iPhone anticipation continues to shake up cell market

We've already heard from some of the usual suspects on the "iPhone drag effect" that may be impacting sales and phone upgrades in advance of the June arrival of the iPhone; customers who would ordinarily be snapping up new smartphones and renewing two-year service agreements seem to be hedging.

Now, courtesy of the Seeking Alpha stock blog, we have more data on the presales impact of the iPhone: a survey of potential early adopters in the ChangeWave Alliance research network reveals some dramatic shifts in attitudes. Both Motorola and Nokia lose ground on likely purchasers, and those likely to switch carriers are saying Cingular/AT&T more often than they say Verizon, a first in the CA survey. The article suggests that this "striking impact" on carrier and handset businesses "rocks the cellphone industry." Meanwhile, another analyst report on SA anticipates iPhone sales of 17 million units in fiscal 2008 and up to 25 million in 2009. Ye gads.

I'm starting to wonder if the most sophisticated technology in the iPhone isn't the multitouch screen or the visual voicemail -- maybe it's the North America-wide expansion of the RDF.

via Apple Hot News