Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Financial, iPhone
iPhone 3Gs now outnumber originals
Blogger Michael Arrington at TechCrunch pointed out an amazing, yet somewhat obvious, thing yesterday -- at some point next week, the number of iPhone 3Gs in use around the world will exceed the number of first-generation iPhones. The statistics are astounding:
- 6 million original iPhones were sold in about one year
- It took 74 days for the first million first-generation iPhones to sell
- A million iPhone 3Gs were sold the first weekend they were on sale
- Sources estimate anywhere from 750,000 - 800,000 iPhones are being made each week
- Apple is on track to sell more than 40 million iPhones in the next year
[Via MacDailyNews]
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
My Ipod beats your computer said 11:05AM on 8-27-2008
let's see winmo fans defend this :)
-From my iPod
Reply
Adam Cobb said 11:40AM on 8-27-2008
While the sales are pretty spectacular lets remember that the iPhone 1 was sold in a grand total of 4 countries. The iPhone 3G is already in about 17 countries with plans for (I think) about 50 more. Also the idea of buying a phone AND having a contract was pretty alien to many European consumers, the £99 subsidised purchase price makes this far easier to swallow.
Level 5 said 11:58AM on 8-27-2008
Arrogance will get you nowhere my son. :)
I'll tell you exactly how Winmo people will defend that. First, most of our devices (in the US) are made by HTC. HTC's quality is pretty much awful. I've had several HTC devices and with everything from drivers to durability I've found them lacking. Even while babying them, I've had several units of several different phone models fail. This is horrendous.
Winmo itself is still to me, more functional than the iPhone, as it has better push e-mail, and Office Mobile. However it's laggy and cumbersome. It is also strictly a businessperson's device, whereas the iPhone has a much broader audience. Eventually the iPhone has the potential to overtake Winmo as a business device, especially given how easy the app store is. Want a program on Winmo? Prepare to journey onto the web. Most or all App Store items can be downloaded OTA or over wi-fi. Winmo requires you to make sure your program is in .CAB format, save it to the memory or SD card, then install it for OTA. Much more cumbersome, and Apple has proven it doesn't need to be that way.
There is pretty much NO DEFENSE. If you NEED a business device, the iPhone is not YET mature enough to really handle your needs. That's where Winmo and RIM come in. As a Winmo user currently; I've spent enough time with a Blackberry, Winmo and iPhones to know that device makers and MS are SLACKING in the mobile arena. So that's my explanation. RIM is still on top of the mobile arena, but you've got a TON of college juniors and seniors that by the time they get their degree will be able to integrate their shiny new iPhone 3G into the workplace, while still enjoying it for personal use. Apple's gunning for all the suits out there; it's gonna happen.
helfire said 11:17AM on 8-27-2008
I did get a 3G when they came out but I had to return it. I'm surprised at how many people I work with have one.
Deal breakers for me:
Coverage. GSM has no coverage anywhere besides metro areas. I travel and the day I took it with I had no service once i was 30 minutes out of a metro area till i got back, couldn't make a call!
Battery wouldn't last 12 hours with "normal" use, my treo lasts 3 days with the same use (ya ya not 3G but at least i dont have to be plunged in!)
No push gmail
Txt cost an arm and a leg
Reply
Bender Bending Rodriguez said 11:49AM on 8-27-2008
I am a fan of Renamer4Mac, but this one being Leopard only means I'll give it a try.
Bender Bending Rodriguez said 11:58AM on 8-27-2008
(Ignore previous post. This new TUAW setup is messing up my 1password app.)
@ helfire,
1) If you don't have adequate AT&T coverage then there is nothing you can do.
2) You can't compare GSM radios to UMTS radios as UMTS does use more juice. The iPhone does have excellent juice for GSM so you can just turn 3G off. It's what I do.
3) Since Google doesn't offer Push mail, then no one offers Push mail from Gmail. The only way to do it is to forward Gmail to another account that does have Push. I forward mine to my MM me account for instant mail access on the phone.
4) Text in the US is expensive and getting more expensive. I have no idea how it could possibly cost so much. Luckily for me I tend to stick to AIM and email.
Michael said 12:13PM on 8-27-2008
I don't understand I guess what you mean by 'push' on gmail - does this mean it downloads to your phone as soon as new mail is received?
I have my gmail set up and for the iPhone to check ever 15 minutes, so far that has been sufficient for me, but I don't receive time senstive emails normally so my situation is a bit different.
Dave said 7:48PM on 8-27-2008
Follow Google's own setup procedure and you get push Gmail (should you ever re-iPhone yourself). Regarding 3G connectivity, I've seen it on friend's phones, when my first-gen phone was working fine...
Craig said 11:31AM on 8-27-2008
main reason for this is it was released world wide, hence more sales in comparison to the first-gen iPhone.
Reply
DT said 11:45AM on 8-27-2008
Those are amazing statistics, and what is more incredible for platform development is that does not include the iPod Touch user base, which are essentially iphones sans phone/text. The potential worldwide target audience a developer has via the AppStore is phenomenal.
Reply
moonmen said 11:47AM on 8-27-2008
and how many of those have been replaced due to bad QC? I've had 6 myself...cracks, light leakage, dust under glass, bright pixels,buttons falling off, etc...
Reply
Fred said 11:59AM on 8-27-2008
For me the most interesting thing is that Apple has turned the wireless phone industry on it's head with one model of phone. I realize there was 1st gen and now 2nd, but folks like Motorola were talking about 38 models of phones in the second half of '08. Apple has 1 phone (not withstanding variations in capacity). Think about that.
Reply
Jeremy said 12:43PM on 8-27-2008
does anyone know what percentage of the market apple holds now? I know originally they were looking to capture 0.5% of the market.
Reply
Gilbert Tang said 4:23PM on 8-27-2008
There might be no rhyme or reason for this admittedly untested statement, but it's worth noting that with respect to battery life, since I've done the last two updates, things have gotten better.
That is to say, I can use it regularly and still have some charge by the time I *should* be in bed.
Of course, it's still not acceptable, especially coming from a Curve needing only a bi-daily charge.
As for the reception issues, I still cry in my pillow every night.
Reply
Zoidbert said 5:39PM on 8-27-2008
Gimmee a 32GB version (or a 64!) and I'll be in that number. Pipe dream for now, I know.
Reply
Dave said 8:06PM on 8-27-2008
I want to know when there are more iPhones than Macs. Surely it's gonna happen.
Reply