Customers rush to buy iPhone; global sales may top one million in first three days

If you decided to miss the mad rush on the weekend and wait patiently for your iPhone fix, you’re going to need to be very lucky if you are to get your hands on the device.

If you decided to miss the mad rush on the weekend and wait patiently for your iPhone fix, you’re going to need to be very lucky if you are to get your hands on the device.

A Telstra spokesman says that the company’s decision to only put the iPhone in 15 stores nationally means that most of the stores should still have stock. An Optus spokesperson says that some stores have run out of stock and encourages potential customers to register in-store for the next shipment, due in less than a week.

Industry experts say the extraordinary hype surrounding the launch of iPhone could help Apple and its resellers shift more than one million units in the first three days of its launch.

RBC Capital Market’s analyst Mike Abramsky said that pent-up demand, expanded distribution, and lower pricing could push global sales of the iPhone above one million, with other estimates ranging from 800,000 to 3.3 million (1.2 million sold in the US and 2.1 million overseas).

But the launch did not go without a hitch. In the US, a software glitch prevented buyers in the US from getting their phone to work straight away. AT&T, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the US, said a global problem with Apple’s iTunes software that prevented the phones from being fully activated in-store, as had been planned.

In Australia, some Telstra users who had purchased their iPhone from Optus reported delays in moving their number across from one phone carrier to the other.

Most Australian iPhone reviews have been positive, with reviewers saying that picking the most cost-effective plan will be the hardest decision for users.

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