Analyzing Apple's weekend phone sales - Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 
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Analyzing Apple's weekend phone sales

Posted Jul 14 2008, 12:42 PM by Kim Peterson
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Apple sold 1 million of its new 3G iPhones over the weekend -- an impressive achievement given the glitches, server issues and other frustrations that accompanied the launch. The company's shares are up more than 1% today to $175.06.

The number may be a bit misleading, as Fortune points out. Apple retail stores mark a phone as sold when it leaves the store in a customer's hands. But phones going to partners like AT&T and other wireless carriers get classified as sold when they're shipped from the factory. So a phone could be on a boat somewhere and already look like it's sold on the books.

Any phones in transit should sell fast, so we'll go with the 1 million figure. Add that to the 6 million original iPhones sold, and Apple will have no problem hitting its goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of this year. Now, the guessing game will focus on how far above that goal the company is able to go. I think 20 million is within reach. Friedman Billings Ramsey thinks Apple will build at least 15 million 3G phones this year.

Apple's online "App Store" has a figure to brag about as well. More than 10 million programs have been downloaded from the store since it opened last week. We don't know what this means in terms of revenue, since many of the applications are free. But it does show that the iPhone is on its way to becoming a mobile personal computer -- the next big platform for developers and users. And the next big profit generator for Apple.

Related reading:

3G iPhone rollout suffering glitches

New iPhone will jump-start demand for wireless broadband

iPhone: The new personal computer

Did Apple set developers up for failure?

iPhone's mediocre battery life still beats rivals

Update: I clarified the distinction between sales at Apple's retail stores and to partner carriers in the second paragraph.

Comments

 

Just think of all the energy that will saved not running your CPU at home. it's with you at all times, just like your CELL PHONE while your driving  during rush hour sending a text massage or checking your email. Let's save energy and drive your car and save the chatting for home or your favorite chatroom.

Apple please spare the world any more traffic problems!!!

@Shaz.... and I suppose it's Steve-o's and Apples doing that people bought all those huge useless gas guzzling SUV's and overextended themselves buying homes they couldn't afford and all those speculators trying to get rich off of real estate and oil. Darn it what's wrong with you Apple why did you get us into this mess!!!!!

@Ragz... I don't think Apple really wants to get into enterprise market against (RIM) Blackberry but if people want those features, why not. It's so silly when people complain about iPhone's lack of features but when it gets added people still complain about it.  The iPhone is a computer after all and putting those features in isn't too much of a biggie.

i truly wanted an iphone but the plans are ridiculous, so i guess i will have to go get the instinct from sprint! the everything plan wks for me! u have to pay extra for the internet and text messages with the iphone!

The only issue that was Apple's fault was the fact that their server couldn't handle everyone trying to activate their phone and update their itunes at the same time.  All the other issues were AT&T's fault like not ordering enough phones to each store, attempting to activate the phone at the wrong time during the transaction which prevented it from being able to be activated in-store, and using poor customer service skills by just sending anyone they didn't know how to/didn't want to help back over to the Apple store.

The next time I hear someone flippin' out about the price of gas but then I see playing with an iphone though...

BLACKBERRY!!!

Hey Apple...I'd like to have an IPhone but I can't afford one. I'm A 100% DAV so please give me one.

I love my IPhone and I have the old one. I have been using cell phone from 1984. I can't wait until it has live sit to sit tranmissions.

have you ever tried to browse the web on a "crack berry" its useless

i gave up! The browser on the iphone/itouch are far more easy to use.

iphones are to expensive for the common person, does everyone really need to have a

PDA with large data plans, i keeping my ipod touch for now.. it doesnt cost me 110$ a month..

you people above are retarded. yeah yeah blame the economy which is not in recession which proves your idiocy even further. better yet, blame the iphone for people losing their houses! you sound so stupid. leave to a microsoft owned website to say "oh well a million phones probably werent sold" - message to microsoft: your days are numbered.

oh, and with the addition of microsoft exchange, it will crack into the business world, my friend.

HATERS!

Lets hope ATT doesnt go belly up like all the banks are!

Lets hope the APPLE does get sold off to some foreign national Conglomerate, which may happen in a take over, next week,

This BUD is for you America! I mean Belgium.. so sad...

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