The new Apple 3G iPhone made quite a splash in its first weekend. Forbes.com is reporting that over one million units of the new iPhone were sold over the three-day period, breaking all previous sales records for the launch of a new mobile phone. By contrast, the original iPhone took more than 70 days to sell one million units, and was still considered to be an unqualified success. With the 3-D iPhone getting off to such a great start worldwide, it seems likely it could eventually turn out to be Apple’s biggest seller ever.
Apple shareholders were also impressed with the iPhone’s first weekend. Shares of Apple stock were up 2 1/2 percent Monday morning, primarily on news of the 3G iPhone’s spectacular first weekend.
The new iPhone is faster and more user-friendly than the original version, and takes advantage of so-called third-generation (3G) high-speed wireless networks. The end result is a phone that can surf the Web at near broadband speed, and makes portable Internet access not only practical, but actually enjoyable.
Also contributing to the stunning sales figures over the weekend is the iPhone’s new lower price. The 3G iPhone retails for $199, far less than the original iPhone’s debut price of $499. Along with faster Internet access, the new model boasts a full GPS navigation system, the now-famous intuitive touch screen design, and improved software applications including a handful of Microsoft business tools such as Mobile Word and Excel.
After the remarkable success of the 3G iPhone’s first weekend, Apple executives are expecting to sell over 10 million units by the end of this year — quite a lofty goal, but certainly not out of the question after the amazing opening weekend. The iPhone’s biggest competitor, Research in Motion (the creators of the Blackberry Smart phone) has sold 4.3 million phones so far in 2008.
Many of those purchasing the new iPhone over the weekend were first-time buyers who were interested in the original iPhone, but were put off by the high price tag and relatively slow Internet access speeds. The addition of GPS features also swayed some skeptical buyers, as other smart phones have been including these features for some time now.
Overall, it appears that Apple has hit yet another homerun. The combination of a vastly improved product, with an effective (but still trendy) marketing campaign has made the 3G iPhone a far greater success than the original — something few industry watchers thought was even possible. Apple has done it again.
