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Wed, 27 Aug 2008 iPhone 3G sales already outnumber first-gen iPhone sales - report

Apple's iPhone 3G has already outsold the first-generation version, reports explain

Jonny Evans

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Apple seems set to sell its 12 millionth iPhone this week, a TechCrunch report claims, delivering accelerating sales and kick-starting the iPhone applications market.

The news confirms the success of the device, the first generation of which took Apple a year in order to ship six million units. Foxconn is reportedly now building at least 800,000 iPhone 3Gs every week, and is increasing production capacity to deliver more of the devices.

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This also means Apple will match its first year sales in under two months....

Looking to the manufacturing figures, TechCrunch speculates that Apple is therefore closing in on selling its six millionth iPhone 3G, for a total iPhone population of 12 million and far in advance of the rate of sales required to achieve the company's ten million unit sales target.

In related news, the iPhone has become the fourth biggest-selling mobile phone in Japan, representing the strength of interest in the product (according to GFK Japan).

Furthermore, as MacNN notes, a separate BusinessWeek report indicates Apple could shift as many as 40 million iPhones in 2009 - assuming it sticks with the existing form factor and does not widen the market with introduction of other versions of the device.

Apple last Friday introduced the phone in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia and Uruguay, effectively doubling the product's addressable market.

All these strong sales figures must be tempered with a warning: A huge number of iPhone users - of both new and old models - are experiencing a problem in which they inexplicably lose access to any applications, music or other media on their iPhone. Apple as yet has said absolutely nothing to help users suffering this problem.

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Comments received


Russ said on Thu, 28 Aug 2008

I had 1st Gen and now have 3G and love them both, I hope the naysayers will soon shut up. It's becoming fashionable to be an 'Iphone Hater'

Jeremy Goldberg said on Sun, 07 Sep 2008

As I get to know my iphone 3G, I love it more and more...The only hitch for now is that my enteprise does not support MAC yet, however, I believe this will change after a groundswell of iphone user pressure

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