Filed under: Apple Corporate, Apple Financial, iPhone
1 millionth iPhone has been sold
You can't rush excellence, but sometimes you can speed it up just a smidge. Apple reports that it sold iPhone #1 million on September 9th, just 74 days after the product introduction (and 4 days after the price drop). As Steve notes in the press release, it was two years before the iPod reached the million mark.Apple COO Tim Cook announced Apple's forecast of 1 million phones sold by "September, 2007" earlier this summer, and that's what Apple has done. If my personal experience is indicative if the phone's popularity - people still stop me in my tracks so they can see it - this should be a very good holiday season for Apple.
Thanks, Tim!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jeremy said 10:09AM on 9-10-2007
september 9th is 4 days after the keynote... not 8.
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Christina Warren said 10:10AM on 9-10-2007
Very cool - though I'm not surprised. I think the price drop will really, really make a difference in getting more people to buy this thing - I still think that 10 million US sales is a little bit ridiculous (that would require 1 out of every 6 AT&T customers to get one, and that's just tough for any phone over $150) - but this is very cool. I would totally consider getting one - unfortunately it'll be a cold day in hell before AT&T/Cingular ever gets my business again and I'm not convinced that the current unlock measures are going to work for future upgrades -- maybe next revision...I really don't feel like importing a EU T-Mobile version just so I can use the thing, at that point I could have a Razr 2 and an iTouch for less money...
But I do have to call BS on all the "it took 2 years for the iPod to sell 1 million" posturing -- OF COURSE. This is how technology works - successive products always sell more quickly than their predecessors, assuming it is truly a successive product (and not some clusterf*ck like HD/Blu-Ray) -- the brand identity was already established for the iPhone, it didn't need two years to catch on with users.
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Michael Vega said 10:14AM on 9-10-2007
Great. So what is all this talk about "disappointing sales" in many of the media. The only reason I haven't jumped into the iPhone craze was because of AT&T - just imagine if the iPhone was not (officially) locked to AT&T - I bet you would see even stronger numbers.
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nfoo said 10:14AM on 9-10-2007
So much abou the stupid theories that the price drop is because of not selling well:
It's the opposite. They are selling so much better than expected and I think the huge similarity of the iPod touch helps: the order more of the same parts.
I don't know what the fuzz is about with those early adopters. They couldn't wait to spend 599$ and now they are upset?
And look how fantastic apple is: 100$ credit for everybody. Great move!
It's great times for technology ... Apple is working on getting everybody online - always! And only they can do it because of their simple, streamlined product catalogue.
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Christina Warren said 10:22AM on 9-10-2007
Yeah - but to be totally fair, the sales were at a plateau before the price drop - and it isn't the product, it's the fact that it is tethered to one provider and its price is just too high to get every users to switch carriers or even get every subscriber on that carrier to get an iPhone. They sold what, like 300,000 iPhone's the first weekend? OK - and then it took 72 days for them to sell the other 2/3. That's a plateau - and that doesn't mean that 1 million in your first quarter isn't great, but the price drop was done at least in part to boost sales.
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Cycomachead said 10:23AM on 9-10-2007
Great that's an average of 13,513.514 iPhons per day for a straight 74 days- that seems far from disappointing to me. And this is including the fact that ATT is technically required or maybe TMobil, if you count the hacks. And it's only to one country, too.
Also I don't the phones Apple gave to employees are in this number right?
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James Donevan said 10:23AM on 9-10-2007
"I still think that 10 million US sales is a little bit ridiculous"
The aim is 10 million worldwide in 2008, not 10 million US. Jobs has repeatedly stated that figure is based on the late 2007 and 2008 product launches in Europe, Asia and Australia.
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5cents said 10:28AM on 9-10-2007
Indeed, think of the business ATT is getting out of this. They must be quite smug.
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Christina Warren said 10:34AM on 9-10-2007
OK - well, originally it was reported/touted that it was US sales figures - worldwide is totally feasible.
