STEVE INSKEEP, host:
Today, for our Monday focus on technology, we're going to start with a look at the hype about the new phone from Apple. The iPhone goes on sale at the end of next week and the anticipation has already sent Apple's stock soaring.
As NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports.
WENDY KAUFMAN: Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs is rarely one for understatement. And at the Macworld conference earlier this year, he told the adoring audience that Apple had three revolutionary products - an iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator.
(Soundbite of cheering)
Mr. STEVE JOBS (Apple): Are you getting it? These are not three separate devices.
(Soundbite of cheering)
Mr. JOBS: This is one device. And we are calling it iPhone.
KAUFMAN: The company said it planned to sell 10 million of them by the end next year. While that represents just one percent to the worldwide cell phone market, it could mean a 10 percent increase in Apple's earnings this year.
There are challenges, of course. The iPhone is pricey - five or six hundred dollars, depending on the model. And because of an exclusive deal, only AT&T Mobile customers will be able to get it.
Another thing. The AT&T network itself maybe too slow for many of the cool features to run properly. And Michael Gartenberg of JupiterResearch says with expectations so high, Apple has to deliver.
There's another challenge, he says: competition from other vendors.
Mr. MICHAEL GARTENBERG (JupiterResearch): So expect to hear the word iPhone killer, or it's like the iPhone but better because dot dot dot, an awful lot over the next 60 to 90 days.
KAUFMAN: Still, investors have faith in Steve Jobs and Apple. After considering the strong demand for iPods and evaluating the iPhone, investors have pushed Apple stock up 40 percent this year.
Still, if the iPhone turns out to be not as cool and as trendy as expected, Apple stock could falter.
Wendy Kaufman, NPR News.
Copyright © 2007 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.