Financial blog Notable Calls has some interesting information on the analysis of Goldman Sachs regarding the iPhone. In their notes on the call, they report that surveys show the number of potential buyers for the iPhone is 75-percent of the current iPod user installed base. Given that Apple has sold somewhere in the vicinity of 43 billion iPods, that’s a lot of iPhones no matter how you cut it.

Other positive signs, according to Goldman Sachs, range from branding to carrier loyalty. Apple is ranked as the number four most-desired brand of multimedia handset in the US (and this is before the iPhone was even announced), and 30% of those surveyed in the UK and 15% in the US saying they would be willing to switch carriers. Though they still don’t believe that Apple will sell the 10 million iPhones in the first year that Steve Jobs predicted, four million in 2007 and 10.5 million in 2008 is expected.

This note is particularly positive:

GSCO thinks that iPhone starts the next big growth phase for Apple

There are potential risks, though. With the overlap in features, video iPods are necessarily going to suffer. For 2007, video iPod cannibalization is supposed to be 25-percent, with this number jumping to 50-percent in 2008. Considering the estimated profit margin on the iPhone, this shouldn’t hurt Apple’s bottom line, but it does make for an interesting question as to how Apple will change the iPod lineup to make it unique and compelling.

Filed under: iPhone News