And I'm sure that every iPhone that has been activated/sold was counted - employee sales/freebies or not. Those might ring-up at $0 or whatever price they ring up as, but they are still counted. This press release was for shareholders/PR - it would take sifting through the final earnings repot for Q4 to figure out the true number of retail-kiosk sales.
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miguel said 11:00AM on 9-10-2007
someone who first computer was a Tandy ex in the mid 80s. The Iphone is truly a wonderful personal computer/phone/ipod..I have had people come up and ask if i can hold it :-)
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Cynthia Mckenna said 11:49AM on 9-10-2007
This is a side note - or side question...
I have just recently been out in public with my phone, and people want to see it. So, how do I best show it to them? ...do I show them the capabilities? Do I jumpt to the internet and do "the pinch" Do I let them write their name on the isketch?
How do YOU share your phone with people?
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Lucas Couvreur said 12:02PM on 9-10-2007
Haha what a funny picture!!! :D
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Quix said 1:17PM on 9-10-2007
I'm sure this news made Steve Ballmer's latte awfully bitter this morning. His buffoon-like televised rant the day of the iPhone announcement will now be added to his great legacy, along with his Dance, Monkeyboy videos.
Also Microsoft might want to note the difference between "shipped" and "sold." Kudos to Apple for reporting sold units and not take the disingenuous route and report on shipped units. Like Microsoft loves to do.
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Alex said 2:14PM on 9-10-2007
@ #11,
I just hand them the phone and say use it, just don't call anyone or delete anything. And go back to conversing or whatever. They usually can figure it out on their own.
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geochick said 7:05PM on 9-10-2007
Perhaps this was part of why the price of the iPhone was dropped huh! Nice!
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Reg Muffet said 9:00PM on 9-10-2007
@Cynthia,
Depends on the person you're demoing to. Some people go gaga at photos swiping, others really grok you finding their address in Google Maps and switching to satellite view!
Just flicking up and down the phone contacts list then tapping someone to dial (then quickly ending the call) gives them an idea that it's a whole new way of interacting with a phone.
For audio people, turning the iPhone on its side and letting CoverFlow do its stuff often results in dropped jaws if you have a lot of good album art loaded.
The weather widget always brings a smile.
Other people (accountant types) might be impressed by quick & easy stock market updates - especially if you show the dramatic graph the indices make from the result correction.
Organized people like seeing the calendar being tapped and flicked around if you have a lot of appointments.
Any or all of that should make a good one minute demo!
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Cynthia Mckenna said 11:03PM on 9-10-2007
Alex, you are probably right - I think I might have had a tiny bit of trouble handing them the phone, I tend to clutch it possessively. I can just let them play...I like the note about "don't delete anything"
Reg, I really appreciate the ideas, I think I'll do better next time. I am really an anomaly here and I am so enthusiastic, I want to be a good advocate.
I'd like to see the whole TX Hill Country carrying iPhones...
Cynthia
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M Harmon said 4:33PM on 9-16-2007
I'm a first time cell phone owner and therefore a first time AT&T Mobile user and an early adopter of the iPhone (within a day) AND in love with it. But I don't understand the furor over AT&T. I have yet to hear anyone really honestly rave about any cell phone service. No matter which service my colleagues have they seem to hate it more often than they like it. But their eyes do POP when they see how utterly simple and easy the iPhone is to use. Yes, I let them touch it. Yes, they can find contacts, dial a number, call up a web page, write a note, find a google map - WITHOUT A MANUAL or any instructions from me. That more than overcomes any (seemingly slight) disadvantage AT&T might have in providing signal service IMHO. I have no doubt that the more of us who have one the more friends and associates are going to want one. Our European colleagues in fact are almost beside themselves with envy - which is rare in the mobile phone market since other countries have been pretty much ahead of us. Till now.
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The iPhone savior said 5:41PM on 9-21-2007
The one million milestone for Apple was due in large part to the $200 iPhone price cut, the media circus surrounding the price cut and the fact that no one on planet earth cared about the $50 price cut on Microsoft's Zune digital media player (or at least no one was willing to admit it). Steve Jobs became more popular than both Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton last week. Gratz Stevo! www.iphonesavior.com
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