The much anticipated Apple iPhone 5 finally went on sale on Friday, September 14, 2012 on Apple Stores and on-line as well as its carriers including AT&T, Verizon Communications and Sprint Nextel. The Apple stock, ticker: AAPL, reached a new all-time high as a result. Some Wall Street analysts were quick to declare that the release of the iPhone alone could add $2 to $4 to Apple’s earnings.
The new model will go on sale in nine countries initially and spread over to more than 100 countries that include more than 240 cellular carriers by December 2012. Compare this to seven countries initially attracted the previous iPhone 4S, a year ago. The new iPhone is expected to sell over 13 million units by the end of the month making it the fastest launch of any kind of phone in the history of the telecommunication industry.
Now that iPhone 5 is out of the way, what’s next for Apple? Many think it will be the television market. It will be a hard fight due to cable carrier’s grip on content and distribution of television shows and movies. It will be an uphill battle for Apple to take away the market share enjoyed by Sony and Samsung in regard to TVs.