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July 14, 2008 5:51 AM PDT

Apple: One million iPhones sold, 10 million App Store downloads in first weekend

by Caroline McCarthy

Despite the outages, shortages, and related hand-wringing associated with last Friday's iPhone 3G launch and Thursday's release of the iPhone 2.0 firmware, Apple says there were nevertheless 10 million downloads from its new App Store in its first weekend of existence.

And those long lines? A total of one million iPhone 3G units were sold. The millionth phone was sold on Sunday.

"The App Store is a grand slam, with a staggering 10 million applications downloaded in just three days," Apple overlord Steve Jobs said in a release Monday. "Developers have created some extraordinary applications, and the App Store can wirelessly deliver them to every iPhone and iPod touch user instantly."

And on the phone sales, Jobs said, "It took 74 days to sell the first one million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world."

There are currently about 800 applications available for download in the App Store, over 200 of which are free; at launch, there were about 550.

Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline.
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Add a Comment (Log in or register) (16 Comments)
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by lmasanti July 14, 2008 6:19 AM PDT
It is like "the Second Coming of Steve" to Apple!
Congrats to all the owners!
Reply to this comment
by wratbatblue July 14, 2008 6:31 AM PDT
Oh, yeah, and by the way, to all you who waited hours in line to buy, then waited for hours at home, clicking in iTunes to get your new phone activated....whatever. I got mine.
Reply to this comment
by wratbatblue July 14, 2008 6:34 AM PDT
Oh, yeah, and by the way, to all you who waited hours in line to buy, then waited for hours at home, clicking in iTunes to get your new phone activated....whatever. I got mine.
Reply to this comment
by ballmerisanape July 14, 2008 6:37 AM PDT
this is what happens when you develop and deliver a great user experience. People are tired of "good enough" user interfaces.
Reply to this comment
by wratbatblue July 14, 2008 6:44 AM PDT
Sorry for the double post. Wish there were a way to delete one of them!
Reply to this comment
by Perry_Clease July 14, 2008 6:56 AM PDT
"Sorry for the double post. Wish there were a way to delete one of them!"

Well, Apple did not design this blog's software. They may not have designed the software on their discussion boards, but at least you can edit posts easier than you can with this one.
Reply to this comment
by jcwestbrook July 14, 2008 8:26 AM PDT
Is that 1 million sold have anything to do with being on sale in 21 countries?
Reply to this comment
by The Curious Nerd July 14, 2008 11:56 AM PDT
Uh...Yeah!
"iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start AROUND THE WORLD"
hm...guess you didnt read that.
by ralfthedog July 14, 2008 8:35 AM PDT
Like most problems in the computer industry, the activation issues were a bit overblown. My Apple store gave the option of moving to a second line and activating in store or taking the phone home to activate.

It only took the time to grab a quick snack at the food court to get my phone working. If you are having trouble with activation today, check to make sure you have the most current version of iTunes running. If you have trouble after that, go back to the
Apple store. They will have you running in half a sneeze.
Reply to this comment
by Perry_Clease July 14, 2008 8:47 AM PDT
"Is that 1 million sold have anything to do with being on sale in 21 countries?"

Probably, but I don't see numbers sold by country in the press release http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/07/14iphone.html
Reply to this comment
by mreiher July 14, 2008 12:42 PM PDT
Congrats to Apple for a huge hit with the App store and the new 3G.! This is a huge change in mobile computing... things are going to change like crazy now... this will be fun! Sort of like computing back in the late 80's all over again. :)
Reply to this comment
by revtarded July 16, 2008 3:43 AM PDT
yeah... no.

what people in the US fail to realize is the iphone is revolutionary for 3rd world countries like the US. Asia and Europe have had much better options than we have for years now.
by sting7k July 14, 2008 1:52 PM PDT
Maybe it could have been more if apple didn't horde all the stock for themselves and left AT&T stores sold out for days within minutes. Both Apple stores near me (both over an hour away) have them in stock. While the 3 AT&T stores in my city have no idea when they will get more of them, same with the dozen or so stores that would be on the way to going to one of those Apple stores.
Reply to this comment
by knioen July 15, 2008 7:01 AM PDT
I couldn't agree more, the Apple store in Soho has stock while the ATT store less than 2 blocks away has no idea when they will receive the next shipment, for a service provider that helped to lower the overall price of the iPhone it seems like they are getting the shaft on sales.
by revtarded July 16, 2008 3:42 AM PDT
last year, they sold 700k phones in the first weekend. the iphone was released in the USA only.

this year, they sold 1 million. a net increase of 300k in the first weekend. it was released in 21 countries.

obivously it's not off to as good of a start as the media outlets would have you believe. in reality, it was outsold by the samsung instinct.
Reply to this comment
by bhushan bhaagii July 17, 2008 4:26 AM PDT
True, the instinct outsold the iPhone. But no other cell phone has ever received the kind of coverage that the iPhone has. That kind of awareness will ultimately
drive more unit sales. It wouldn't be wrong to assume that the Iphone might
come to occupy the same kind of dominance that the iPod enjoys in MP3 Players.
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About The Social

CNET News' Caroline McCarthy is a downtown Manhattanite who believes that, despite popular opinion, the Web can actually help your social life. She's happily addicted to fun social-media tools from Twitter to Yelp to Facebook, sends an inordinate number of text messages, and has a tendency to waste time at the office reading restaurant blogs. Here, she explores all facets of the Web's gregarious side, as well as the unique tech culture in her home city of New York. (Don't call it Silicon Alley.)

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