I arrived here at Moscone West in San Francisco a little before 5 am PDT and the line of Apple faithful stretched around the block. Some of these folks got here before midnight!
It's all about the iPhone today and what could be the tech industry's worst kept secret. Steve Jobs should unveil the company's next-generation iPhone, which I've been reporting about for months. It'll run on AT&T's new and improved 3G network, likely include carrier subsidies which could drive the price below $200, possibly include video iChat, a new and improved touch-screen keypad, longer battery life and a thinner form factor.
Apple saw big-time success with iPhone during the first quarter of the year, selling 1.73 million units. Still a distant third behind market leader Nokia and Research in Motion , but capturing an eye-popping 5.3 percent of the smart phone market in very short order.
The carrier subsidy and lower price could go a long way toward even more robust iPhone sales. Depending on how the revenue sharing agreement works out, a more affordable device could easily compensate for the revenue hit Apple would suffer because of a lower price with sources telling me sales volume could spike. Apple shares are getting clobbered on the "lower price" rumors, so it'll be interesting to hear whether Jobs addresses the "increased sales volume" side of the coin.
