Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi says the iPhone's gross profit margins are approaching 60%. Assuming that the average selling prices of the Apple device remain constant, Sacconaghi estimates that the iPhone will boost Apple's overall gross margin 120 basis points in fiscal 2010 and "a stunning" 385 to 513 basis points in fiscal 2011.

As reported by "Fortune" (http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/03/02/what-doth-it-prof...), Sacconaghi iPhone prices are going up, not down, from an average wholesale price of US$588 in the third fiscal quarter of 2009 to $638 in the first fiscal quarter of 2010. The analyst also says there are no signs of price resistance from either customers or carriers as cellular carriers are lining up to get the iPhone.

Also, Sacconaghi says, "e note, that Mac gross margins are an estimated 2000 [basis points] above competitors and that a substantial gap in profitability has existed for more than a decade, widening along the way. We would argue that the reason for such margin disparity is that Apple's products have unique software and user experiences, which differentiates them from commodity hardware offerings."