Though Apple says iPhone 3G sales soar, global sales prove otherwise
By Triston McIntyre
With the debut weekend of the iPhone 3G just completed, the next logical and critical task for everyone in the world and their moms to undertake is to figure out exactly what the sales numbers mean. With Apple claiming that the one millionth iPhone 3G sold Sunday evening, what are the real facts behind the sales numbers, and could Apple be giving the numbers a little friendly ego boost?
The good news for Apple is that the iPhone 3G, even in the face of a miserable activation launch process, managed to sell one million iPhones right out the gate during the first three days the iPhone 3G has been available. Obviously, such high numbers should have a very positive effect on share prices, which always makes investors happy.
The information Apple isn’t readily sharing is that the iPhone 3G wasn’t nearly as successful per capita as the first generation iPhone, and that some of those reported sales may in fact just be sales vouchers. BetaNews reports that the troublesome activation process (whether it was Apple of AT&T’s fault yet still hasn’t been concluded) ended with many people not receiving iPhone 3Gs, but being sent home with vouchers. Let me tell you, there’s something definitely less satisfying about paying hundreds of dollars for a receipt for an awesome phone.
Second, the folks over at the Boy Genius Report have pointed out that even though the iPhone 3G reportedly sold 1 million units this weekend, that is 1 million units since 8:00 a.m. Friday in over 21 countries, whereas the first generation iPhone sold 700,000 units (that actually landed in people’s hands, not as vouchers) in the U.S. only starting at 6:00 p.m. Friday. That means with nearly one additional full business day and in 20 more countries, the iPhone 3G only managed to sell 300,000 more units (and many of those units still aren’t in consumer hands).
For a phone that supposedly revolutionized the mobile industry, those numbers don’t strike me as particularly impressive. That tells me that either all the people who really will be adopting iPhones anytime soon have already done so, that people are not happy with AT&T (or don’t want to pay out the nose to upgrade), or that the iPhone 3G isn’t something people are overly impressed with, at least in comparison to the first model.
Or it could mean that consumers realize there are other competitive handsets on the market and that the iPhone doesn’t have to be the end all god of the handsets. Either way, I think the iPhone 3G launch wasn’t everything Apple intended. Let’s see the other handset carriers and manufacturers step up to fill the gap.
Related:
Entry was posted
on Monday, July 14th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
under 
Print This Post
Read more entries by Triston McIntyre.
Stumble It!
July 14th, 2008
Nice even handed article. Hard to find one that isn’t either a gushing river of Apple love or bitter bile of snarky, cynical cheap shots. Keep up the good work.
July 15th, 2008
700,000 was the most optimistic of any of the projections for the first weekend sales of the iPhone, and was derived from an initial estimate of 500,000 to 700,000. Apple did not sell 700,000 phones. Later estimates placed it at around 270,000 the first weekend. Actual at&t activations were only 146,000 for the first two days hours, and so potentially 250,000 activations for the friday-through stretch. Keep in mind that Apple saw return revenue from monthly service kickbacks from at&t with their previous arrangement, not the upfront subsidization that occurs now.
Apple succeeded in securing 1 million new cellphone contracts over this weekend, up more than triple the last launch. This has secured easily that much more revenue.
This article is completely skewed and doesn’t do any financial analysis while assuming the worst.
Apple succeeded greatly here, and you’re using the highest number of the highest estimate of initial sales to support your straw man of an article.
July 15th, 2008
Kyle, you’re bringing up the issue from the perspective of AT&T’s success…though Apple does get kickbacks from contracts, I was more broadly speculating about the implications of the sales. I don’t care for AT&T, but you’re right…good for them.
But just like you said that Apple didn’t sell 700,000 the first iPhone launch, who is to say that they’ve sold that many iPhones this time around? You’re using the point to illustrate that Apple may have legitimately sold 1 million this time where they only sold a quarter before, whereas I’m saying apply that same logic to the current situation and you have to assume that Apple “sold” substantially less this time as well.
July 15th, 2008
additionally, I don’t think you really understand what a straw man is. Rhetorically speaking, the straw man is a tool by which you first establish the qualities and noteworthy points of one entity (or straw man), and then discourse why you feel that isn’t true. Thought you’d like to know, as you seem to be an expert on writing.
July 15th, 2008
Here’s a question for the author and other Apple doubters. If someone walked up to you and said you could answer yes or no to whether you believed Apple would sell at least as many iPhones for 2008 as they claimed they would . . . and if you were wrong, you would be killed. How many of the doubters or naysayers (many of whom I believe have a hidden agenda) would vote AGAINST Apple? I believe the number would be very, very small.