The bulk of of Verizon customers are waiting for the iPhone 5 instead of buying the currently available iPhone 4, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
In a note to clients — as reported by “AppleInsider” (http://www.appleinsider.com) — he says polled a small sample of 216 mobile phone users about their phones and carriers. His sampling found that many Verizon customers are waiting for the iPhone 5 as the iPhone 4 only went on sale to Verizon customers in February, a full eight months after the handset was first sold to AT&T customers.
Of Verizon subscribers who don’t have an iPhone but plan to buy an iPhone next, 74% are waiting for the iPhone 5. Just 53% of AT&T customers who plan to buy an iPhone said they are waiting for the fifth-generation model.
“This pent up demand for the next iPhone at Verizon may drive numbers higher than the 3.8 (million) units we are modeling Apple to sell through Verizon in the September quarter,” Munster told clients. “And our overall iPhone unit estimate of 22.0m in the Sept. quarter may prove to be conservative.”