With the highly anticipated Apple iPhone just out the door, we thought we'd take a look at sales on eBay leading up to the launch, comparing the numbers to some of the iPhone's biggest competitors. While many are excited about the music and Internet surfing capabilities that the iPhone offers, PDAs - or personal digital assistants - have been some of the most popular phones on eBay, likely because of the ever-increasing functionality that these "phones" offer.

The PDA typically consists of a camera (still and/or video), Internet access, email and some document management capabilities, along with general phone services. While the target market consists of business professionals, these days everyone wants to have the latest in phone gadgetry, and sales of PDAs are on the rise. Two of the most popular selling PDAs on eBay are the Palm Treo and the Global Blackberry.

The Global Blackberry or Blackberry World Edition is a new and highly sought-after PDA. This machine claims to have service no matter where in the world one travels. The company bills it as an ideal phone for business travelers and it has a selling success rate of 78.4% on eBay. The average selling price is approximately $259.31. Interestingly, total sold listings trended upwards as the Apple iPhone launch approached (see graph).

Rivaling the Blackberry World Edition is the Palm Treo. The Palm Treo has similar features to the Global BlackBerry, although a much lower average selling price of $190.96 and a comparable selling success rate of 72.05%. More available than the Blackberry World Edition, an average of 437 Palm Treos sell each day. The Palm Treo has consistently held its high success rate over the past three months, and shows no indication of slowing down.

Just last week a new phone was released that is expected to change the market of the PDA. The iPhone is a phone that encompasses all the features of a regular PDA with a sleeker design and a larger memory. It also boasts full web access as opposed to the limited web versions available on other PDAs. That is all, of course, in addition to the fact that it is also an iPod.

Prior to its official release date of June 29th, Apple iPhone accessories had a success rate of 35.73% and approximately 1,156 items had sold at an average price of $64.07. During the first four days following the launch, approximately 4,695 iPhones sold at an average price of $755.88 - more than $250 above its retail price. Sell through rates since the launch are at approximately 74.83%. It's too early to say whether this phone will be as popular as the iPod, or even as popular as some of the longer standing PDAs. However, accessory sales trended upwards toward the launch and sales of the phone since the launch have been strong, indicating strong interest in the newest gadget from Apple (see graph).

Stay tuned for more on the new iPhone and its rivals.

Please send questions, feedback or article suggestions to databytes@auctionbytes.com.
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