analyst: iPhone to hit 100 million subscribers by end of 2011
Either take-up of iPhone 4 will prove to be the high point of the platform's sales surge, or it'll simply mark another step in Apple's continued smartphone ascent.
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty clearly believes iPhone 4's initial sales boom has the potential to go on and on, with Huberty telling investors in a note that she expects Apple to sell 42 million units in calendar 2010.
As such, while sales will then slow down a touch in her view totalling around 28 million units in 2011 iPhone's total userbase will still manage to surpass 100 million units by the year's end.
Upgrade mania
Huberty's predictions are based on an AlphaWise survey that suggested 58 percent of current iPhone users plan to upgrade to iPhone 4 at some point this year a rate that would represent a step up from previous upgrade rates.
For Huberty's predictions to stand firm, it would require 30 percent of current owners to make the leap, with the Morgan Stanley analyst noting that if said rate hit 50 percent, 2010 sales could actually top 48 million.
Huberty's numbers follow projections made by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who believes Apple will sell 9.5 million iPhone 4 handsets in the June quarter alone.