Steve Jobs: "Apple sold over 1 million new iPhones"

Fortune ^ | JUNE 22, 2009, 9:08 AM | By Philip Elmer-DeWitt

[Swordmaker]

It’s hard to know which is more significant: Apple’s (AAPL) announcement that it sold more than 1 million units of the new iPhone 3GS last weekend — easily exceeding analysts’ estimates – or the fact that the news was accompanied by a quote from CEO Steve Jobs, his first since Apple’s Jan. 21 quarterly earnings results.

“Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning,” said Jobs. “With over 50,000 applications available from Apple’s revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever.”

The same press release announced that six million copies of iPhone 3.0 were downloaded in the first five days after its release last Wednesday.

Earlier Monday several analysts had released their estimates of the 3GS’s weekend sales, including …

Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster: 750,000 units (see here) Kaufman Bros. Shaw Wu: 600,000 Oppenheimer’s Yair Reiner: 400,000 – 500,000 Jobs, who usually gets the first quote in any Apple press release, had been noticeably absent in these releases since his medical leave began. His reappearance — or at least the reappearance of words attributed to him — two days after the Wall Street Journal reported that he was recovering from liver transplant surgery, may signal the first stage of his return to Apple, scheduled to occur before the end of June.

UPDATE: In an addendum to his Monday morning report to clients, Piper Jaffray’s Munster notes that Apple’s weekend sales not only exceeded both his initial prediction (500,000 units) and his adjusted estimate (750,000), but they matched last years sales — despite the fact that the new iPhone launched in just 8 countries vs. 21 countries last year.

[Swordmaker]

I know several people who tried the iPhone, and ended up going back to their WinMo or Crackberry phones. I know, heresy, there are people who don’t swoon and grovel over the iPhone. How damaging to the iEgos of the iLemmings with their iPhones...;)

you were doing fine until you got to the ad hominems...

[kevkrom]

Looking forward to picking up an iPhone next year when my current contract with Verizon ends. Mrs. kevkrom did some comparison testing with Verizon’s Blackberry and AT&T’s iPhone (previous model) and flat-out said she’d rather wait for February to get an iPhone than deal with a Blackberry.

[Swordmaker]

The fact I have more functionality than the iPhone. . .

I'm curious. Just what "more functionality" is it that the Samsung i760 has over the iPhone?

[Knitebane]

So speaks a person who has not used an iPhone...

Well, I've used an iPhone.

That's why I have a Palm Pre.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Try the HTC Touch Pro from Verizon. There's nothing the iPhone can do that the HTC can't, the HTC has tethering (good luck doing that officially with the iPhone), even acts as a WiFi router (it's how I configure my i760 - running WM WiFi Router so that my phone becomes a broadband WiFi hotspot).

And it has a higher resolution display than the iPhone, to boot. Add SPB Mobile Shell if you don't like the native TouchFLO and even the UI is as slick - if not more so - than the iPhone.

And you get to keep the biggest coverage network, too...

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Apparently your iPhone doesn’t show the little winking emoticon usually used to indicate sarcasm. Better talk to Steve about adding that feature! ;)

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Tethering, for one. Right now, my only Internet connection is my i760 on Verizon. I get a pretty consistent 1.2 to 1.6 Mbps at the office and at home, about as good as I did with DSL. I have full broadband Internet for my phone and my laptop (and with WM WiFi Router, as many people as I wish to share it with) wherever I go in the US.

MMS for the last two years (I think the iPhone finally gets that feature late this summer?).

A real keyboard with a separate numeric keypad (on the front, always available).

Video recording (until this weekend).

Cut and paste (or was that just added?).

A replaceable battery, meaning I can carry an extra with me for those extended trips where I want to watch a lot of movies, or read several e-books while listening to music.

Edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files natively (no need to buy extra software).

Those are just for starters...

[556x45]

Nope...its run by Blue Screen Intl s/w, BTDT never again.

