We were thinking that the barriers to entry for the iPhone 5 are:

1. The capital requirements: needed for the huge capital to introduce the new operating system and new features on the phone.

2. The government policy: it will require a patent for both the unique operating system and features.

Do you guys think there are more barriers to entry?

iPhone 5 Product Warranty + Apple Care

The iPhone 5 will begin its product life cycle in the introductory stage.  The smartphone will come with a full year warranty, and the buyer can also choose to purchase an optional two-year Apple Care warranty at $99.  

Here is an outline of what is offered in our Apple Care bundle:

•          Mail-in or in-store repairs

•          A direct line to our Apple products experts

•          Support for software such as:

-          iCloud

-          Mail

-          Safari

-          iTunes

-          iOS

•          Express repair / replacement services

•          Repair / Replacement for:

-          iPhone 5

-          battery

-          any accessory

Apple Care will also cover two cases of accidental damage (such as the frequently reported cracked screen from dropped phones).  This coverage is NOT included in the one-year warranty that comes with the purchase of the iPhone 5.

Survey Update and Marketing Mix

We have gathered some great information from our survey so far.  This information will be used to determine many of the factors that will go into our marketing mix.  These are the results as of Friday, July 20, 2012:

•   More than half of the survey respondents purchase their smartphones at cell phone providers such as Verizon, T Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T.   
• 50% of respondents consider $350 - $500 to be a reasonable price for the latest smartphone without an upgrade or contract.
• Texting seems to be the most widely used function of a smartphone.
• When choosing a smartphone, battery life is the most important consideration to buyers.  Resolution / display and smartphone capabilities came second.

 

Along with distributing the iPhone 5 at all Apple stores worldwide, we will make the product available online and at major retailers of providers such as AT&T.  The iPhone 5 will have the long-awaited 4G capabilities and a significantly longer battery life.  This smartphone will be advertised for both business and personal use, where users will have the convenience of one device encompassing all their needs (calling, texting, social networking, picture-taking, internet access, etc.).

Help us improve our product and findings and please take our quick 10 question survey here:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NTBG9NZ

Apple's iPhone 5

Group TANC will be introducing Apple's iPhone 5. We are building a survey to get information on what functions, features, and improvements we can bring to our consumers in our iPhone 5. Our target market will be smart phone users because of their familiarity and knowledge of smart phones. They will be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their current smart phone and we will ensure our iPhone 5 will exceed all criteria.