Goldman: iPhone Will Make Apple grow 20%

OK, so maybe we were wrong and the Jerkoff (gasp) was right...

A survey on handset branding conducted in the U.S., U.K., China and India before Apple Inc. (AAPL) unveiled its plans for the iPhone demonstrates several positives for the company, Goldman Sachs analyst David Bailey said in a research note.

One of the most interesting pieces of information is that Apple ranked as the fourth most popular multimedia handset brand in the U.S., despite the lack of any iPhone announcement at the time.

The number of potential iPhone buyers is equivalent to 75% of current iPod owners, while just less than half of these possible purchasers have never owned an iPod, the survey showed

In the U.S., 71% of survey respondents indicated that they were interested in a mobile phone from Apple.

The buying intentions survey adds to the confidence Mr. Bailey has in his iPhone sales forecast of 4 million units for the 2007 calendar year and another 10.5 million in 2008.

As a result, Apple's growth could climb by 20%, he said, adding that the iPhone represents the next big growth phase for the company.

http://ce.seekingalpha.com/article/28330