[556x45]

and you’re vindictive too.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Have you had a chance to try WinMoPro 6.1? It’s pretty darn stable - I haven’t rebooted in about 3 weeks (since I last tweaked some of the UI features, which needed a soft reboot).

If you want to avoid WinMoPro, then go for a Palm Pre. Especially if you want e-mail and phone capability. It’s a seriously nice machine.

[AFreeBird]

I’d be hit with roaming charges from their “partners” in my own house!

I've never been hit with roaming charges, and I used to travel a lot. I have a 450 minute plan, with nights and weekends, unlimited mobile to mobile and roll over minutes.

[BunnySlippers]

Yes, people have different preferences. Some like the iPhone, some don’t. Everyone should use whatever makes them happy.

Why is it that you cannot accept the idea that some people like the iPhone without their having big egos and being mindless lemmings?

Are all the people using PCs lemmings for following Bill Gates?

[BunnySlippers]

Ah, another bitter Apple hater. They are drawn to these threads like the flies they are.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Yes, people have different preferences. Some like the iPhone, some don’t. Everyone should use whatever makes them happy.

On that we fully agree!

Why is it that you cannot accept the idea that some people like the iPhone without their having big egos and being mindless lemmings?

Oh, I accept it... But I like tweaking those same egos and lemmings because they refuse to accept that something other than the blessed-by-Jobs iProduct could be useful. For example the incredulous attitude displayed when I suggested that - UNIMAGINABLY - the i760 has more features than the iPhone. How could that be?

Are all the people using PCs lemmings for following Bill Gates?

Oh no, not at all! We're all demon spawn following the devil himself, Bill Gates, planning The End Of The World As We Know It behind the gates of Hell itself, known as Redmond! No lemmings here...;)

But I guess the fundamental thing was missed - the little emoticon on the end, winking in a sarcastic point. I guess that sarcasm is dead. At least when you bruise the fruit of a certain tribe based in Cupertino! ;)

BTW, I'm not anti-Apple, just anti-Apple-fanbois! In fact, here's a picture taken a year ago, when I was at Apple talking about some new product development for them:

[PA Engineer]

Never used one have you.

Here is a standard cell phone.



Here is a standard smart phone.



Here is the iPhone.



Get the picture.

[PA Engineer]

I tried an iPhone last August for a month

Sure you did.

[webschooner]

If you are going to look into the iphone, I’d suggest you also shop the Android OS (Google’s linux based OS) phones. The G1 (see my FR homepage), which I have, was the first, and it has been such a success that there will be 18-20 more Android OS phones out on several carriers yet this year. The next on T-Mobile is already out in Europe, called the HTC Magic, tho it will come out under a different name here.

The Android OS is extremely user friendly, the 3G is faster than iphone, and the monthly service is cheaper. Also, I can tether my G1 to my laptop anytime. You cannot do that with the iphone in the US — they say maybe ... sometime ... but promises are cheap. I can do it yesterday, today, and tomorrow with my phone. Tethering is a feature that I must have.

The iphone is a nice phone. Personally, I shopped both, and found the Android OS phones to be better in several ways, and definitely more customizable. I plan to stick with the Android OS phones from here on out. I’m sold on them. You Linux freaks here on FR should give them a look.

Have fun shopping ...

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Thank you for just confirming the Apple Fanboi image!

So what flavor Kool-Aid do you prefer? Cherry? No grape - I know, raspberry!

[PugetSoundSoldier]

You know there is one thing we non-iPhone lemmings cannot do, and that is connect to the new Macbook Wheel.

I feel so lost without it. My life has no meaning. I will now go sit in my room, put a purple scarf over the life, and emote to some Depeche Mode... For I am iPhoneless and can never achieve the ultra-cool-hip-chic level of those with the wonder-uber-phone.

We don't get to sit at the cool-kids table...

[BunnySlippers]

I’m not impressed. Your sole reason to be on this thread is to disrupt.

You’re like a graffiti artist or a tagger ... you like to poop all over and intrude in areas where you otherwise would not belong.