Smartphones – Not Yours
Looking to buy a smartphone? You might be out of luck. According to Tavis McCourt, an analyst at Morgan Keegan, there are “an increased number of Out of Stock (OOS) situations involving Palm, RIM and Apple”. I can’t believe that the phrase ‘Out of Stock’ has an acronym.
You’d think that the handset manufacturers would be raking it in; their products must be leaping off the shelves. Not so. The shortages appear to be related to product transitions. For example, the Treo 755p has been out of stock for two weeks on Sprint’s website, and is almost impossible to find in shops. The 755p will shortly be replaced by the 800w. Trouble is, the 800w is twice as expensive as the 755p. Substituting a $200 for a $99 one is not going to win your customers’ hearts.
