Among the hordes of reviews, reactions and analyses that Apple’s unveiling of the third-generation iPhone (News - Alert) 2.0 is garnering today, the New York Times is reporting a little-discussed statistic: about one-third of those who own the new device after July 11 will be women.

 

According to Times technology writer Laura M. Holson, data shows that, just three months ago, one in three iPhone owners was a woman – up from less than one in four in October.

 

“The iPhone model announced Monday, with faster Internet access and mapping features, may accelerate the shift,” according to Holson.

 

With its sleek design and an image free of what some of Holson’s interviewees describe as a Blackberry’s career-obsessed female owner, the iPhone stands to gain traction in the mainstream market.

 

That’s a point that Ovum’s (News - Alert) Jan Dawson made immediately after Apple’s chief executive, Steve Jobs, made his dramatic, widely anticipated announcement yesterday during a developers’ conference in San Francisco.

 

“The new iPhone checks most of the boxes the various rumors had suggested it would – 3G, GPS, Exchange and VPN support, and so on,” said Dawson, the research firm’s U.S. practice leader of fixed telecommunications. “It didn’t get any bigger – it still tops out at 16 gigabytes, half the storage of the largest iPod Touch - but most customers probably won’t mind that too much.”

 

Until now, according to Dawson, the iPhone “has been a device for gadget fanatics and big spenders, while shortcomings like the price and lack of 3G have limited the addressable market considerably.”

 

By adding features such as enterprise support, 3G and GPS – and lowering the starting price to $299 (the first iPhone cost $599 and now sells for $399, and the new 8GB 3G iPhone will sell for $199) – Apple (News - Alert) dramatically expands the addressable market, according to Dawson.

 

Yet it isn’t clear just how Apple’s new pricing structure will play out, according to Ovum Senior Analyst Steven Hartley.

 

“It is important to note that no details of the price plans associated with the 3G device have been revealed,” Hartley said. “Given that they are 3G rather than EDGE data plans it is likely that they will be more expensive. Therefore, the total cost of ownership of the new iPhone could remain prohibitive to many.”

 

According to Holson, price is an essential consideration for consumers.

 

“The phone makers and service providers increasingly see women as the path to the entire household,” Holson writes and cites a statistic that 71 percent of women make the decision about their family’s wireless choices, including phones and service plans.

 

“As a result, smartphone makers are beginning to market specifically to women,” according to Holson. “Research in Motion, based in Waterloo, Ontario, has taken out ads for its BlackBerry (News - Alert) phones in Elle, Martha Stewart Living and Oprah Winfrey’s magazine O.”

 

 

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