whatsinaname
Innovator
How? If iPhone sales slump in only the month preceding the launch of a new one and then pick up again, does that show that people's perceptions are changing?
You say that very few people buy without contract abroad. And you say that Apple is successful only because of the contract subsidized system. Don't those two statements together imply that the iPhone 5 would be successful as well.
While I don't agree with @Sei that Apple is only successful because of the contract system in the US*, I do think think there is a small change in perception with regards to the infallibility of the iPhone. There were similar months before the release of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S where the iPhone was still leading the charts. This is the first time in 5 years that a phone other than the iPhone has headed the US charts. That could either be because of consumers becoming more familiar with Apple's release cycle or the emergence of a single large competitor.
* I can see a case being made that the subsidized system did help the move from dumbphone to smartphone quicker than in other countries. It also has the side effect that moving from one eco-system to another has a larger barrier and a longer cycle.
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