The iPhone will gain a cult following its launch, according to the Vice President of Harris Interactive’s Technology Practice Joseph Porus. Porus made the prediction after Harris Interactive recently surveyed more than a 1100 Internet users and found that 47% were aware of the iPhone and 17% expressed an interest in purchasing it.

“Apple’s new iPhone has shaken the industry to its core. Look for strong sales and a new cult to develop around iPhone. Also expect increased orders for midnight oil as competitors scramble to play catch-up,” said Porus. 

The survey was conducted online within the US between February 13 and 19, 2007, among 1,116 adults (aged 18 and over).

Of those expressing interest to purchase, nine percent say they would buy at product launch and another eight percent would buy before their current wireless service contract expired.

About 17 percent say they would wait for their current wireless contract to expire before purchasing and 25 percent would purchase it, when their existing wireless carrier offers the iPhone. Finally, a full 40 percent of buyers intend to wait for the price to come down.

Survey results show the hottest iPhone feature was its large storage capacity (37%). This is followed by iPhone quad band worldwide capabilities (36%), and its easy-to-use, cool user interface (31%).

According to Harris Interactive, high-powered multi-functional mobile devices like the iPhone generally have strong appeal to about 31 percent of the marketplace. The remainder does not need, or care to pay for, all those bells and whistles and seek simpler solutions.

“In the longer term look for continued success for iPhone and continued churn among wireless service providers,” Harris Interactive predicted.

“Another announcement for a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) version of iPhone could really add gasoline to the fire, which leads to speculation about Apple’s pricing policy and the introduction of additional products to their lineup (iPhone nano anyone?).” 

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Entry was posted on Thursday, April 19th, 2007 at 11:41 am under Cell phones, Opinion.

Read more entries by John Pospisil.
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