Analyst: Apple finally solves iPhone 5 supply problem
While the iPhone 5 is undoubtedly proved to be a success with consumers, Apple has had a hard time keeping up with demand. Problem with scratches, and Foxconn workers going on strike put quite a crimp in the supply chain. Fortunately, it now seems that Cupertino has solved these problems, just in time for Christmas.
In a note, Piper Jaffray's analyst Gene Munster reports that nightly checks on 100 Apple Stores have shown dramatic improvements in stock levels over the past 10 days.
Last night, our checks indicated that Sprint phones were in stock at 92% of Apple Stores, AT&T was available at 82% of stores and Verizon at 72% of stores. Additionally, we note that wait times for online phone orders dropped to two weeks as of today.
And it seems that things are going to get better.
"We believe," says Munster, "that within the next two weeks that customers will be able to purchase iPhone 5s at Apple Stores same day".
Bottom line, if there's an iPhone 5-shaped gap in a loved-ones stocking on Christmas morning, you can't blame the supply chain.
Earlier this month a report by market research firm Strategy Analytics says that Samsung sold 18 million Galaxy S III handsets during the third quarter, compared to only 16.2 million for Apple's iPhone 4S, suggesting that the Galaxy S III had ousted the iPhone 4S as best-selling smartphone.
Samsung's success in the smartphone market has been little short of stellar. The company went from almost zero smartphone sales to quarterly sales of over 50 million units in two years, dwarfing the competition, including Apple.