Good article:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=126249

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Almost three years after its launch, the iPhone has 40% market share among AT&T users (impressive), but it is available only on one phone system, which brings down its actual market penetration to only about 14% share of cell phone users (not so impressive). If iPad has similar success, then in 2013 magazine publishers distributing iPad app versions of their content would still be unable to reach more than 85% of their potential market using that channel. Being iPad- or iPhone-dedicated as a distribution channel is like selling your magazine on the newsstand, but only in Safeway: big, but not big enough.
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I saw an article a couple of days ago... should have paid more attention to it, but basically saying that Verizon is getting or is trying to get the iphones for their service as well

It's revenue they're concerned with, not market share. If they can get more money from that 15% niche, publishers won't care about how many terminals are bieng sold.

Almost three years after its launch, the iPhone has 40% market share among AT&T users (impressive), but it is available only on one phone system, which brings down its actual market penetration to only about 14% share of cell phone users (not so impressive).

Why is it only available from AT&T? All the mobile phone providers in the UK sell the iPhone.

Why is it only available from AT&T? All the mobile phone providers in the UK sell the iPhone.

I think this article mostly about US market.

Why is it only available from AT&T? All the mobile phone providers in the UK sell the iPhone.

AT&T has the largest GSM network. The other big varriers in the US use CDMA. There's no CDMA version of the iPhone.

I think there was also a multi-year exclusivity deal with AT&T. I don't know if it's still current.

Why is it only available from AT&T? All the mobile phone providers in the UK sell the iPhone.

When the iPhone first came out in the US it was limited to AT&T (by contract). I think the EU Trade Commission stepped in and told Apple they could not limit their product to a single carrier in any of the European countries.
Cheers,
Bev

T-Mobile also has a GSM network. However, AT&T got a multi-year exclusivity deal with Apple. Every single iPhone user I know is looking forward to the day when that deal ends, because to a one, they ate AT&T, and want to jump ship to any other network that can take them. They love their iPhones, but oh, do they ever hate AT&T.

T-Mobile also has a GSM network. However, AT&T got a multi-year exclusivity deal with Apple. Every single iPhone user I know is looking forward to the day when that deal ends, because to a one, they ate AT&T, and want to jump ship to any other network that can take them. They love their iPhones, but oh, do they ever hate AT&T.

I agree :). I don't have iPhone because I don't like AT&T service..

Why is it only available from AT&T? All the mobile phone providers in the UK sell the iPhone.

Same here, all the phone providers in Australia offer the iPhone. Thank goodness it's not restricted to one phone provider here!

The same is true here in Canada; you can get an iPhone from any of the big three carriers. It seems like that is true pretty much everywhere except the United States.

To go back to a different point that was made, I don't believe that using the AT&T exclusivity for the iPhone is as relevant to the iPad and magazine distribution. You don't have to have *any* cell service to subscribe to the iPad version of a magazine thus distribution is not artificially constrained to users of one particular service.

T-Mobile also has a GSM network. However, AT&T got a multi-year exclusivity deal with Apple. Every single iPhone user I know is looking forward to the day when that deal ends, because to a one, they ate AT&T, and want to jump ship to any other network that can take them. They love their iPhones, but oh, do they ever hate AT&T.

Yes people blame the AT&T for poor call quality on the iPhone, but some indepenant test have proven that the phone is also part of the problem.

So while moving to a more reliable* network, will make the phone more reliable but it will still have issues.

* I'm not implying Verizion has better coverage than AT&T, my experience is the opposite. What I saying is there was a study as to why the iPhone had so many dropped calls in larger cities like San Fransisco and New York. It ends up the cause of the problem is GSM vs CDMA and how the technology slices cell tower access. It seems CDMA is better suited for high traffic. The crackberry site has written to good blogs on this but I can't find them here is a link to a post (CDMA vs GSM (http://forums.crackberry.com/f68/t-service-problems-technical-reasons-417843/#post4625170))

When the iPhone first came out in the US it was limited to AT&T (by contract). I think the EU Trade Commission stepped in and told Apple they could not limit their product to a single carrier in any of the European countries.
Cheers,
Bev
That is not accurate, at least in the case of Spain and Germany the iPhone has been carried exclusively by Telefónica de España (owner of O2) and T-Mobile, respectively. However that is going to change soon.

netration to only about 14% share of cell phone users (not so impressive). If iPad has similar success, then in 2013 magazine publishers distributing iPad app versions of their content would still be unable to reach more than 85% of their potential market using that channel. Being iPad- or iPhone-dedicated as a distribution channel is like selling your magazine on the newsstand, but only in Safeway: big, but not big enough.
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It's not like magazines (or anything else) have to be made only for the iPad.

They can put them in Zinio, make their own app etc. and sell them to people who own various types of tablets, read them on their pcs/laptops etc.

The iPad App doesn't have to be their only app/method of distribution. Just like Amazon has Kindle apps for the iPhone/iPod Touch, iPad, Blackberry, PC, Mac etc.

It's not like magazines (or anything else) have to be made only for the iPad.

They can put them in Zinio, make their own app etc. and sell them to people who own various types of tablets, read them on their pcs/laptops etc.

