Apple shifts 600,000 units of iPhone 4 despite pre-order glitches

by Stevie Smith - Jun 17 2010, 05:29

Given the existence of the original iPhone, the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS, you’d think anyone who wanted an iPhone would have already bought one by this stage, and that perhaps pre-orders for the iPhone 4 would be somewhat lacklustre by comparison. You’d be wrong.

Arriving as yet another example of Apple’s seemingly unstoppable brand power, the Cupertino-based gadget giant has revealed that more than 600,000 orders for the iPhone 4 were placed on Tuesday, the first official day of pre-ordering for the much talked about smartphone.

And, according to the New York Times, that figure could have been considerably higher if both Apple and AT&T hadn’t been beset with online and walk-in technical issues that prevented prospective buyers from registering their orders.

In issuing an apology to those unable to place an order for the iPhone 4, Apple blamed sudden surging demand for the technical glitches and recommended that customers keep trying online or simply purchase direct from an Apple Store or retail partner when the handset arrives on June 24.

“It was the largest number of preorders Apple has ever taken in a single day and was far higher than we anticipated, resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions,” Apple explained in an official statement.  

In supporting Apple’s first day pre-order figure of 600,000 units, leading iPhone carrier AT&T said its stores have already taken ten times more pre-orders for the iPhone 4 than they did for its iPhone 3GS predecessor.

It remains to be seen whether Apple's apparent surprise at the high levels of iPhone 4 interest translate into impending problems where supply and demand are concerned. 

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