On 2008-01-09, Larry <noone@home.com> wrote:
> 4phun <vic.healey@gmail.com> wrote in news:ed32d582-81b5-4f53-837c-
> 625e92ad1c03@j20g2000hsi.googlegroups.com:
>
>> I also heard that they will anounce someting like five million sold by
>> Jan 1. We will know next week if that rumor was accurate.
>>
>
[...]
>
> What we REALLY need to see is the number of ATT Contracts that have
> iPhone serial numbers attached to them. THAT is the REAL number of
> iPhones SOLD.

I don't think so. I've personally seen iPhones being used on the
subway in Hong Kong, in a coffee shop in Shenzhen, China and by an
acquaintance in Escazu, Costa Rica, and I'm pretty sure none of these
was on an AT&T contract (the last one certainly wasn't; I asked). I
travel a bit, but not nearly enough to have had the fantastic luck
of stumbling upon the only three iPhones that ended up unlocked and
in use overseas. I think this is where the difference between
Apple sales and AT&T contracts came from in the first quarter of
sales.

I'm quite happy about that, actually. These are sales from which
Apple derives no continuing revenue stream, and I don't think Apple
should have been paid that way in the first place.

Dennis Ferguson