The iPad App doesn't have to be their only app/method of distribution. Just like Amazon has Kindle apps for the iPhone/iPod Touch, iPad, Blackberry, PC, Mac etc.

Agreed that magazine producers should be concentrating on non-proprietary apps that will run on all devices. Zinio isn't a bad start, neither is Kindle, though both neglect PDAs and some smartphones (everyone does iPod, few do Win Mobile). And Amazon and Apple have already demonstrated an undesirable amount of control over what publishers can put into "their" store, so going non-proprietary is clearly the smart way to go to ensure independence and control over your product.

Other small tablet devices would be ideal for mag reading, so hopefully mag apps for them are available or coming shortly.

T-Mobile also has a GSM network. However, AT&T got a multi-year exclusivity deal with Apple. Every single iPhone user I know is looking forward to the day when that deal ends, because to a one, they ate AT&T, and want to jump ship to any other network that can take them. They love their iPhones, but oh, do they ever hate AT&T.

Whereas I like the AT&T service but hate the iPhone. Most of the problems I've read about are complaints by idiots, i.e. people who think that 1 million users of a network can see the same performance as 1000 users.

I'd say it's hardly a complaint of mostly idiots. There are lots of times where I have good reception on my Verizon phone and my friends with AT&T have poor or no signal. And I can't recall a single instance where the opposite was true.

I really like the iPhone, but there's no way I'd leave Verizon to get it. I'm not sure I need a smartphone enough to pay the $30 for the data plan anyway though since I spend most of my time at a computer as is.

I'd say it's hardly a complaint of mostly idiots. There are lots of times where I have good reception on my Verizon phone and my friends with AT&T and poor or no signal. And I can't recall a single instance where the opposite was true.

I really like the iPhone, but there's no way I'd leave Verizon to get it. I'm not sure I need a smartphone enough to pay the $30 for the data plan anyway though since I spend most of my time at a computer as is.

A few years ago, DH was on AT&T and I was on Verizon. His phone was through his then employer and they paid for it so it was good enough. Whenever we'd go out together I was always amazed at the poor reception on his AT&T phone. It's improved but when DH left that employer he switched to Verizon.

iPhones are purty but I won't be spending any more money at Apple.

AT&T is struggling to build out enough HSPA capacity is certain core markets -- New York and Los Angeles esp -- to satisfy the iPhone users there. It's not an iPhone flaw. The US is the last "hold out" market without multi-carriers ... based on the iPhone design itself: to date, there is no CDMA or AWS option. That shuts out Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile ...

Canada was the second last hold out: the dominoes fell in Nov when Bell and Telus rolled out their HSPA overlay network on their CDMA facilities. Until then, Rogers, with a true "legacy" GSM/HSPA network, had been the sole iPhone provider. Between the very solid build of Rogers HSPA, and the virtually empty highway of the Bell/Telus spanking new network, iPhone does really well here.

AT&T, nonetheless, has managed to convince Apple, so far, not to develop a "Verizon friendly" iPhone. And, in the grand picture, that's probably a smart move -- and probably costing AT&T a serious premium for exclusivity. Eventually there will be a network agnostic iPhone in the US -- maybe as soon as June 22. But in the meantime, AT&T is spending serious dollars building a more robust data network which, in the long run, preps it for ongoing leadership as new devices arrive.

The iPhone entered a mature market and has taken a 25% share in 3 years. The iPad is breaking ground in a new niche and effectively has a 100% share. Well, minus the 90 JooJoos that sold :)

I think magazine publishers would do quite well to target the iPad. Sometime this summer or later in the year, the serious competitors will enter the market. The windows slates will be a non-starter, but the android ones will occupy the "what to target after we've created our iPad app" niche

Lee

When the iPhone first came out in the US it was limited to AT&T (by contract). I think the EU Trade Commission stepped in and told Apple they could not limit their product to a single carrier in any of the European countries.
Cheers,
Bev

Nope, most eu countries had similar deals, but it was only the american deal that got extended, so that resulted in more carriers with the iphone while still only the one in the states.

The iPhone entered a mature market and has taken a 25% share in 3 years. The iPad is breaking ground in a new niche and effectively has a 100% share. Well, minus the 90 JooJoos that sold :)


The smartphone market still isn't mature either, just a bit more established than the slate one. :D


I think magazine publishers would do quite well to target the iPad. Sometime this summer or later in the year, the serious competitors will enter the market. The windows slates will be a non-starter, but the android ones will occupy the "what to target after we've created our iPad app" niche


At this stage, targeting the ipad has to be the sensible move for magazine publishers whether its via zinio or an app per issue because its the ideal time to learn what works and what doesn't as far as the digital editions, their pricing etc. and as the options expand they can do the same sort of thing that publishers did to the kindle and start dictating terms a bit more when the ipad is less of an issue for them.

As far as dismissing windows slates, that seems a little shortsighted, the things that have held back the form factor in the past have been things like the OS, device power and battery life with most of those being a lot obetter with current hardware and windows 7. You also have to look at the netbook market, that's a huge and growing market and it would only take a relatively small shift from that market for windows slates to do very well. They would have a plus for publishers that went for options like zinio that it would only require slight updates from the basic windows client to add things like better touchscreen support and they were done. Android tablets will probably get more attention, but they will probably need more work than a windows ones.