Apple iPhone

History

The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple. The first iphone was unveiled by apple’s former CEO Steve Jobs on January 9^th, 2007 and released on June 29^th, 2007. An iPhone has features such as video camera, media player, web browsing, wi-fi, 3G, multi touch screen and a variety of applications that have diverse functions, including games, navigation, social networking, GPS, etc. iPhone works on the operating system iOS. There are 5 generations of iPhone models, each accompanied by one of the five major releases of iOS  (iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4G, iPhone 4S) The first models have been discontinued.

In India iPhone was launched in August 22, 2008 in India through Vodafone and Airtel as carriers. It was first launched across six cities wiz Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Subsequently it was rolled out many other cities. The booking process had started as early as two months before the release in India and around two lakhs pre bookings were made for the same. Both Vodafone and Airtel had tied up with banks like ICICI bank and Axis bank to provide loans to potential customers who were planning to buy the iPhone but could not afford it immediately.

Even with such great initial response, the iPhone today has not been able to capture the Indian smartphones market very significantly and compete against the already existing brands. A little over 62000 iPhones were shipped to India by the end of June 2011. Apple accounted for 2.6 percent of India’s smartphones shipments in the quarter ended on June 30^th, 2011 as compared to RIM’s 15 percent, Samsung’s 21 percent and Nokia’s 46 percent share. Apple, world’s largest Smartphone manufacturer is losing the Indian market. According to the report, currently the Apple has 602 million active subscribers in India. It has not been able to succeed in the Indian market due to many reasons: a) it is highly priced to the competitive brands that provide similar features and are considered value for money whereas Apple is considered a luxury product and caters to a very niche market.  Also the price of iPhone in India is higher than those sold in countries like US. b) due to limited availability of 3G in India iPhones have failed to gain much popularity. The two available iPhones in the market are iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 price ranging between 28000 to 48000 depending upon their storage capacity.

SWOT ANALYSIS:-

         Strengths

1) Brand recognition 2) Loyal Customer Base 3) Pioneer in Innovation 4) Aesthetic Design 5) Premium Image

Weaknesses

1) Less Compatible 2) Limited Distribution 3) Not an Open Source 4) Limited Variants Opportunities 1) Expanding Product lines 2) More service centers in India Threats 1) Change in Leadership

iPhone user's sharing their view on their phone

Samsung Galaxy User talking about his phone

PURCHASE PROCESS

• Dissatisfacton

•Notice Mobile Phones

•Active search

•Peer group review

•Comparison of mobile prices

•Visit dealers

•Negotiate

•Purchase

·         Dissatisfaction: In this stage, a person’s phone is not functioning properly, or, he or she starts finding deficiencies in their phone.

·         Notice mobile phones: Look around and become aware of the phones.

·         Active search: See what is on offer and what are people using. Actively find out more about prospective phones. In this case, a person will consider an iPhone, Blackberry or a Samsung Galaxy ( iPhone’s main competitors in India)

·         Peer group review: Views will be sought from friends and people whose opinion and knowledge on phones will matter.

·         Comparison of mobile prices: Prices of all three phones and their respective models will be considered vis-à-vis iPhone 4, Blackberry? Samsung S2 Galaxy.

·         Visit Dealers: Once, the prices are accumulated, the visit to a dealer takes place to see the actual product and interact with the dealer.

·          Negotiate: The dealer quotes a price which the buyer attempts to either negotiate the best price offering or to get extra goodies along with the phone for the agreed price.

·         Purchase: Finally, the person buys the iPhone, as he or she finds it the most suitable for their preferences and needs.

Target audience

DEMOGRAPHICS

iPhone targets people aged between 18-35 which mainly includes the youth population covering students and young working professionals. They are expected to have a monthly household income above 1.5 lakhs and live in metros or mini metros.  

PSYCHOGRAPHICS

An iPhone user looks for features such as stylish appearance, user friendly technology, sensitive touch, countless applications, multimedia, etc that appeal to his/her senses. The major driving force towards buying an iPhone is the brand name itself. A person feels privileged using an iPhone. Such a person is usually image conscious (he is very conscious of his status or image in society, amongst his friends and peer group), fashionable (he likes to stay stylish and in tune with changing trends), tech-savvy (he likes to own gadgets with latest technology), attention seeker (he likes to flaunt) and is usually an extrovert (he likes enjoys socialising).

LIFESTYLE

Talking to a few iPhone users, we realised that certain traits were common to most of them. By far, these people like to spend lavishly and choose to buy branded products only. They like to socialize and indulge in gregarious activities.

INFLUENCERS

Family, friends and the peer group are the main influencers. Most users were able to get a first-hand experience using an iPhone that belonged to either their friends or family members that led them to purchase one themselves. It was also found that dealers did not play a significant role in influencing the buyers.

Looking ahead: Iphone 5

Even though Apple introduced the iOS 5 in July itself, one now has a scheduled date of Wednesday, October 12 as an arrival date as a free update. What’s new in the iPhone 5?

Apple has introduced an all new notification system present on the home screen, accessible by a pull down status bar option. This list can be chosen according to preference or set on as it arrives. In a move to counter RIM’s BBM-style group messaging, Apple will now launch the iMessage which makes sending of pictures, video, audio, text, contact information over Wi-Fi and the phones connection network with other iOS 5 users.  There is a place where all popular newspapers and magazines can be viewed for those with digital subscriptions.

Multi tasking on the iPhone 5 has never been as easy as it is now with the possibility of using four-or-five finger swipes to switch between apps and pinch zoom them to close. A simple swipe up shows the multitasking bar. A major part of the iOS 5 is iCloud, which now replaces MobileMe and allows the user free syncing of email, contacts, calendars and many more for all iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion users. With 67 million users already active on game Center, the new Game Center additions in iO5 make it feel like an Xbox Live, the gold standard in online gaming.