Quote from james_gsx:
This is what I don't understand about Apple taking market share from RIMM. The majority of people I have dealt with who have a Blackberry got it from work, it's simple and has e-mail. Thats really all they need. RIMM introduced the Pearl to appeal to the consumer market and they expect that to grow dramatically, but how will Apple compete at the corporate front? How will Apple convince big companies to spend a lot of money for their phone to hand out to employees?
Without that they are just targeting the consumer level. Consumers will have to be willing to spend a lot of money for the phone, and most likely switch service. This means they will have to drop an extra $175 to cancel Verizon or Sprint, most customers walk away once they hear that. But for the AT&T customers they will have to pay an upgrade price, which will be considerably more, or pay retail price.
I think the Iphone will create a lot hype, but I don't think it will create a lot of revenue.
I think you are underestimating the coolness factor, which will drive buying. No one actually needs an iphone, but a lot of people will want them, and that will create a snowball effect. Blackberry users seem to be very dependent on the device but not in love with it. It will look like one of those first generation cellphones compared to an iphone.
As for the economic argument, look at all the college students driving new BMWs. Does that make sense? People have loads of money to spend, pure and simple.