Apple touts 1 million new iPhone sales in first 3 days

As expected, Apple issued an announcement today that over 1 million of the new iPhone 3Gs smart phones have been sold since it hit the market on Friday in the US and 7 other countries, making it the most successful iPhone model yet. The previous iPhone model, the 3G, also sold 1 million units in its first three days, but that model was released in 22 countries simultaneously.

The reason for the smaller geographic release has not been publicized, but I am sure the problems that surrounded the 3G release last year were no small factor. It is also possible that, with the global economic woes, Apple simply focused on the 7 most profitable markets.

Apple was grossly unprepared for the throngs of users that tried to activate their new phones last year. The same problems occurred this time, only to a much, much smaller extent. Some customers received messages stating it would take up to 48 hours to complete activation. Reportedly, some customers received emails promising a $30 iTunes credit for the hassle, but that is, as of yet, unconfirmed.

Apple also did not breakdown the sales by region. AT&T, the exclusive US carrier for the iPhone, stated that they had sold "hundreds of thousands" of iPhones on pre-order, but didn't get more specific than that yet.

One rather unexpected aspect to the announcement was a comment from Steve Jobs himself. "Customers have spoken and the iPhone is winning, " he said in his typical flare. It was Jobs' first quoted statement since he took a leave of absence in January for unspecified "medical reasons". The company stated that Jobs, who has battled pancreatic cancer, will be returning to work at the end of the month. The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday the Jobs had a liver transplant 2 months ago, and will begin working part-time, initially. Neither Apple, nor Jobs himself, have either confirmed or denied the WSJ report.

Of course, as I pointed out before, the Blackberry is actually the king of the smart phones in the US and continues to be...by almost 3-1. And internationally, it still beats the iPhone in the Smart Phone market, although Nokia is the #1 outside the US.