More iPhones available this week
Apple is well on its way to selling 10 million iPhones by the end of the year.(Jason DeCrow/Associated Press)
Apple Inc. is almost three-quarters of the way to its goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of this year after a "stunning" launch for its new-and-improved device this weekend, with new stocks hitting Canadian stores on Tuesday.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company on Monday said it sold one million 3G iPhones, which run on faster third-generation cellphone networks, in 21 countries this weekend.
“IPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive officer, in a statement. “It took 74 days to sell the first one million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world.”
The company would not disclose how many units were sold in Canada, where hundreds of would-be buyers were disappointed by low stocks at Rogers Wireless stores.
Rogers' flagship store at Yonge and Dundas in Toronto had only 100 iPhones in stock, while other outlets in the downtown area had only 40 to 60. Stores outside of major cities had as few as 10 or 20 units and, in some cases, new customers were given preference over existing Rogers customers, according to reports.
Elizabeth Hamilton, a spokesperson for Rogers, said the company does not disclose sales numbers, but added that it had the best weekend of handset sales in its history. She said virtually every store in the country was out of stock by Sunday.
The company has also received new shipments and will have tens of thousands of additional units for sale as of Tuesday, she added.
The Toronto-based company's launch was anything but smooth last week, when rumours surfaced of a schism between Rogers and Apple. According to blog reports, Apple redirected iPhone shipments originally destined for Canada to Europe because it was displeased with Rogers' pricing plans, which prompted tens of thousands of would-be buyers to join an online protest.
Rogers denied the spat but lowered its prices two days before the iPhone went on sale.
Apple, which has now sold more than seven million iPhones, was also plagued by software problems on Friday that prevented some customers from activating their devices.
The company also said customers had downloaded 10 million software applications from its "App Store." The online store sells a variety of software applications that incorporate the iPhone's internet functionality, including language translators, video games and productivity tools such as a voice-to-text transcriber. About 200 of the 800 apps are free, and many of them also work on its iPod Touch portable music player, Apple said.
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