Mobile-phone market

Mega phone

What is the impact of the iPhone on the mobile market?
MILLIONS of iFans eagerly await the new iPhone, which is expected to be revealed on September 12th and to go on sale later this month. Analysts expect it to outsell Samsung's Galaxy SIII, its nearest rival, which has shifted over 20m units worldwide since its launch in May. Each new model of the iPhone has sold as many units as all previous versions combined. Since the launch of the original iPhone in 2007, it has brought in $150 billion in sales revenue, with $74 billion of that in the past year. The iPhone is Apple's biggest product, accounting for 53% of the company's revenue. Indeed, if the iPhone were spun out as a separate company it would be bigger than Microsoft, whose revenues were $73 billion last year. According to Asymco, a market-research firm, Apple claims two-thirds of the profits among handset-makers, despite having a smartphone market share of 21%, as the charts below show. The iPhone has been the world’s bestselling smartphone for five consecutive years, but will its run last? In 2011 Apple spent only 2% of its revenue on research, while Google and Microsoft both spent 13%.