iPhone unit sales keeping pace with the DS in USA

[famousringo]

leo-j said:

Kenology said:
The DS and iPhone shouldn't even be compared. One is a handheld console while the other is a telephone with cell phone games (no matter how people may want to embelish that - it is what it is).

 

The iphone has a tremendous amount of potential, dont you dare treat it like its just any other cellphone. Ive played a significant amount of games on my friends iphones, and I may add they are extreemly good. Its also the first introduction of motion technology in terms of handheld gaming.

By the way, considering you just pay $129 for a DS, the iphone 3g the cheapest model is $199 plus the monthly bill which is easily $100 due to the internet 3g access.

 

A better comparison would be the DSi at $180 and the iPod Touch at $200 and no monthly subscription for either of them.

@ Mike

I've mentioned RIM, the maker of the Blackberry, several times in this thread. They have grabbed a lot of success recently for getting units out the door, but they have yet to replicate Apple's success in distributing software to their customers. Certainly, if RIM, Palm, or Nokia can build an AppStore as attractive to developers as Apple has, they could also become a serious contender in handheld entertainment.

 

Speaking of the AppStore, Apple's having a bumpy time paying some developers, it would seem. I can imagine that when everybody and their dog is making and selling software on your online store, a wrench in the payment machine can cause quite a disruption. Some developers have yet to recieve payment for sales made in February:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/05/iphone_devs/

Here's an enlightening post from the comments on that article:

I'm an iPhone developer. There seem to be a few problems that aren't Apple's fault:

- Two American banks merged (was it Washington Mutual and Chase?) and the SWIFT code for the customers of one had to change. The bank didn't tell the customers and Apple had the payments refused. Apple seem to be manually changing the codes in the payment system, but that's separate from the web interface where devs enter their bank details.

- A lot of American banks don't have SWIFT codes at all. Royalties from e.g. EU sales are sent from Apple (Luxembourg) S.A.. The chances of this money arriving at Bank Of Smalltown seem slim at best.

Having said that, Apple do seem to be screwing up too much. For example, they have without warning stopped sending out emails when apps are approved. So if you want to e.g. change your website as a new version is released, you have to poll the app store to see when your app appears. Worst of all they never say anything - no explanations, no apologies.