I came across this image today detailing the smartphone market share of the iPhone by carrier in the US. It’s interesting to see the effects of iPhone availability over time. I imagine as iPhone users continue to migrate away from AT&T as their contracts finish up, these will flatten out a bit. But one thing that isn’t covered here that I’ve been wondering about is what these same metrics will look like for prepaid services.
It has already been announced that the iPhone will be coming to Virgin Mobile and Cricket shortly. That being said, I can’t imagine Verizon and AT&T Mobility will be far behind. With a wider variety of contracts available, hopefully there will be some options for people looking to jump between carriers, which should increase competition. Ideally, this kind of competition will lead to the major carriers readdressing the elephant in the room: data limits.
As any power-user knows, trying to get the full use out of your mobile device can get a bit stressful towards the end of the month. But for those of us plagued by such problems, options are slim. Terms like “unlimited data” are becoming antiquated (that is when they are not deliberately misused) in a world where our lust for data is running up against the limits of the methods we use to deliver it.
I think a better question will be, how long will Apple continue to keep its lead from its competitors?
@business tips interesting point. I guess we’ll see in a few weeks when the 5 is announced.
Thanks for your comment.