Filed under: iPhone, App Store
Apple sells 1m iPhone 3Gs, 10m apps
Apple reports that it sold its one millionth iPhone 3G on Sunday, meeting (if not exceeding) many analysts expectations that it would do so. This came despite deep hurting surrounding activation of the new phones on Friday.
But hold on: because of clever accounting, a sizable fraction of those handsets were already considered "sold" as soon as they left the loading dock in Asia, according to Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog. "In other words, some of those 1 million iPhones recorded as sold by Apple may still be in transit," they wrote.
Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster had conservatively predicted that it would take 17 days for Apple to sell a million of the new handsets. He may be closer to the truth, if one counts only the units sold at retail over the weekend.
Additionally, Apple noted that users downloaded 10 million apps from the App Store since it launched last week. In another press release, The Stevester called the App Store a "grand slam."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Deepu Singla said 4:51AM on 7-15-2008
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Mads said 12:26PM on 7-14-2008
Now we just need a Fix from apple so we can use the apps without crashing or DRM'ing all the time.
(ohhh... and fix all apples apps so they don't crash)
But overall congrats to Apple for their Success.
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James Donevan said 12:27PM on 7-14-2008
"Clever accounting"?
How do you suggest Apple break down its sales: sold to consumers and sold to distributors? Once the product leaves the dock the product is sold.... the product isn't shipped on 'sale or return' basis. Do you think when a car manufacturer reports 2 million cars sold they are referring to cars in driveways? Of course not. Have you never seen a manufacturer advise that a product has sold out but with the caveat that your local retailer may have limited stock remaining.
This is standard practice in any manufacturing industry, it's not 'clever accounting'.
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Farmer Joe said 12:39PM on 7-14-2008
Hey, I might be missing something obvious, but is there any way to find new apps in the app store. I've already looked at everything they put up, and downloaded the ones I want, but I'd like to keep abreast of the new stuff.
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Jägs said 1:01PM on 7-14-2008
I'd be interested in this too. The closest thing I have found is the "Top Free" under the "Top 25;" however, that is only by ranking, not by date. As of now, I am reduced to keeping an eye on the number of applications in the categories and then checking if I notice a difference.
That, and with the afore-mentioned hijinks on naming, it seems like there are still a few things to be worked out. It would also be nice if you could jump alphabetically like you can with the iPod interface (e.g. jump to apps that start with the letter 'C', etc.).
Fernando said 1:37PM on 7-14-2008
If you go into the Appstore and select see all apps then you can sort it by date on the top right.
Farmer Joe said 1:40PM on 7-14-2008
Awesome! That's exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks!
Jägs said 2:25PM on 7-14-2008
That's great from within iTunes--which I will definitely use--but is there anyway to do this from the AppStore on the iPhone itself? This is from where I do most of my browsing.
scriptic said 12:49PM on 7-14-2008
Sure - the App store is a grand slam - provided you don't want to use your previously purchased gift cards and live in Canada. The Stevester can eat my poo.
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Johnny Thrash said 12:51PM on 7-14-2008
Oh no!!! That can't be true!!! The Ballmer said the iPhone would fail!!!?!?!
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Tim said 12:57PM on 7-14-2008
If by "grand slam" Steve means "an overpriced, incredibly pale imitation of the Jailbreak Store," then he's correct. Unfortunately, the Apple store encourages people to charge for trivial crap (like Flashlight apps). I'm sure the app selection will improve with time, but I found it incredibly disappointing.
Can't wait for the iPhone Dev Team to release the new jailbreak program to free *my* (key word) phone from Steve's shackles.
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EmperorPsiblade said 1:14PM on 7-14-2008
Haven't you noticed that apps like that are reviewed very low? (And free apps become availible, like the "Light" app)
I'm all for a jailbreak with Cydia but let's be reasonable, there is a negatve public response to apps that should definately be free but aren't.
A.Mueller said 1:38PM on 7-14-2008
I appreciate your concern for me, but as a consumer I'm quite capable of deciding what apps I'd like to pay for and which are "trivial crap."
:) Thanks for your concern.
What makes the app store great is the ease of use. Average people (not phone nerds) can actually figure out how to search for, buy and install the apps they want.
Bryan said 1:19PM on 7-14-2008
This is no different than Microsoft counting Zunes as "sold" when they leave the manufacturing center, the difference being the iPhone in question will no doubt be sold very quickly.
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Johnny Thrash said 1:22PM on 7-14-2008
Yea, like Vista sold 10million copies... they didn't bother to say that those were sold to OEMs... not the public.
David said 1:10PM on 7-14-2008
I am curious to know what percentage of the 10mil downloaded were paid apps. Sorry to hear the itunes Canadian gift card issue. At least you have "free" meds to deal with the stress of it all. I think the next two months will determine if it really is a grand slam but the 10mil downloads is still impressive. I am personally waiting a bit longer to see what other apps come out, some of the apps and games seem a bit over priced ie 5buks for connect 4 come on. Hoping at a min. competitors release better versions adding functions and features to already released app/game types. I am quite happy with many of the free apps and games. I love the myspace app, far less myspace clutter and advertisements. The Exchange Mail feature from my experience thus far works perfectly. Haven't tried the VPN but for business purposes the exchange feature is well worth the 2.0 download and fee for the touch.
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John Kirk said 4:58PM on 7-14-2008
A group called pinchmedia has done a very nice breakdown of free v. paid http://www.pinchmedia.com/fresh-pricing-data-7-11-08/ including a breakdown by category http://www.pinchmedia.com/free-vs-paid-applications-by-category/
Highly recommended reading for those who like that sort of stuff.
min_t said 1:51PM on 7-14-2008
@Tim
Why don't you write an app for us so that we know what kind of standards we should strive to meet.
We get it. You want everything free, regardless of the amount of work someone put into giving you the free app.
BTW, the flashlight app is free.
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Tim said 6:53PM on 7-14-2008
I never said I wanted everything free, but the prices for the were outrageous for some of the junk on the app store. I realize Apple doesn't set the prices, but my point is that the app store is hardly a "grand slam" when it has such a crappy selection -- especially when its compared to a FREE service!
The bottom line is that I'd be happy if the Apple Store had great applications worth paying for it, but it doesn't. Given that the Apple Store charges money, it should be dramatically better than the free offerings.
Virtuous said 2:32PM on 7-14-2008
I hope Apple eventually is able to permanently prevent iPhones from being jailbroken.
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