Just two weeks to go until the iPhone makes its U.S. debut and the hype surrounding the phone is reaching near-preposterous proportions. But perhaps the hype is paying off. M:Metrics reports that consumer awareness of the iPhone is strong--64 percent of Americans are aware of the iPhone as are 56 percent of Brits.
Exactly how does awareness translate to sales? M:Metrics says that of those 64 percent in the U.S. that knew of the phone, just 14 percent said they would be highly interested in buying one. In addition, 67 percent of those that were inclined to purchase an iPhone, are subscribers on a network other than AT&T, which has a five-year exclusive agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone. M:Metrics analyst Mark Donovan says this is an early indication that AT&T's strategy to use the iPhone to lure customers to its network could be effective.
For more details:
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)