MemeStreams | Apple iPhone 5 release In June 2012 ?

Analysts at Jefferies had initially called the iPhone 5 release date for fall 2011, the released date has now been pushed back. New low cost iPhone also due to be released. On the 14 April The Economy News reported that technology analysts at investment bank Jefferies had called the iPhone 5 release date for September / October 2011.
A new analyst note on Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) released today shows that Jefferies analysts now see a released date for iPhone 5 in June 2012. iPhone 4S is now due in the fall. The note, released by analyst Peter Misek says: "We believe iPhone sales will reaccelerate due to: 1) New lower-cost iPhone, 2) iPhone 4S in the Fall followed by iPhone 5 in June 2012, 3) More carriers. Overall we reiterate our Buy/$500 target with the stock likely to appreciate ahead of multiple CQ4 catalysts."
Jefferies believe Apple Inc could enter the smartphone mid-market with a $300 iPhone with margins around the current corporate average. "Our checks increasingly point to a launch within the next 6-18 months. We believe that this will increase AAPL's TAM by an additional 500M phones per year," says Misek. A potential low cost iPhone? Misek writes: "We believe Apple will take the 3GS and move it down the cost curve by asking suppliers to take a 10% to 20% haircut to retain this potentially very high volume SKU. The combined cost could be in the $150 to $180 neighborhood allowing Apple to price this device in the sweet spot of the prepaid market and the emerging market carriers where large subsidies are not the norm. "Will the new iPhone cannibalize existing sales? We do not think so as we believe that Apple will have a multi-tiered strategy for their services. "New OSs and services will only be compatible one generation in arrears, meaning a device like the 3GS that will be two generations old following the launch of the 4GS can be significantly differentiated from higher end SKUs while allowing users to experience an Apple product. For example, we believe this fall the 4S and iPhone 4 will both be able to run iOS 5, which will be necessary to run the new cloud-based services. "And while 3GS owners will not be able to use these services, they will still have a device that we see as superior to many of the products at the $300 ASP level. For the competition we see this as negative for Android vendors, Research in Motion (RIMM, $42.85, Underperform) and Nokia (NOK1V FH, €4.75, Underperform)."

Apple iPhone 5 release In June 2012 ?