US carrier Sprint makes a $20 billion bet on the iPhone 4S, the Wall Street Journal reports-- committing to buy "at least 30.5 million iPhones," a possibly record breaking non-military order.
With such an order Sprint (the no. 3 US carrier) might only start making money from the deal on 2014.
The carrier however hopes the gamble will put it in a better position with customers, gaining revenue in the process. Either that or it ends up losing, big time.
Both Sprint and Apple decline to comment by the time of writing.
Sprint also has another ace up its customer-enticement sleeve-- unlimited data plans. However, the WSJ says "Sprint would have to double its rolls of contract customers, convert all of them to the Apple device or a combination of the two."
Is the iPhone 4S (arguably a minor upgrade on the iPhone 4) worth such risk from any retailer? TrendForce does predict iPhone 4S shipments "may surpass 100M" by 2012, even if one might argue on the generosity of such a forecast.
We'll get to know how the iPhone 4S "wow" factor-- or lack thereof-- will propel Apple to further market success after Octer 14, when the device launches in the US.
Go Inside Sprint's Bet on iPhone (WSJ.com, subscription required)
