AT&T suspends iPhone 4 pre-orders altogether, says they were ten times 3GS' numbers
By Chris Ziegler 
posted June 16th 2010 11:45AM
posted June 16th 2010 11:45AM
AT&T just kicked things up another notch, going from a launch day pre-order sellout for the iPhone 4 to... well, a total pre-order sellout. The carrier has announced this morning that it's "suspending pre-ordering today in order to fulfill the orders we've already received," saying only that it will resume the pre-order process when it can wrap its brain around the "additional inventory" it'll have on hand. It's hard to gauge where this lies on the truth / hype meter, but for what it's worth, they're saying that pre-orders outstripped the 3GS by a factor of ten, and eligibility checks were three times higher than the previous one-day record. Or... you know, maybe they just don't want any more information falling into the wrong hands until they can figure things out. Follow the break for AT&T's full statement.
"iPhone 4 pre-order sales yesterday were 10-times higher than the first day of pre-ordering for the iPhone 3G S last year. Consumers are clearly excited about iPhone 4, AT&T's more affordable data plans and our early upgrade pricing.
Given this unprecedented demand and our current expectations for our iPhone 4 inventory levels when the device is available June 24, we're suspending pre-ordering today in order to fulfill the orders we've already received.
The availability of additional inventory will determine if we can resume taking pre-orders.
In addition to unprecedented pre-order sales, yesterday there were more than 13 million visits to AT&T's website where customers can check to see if they are eligible to upgrade to a new phone; that number is about 3-times higher than the previous record for eligibility upgrade checks in one day.
We are working hard to bring iPhone 4 to as many of our customers as soon as possible."
Ah well, I'm still gonna wait for the N8
@Hoo
As if this is a surprise? That whole thing was a disaster
People can say whatever they want about Apple but no other corporation out there can generate as much mayhem and sales as what took place yesterday for simply a smart phone. You might hate Apple but you can't deny they are doing something right.
@VSpike915
Good for you! I am stickin with Apple. iPhone FTW.
WELL DONE APPLE!
@1 Infinite Loop Cupertino CA
Looks like the well planned "leak" worked for them
@Hoo
Trust AT&T to mess things up! Idiots!
@Hoo
How is this good news? There are already too many iPhones for AT&T to handle.
Fingers crossed for a VZ launch this fall...
@who said what
more iZombies marching into battle
@VSpike915 I agree, but i tend to think this debacle was mostly AT&T's fault as Apple needed to access their servers to process upgrade information and new orders...not sure how AT&T did not expect this in the wake of previous years...
@N900androidOS
Gotta feel bad for the poor Foxconn workers that have to work double time to keep up with supply :((
@1 Infinite Loop Cupertino CA
Of course they have great single day sales...THERE IS ONLY 1 DEVICE! Its not like android where you have a new phone every 3 weeks. If apple allowed 4 different manufactures to release 15 devices each, sales would be divided up too. That's why apple will loose market share to android while android will never ever hit single day sales records like this on a single device
If you buy a phone because many people do it, are you a Sheep? or?
Buying a phone you have not touch is intelligent?
@Hoo
I will probably too. Don't see what relevance that has to the iPhone though.
Good stuff, Apple. Another winner it seems. It's just a shame your carrier is so woeful.
@N900androidOS Because anything that's hugely popular must suck, right?
@VSpike915
"Consumers are clearly excited about iPhone 4, AT&T's more affordable data plans and our early upgrade pricing"
WTF?? Clearly no one is excited about the data plans. I'm sure people didn't even know the price of it when ordering.
@lelander I hate to ruin your morning but it won't happen anytime soon: http://www.appleoutsider.com/2010/05/25/whither-verizon/
@1 Infinite Loop Cupertino CA
And if you hate Apple you probably hate technology anyway.
@dswatson83 Your logic is flawed. Because it's a single device and company is what makes this so impressive for a launch.
@brudy918
Makes you wonder how may are new activations. This is clearly people doing upgrades. I wonder how many iDevices are in landfills.
@nicholas1987ucsb
Can you let a man dream? I'm aware of the 5-year deal they have...possibly the worst business decision in the history of tech. Could you imagine the iPhone on all 4 carriers? Android wouldn't have made a dent.
My only hope is that most Apple employees live in SF, and given Apple's high standards, the network quality is simply unacceptable. When you're dealing with 1M+ CDMA phones, I don't think a new chip is such a hassle (given that they already break out 16gb and 32gb, for no real reason).
@lelander yeah, i'm sure apple is happy, predictably so, but at least ONE person there has to be saying "imagine what would happen if the iphone 4 was available on verizon too? and/or ALL the US carriers?", because no matter how many iphones sell on at&t, apple has got to realize all the lost revenue other carriers could generate.
@1 Infinite Loop Cupertino CA
You are exactly right. As much as I hate a lot of Apple's practices and some of their products, I have to hand it to them in marketing their stuff and creating a cult-like, and almost sheepish, following.
Wait a minute... didn't Apple say last year they sold a million phones over the first weekend? Now they're saying only 60k were pre ordered? Those numbers don't add up.
@GadgetFunkie
I think people mis-understood me. I tried to pre-order my iPhone and it took me over 2hrs to finally get one. I meant that it was a disaster because of the overwhelming demand.
yes well done Apple.. I assume everyone else cheering on Apple also has shares in the company, unless your all like Objectum-sexuals... probably the latter isn't it :p
@sweet greggo
Do you know the difference between 60k and 600k?
@sweet greggo
Dude the phone hasnt launched yet....they've PREORDERED 600k phones....that's jsut preorders. The phone is released next weekend, its easily going to top 1 million units
@Hoo That's beyond the point. The point is that it is impressive that Apple has managed to get ten times more people to buy their phone then they could last year. These are just pre-orders, most of them probably upgrades, but still...
@Plazmic Flame
Which is why I am glad I can keep my unlimited data plan.
So does this mean the 3GS only had 60k preorders? :S
@1 Infinite Loop Cupertino CA
I think Gizmodo's leak helped rather than hindered Apple from reach this number. As Apple said, likely a lot of people held off on a 3GS buy to get the iPhone 4.
@thrash1256
I actually did LOL when i ready that, it just kinda caught me off guard.. Thanks for that one.
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple
God this is just amazing....
Looking forward to that sales report. Let the fandroids weep once again as Apple continues its dominance.
@BrookLynnsFinest
why would an android user care one whit how many freakin' Jesus phones Foxconn can ship? I've got a BB, and I don't care if they sell none, or 10 million Jesus phones. It's all irrelevant to me.
@BrookLynnsFinest
i don't understand why Apple gets criticized for their "hype." The long lines, the busy servers - everybody tries to do it just like apple. The only thing is that Apple actually succeeds. Sorry, but 65,000 EVO units is not impressive, but they still tried with the long lines and "hyped" launch event.
@dave1812
Do I really have to answer that fandroid?
@dave1812
the success of the "jesus phone," as you so condescendingly put it, has a direct effect on the sorts of Blackberries RIM designs and ships.
@BrookLynnsFinest
You really need to get a life...
@BrookLynnsFinest
Do we really have to keep throwing you into oblivion?
HTC will release the Incredible 2 and the Fandroids will spread across The Marketshare in a sea of blood! When HTC strikes again, the Fandroids will rule all Smartphones! The Android OS will become the Google Empire!
The surviving companies will frighten their children with tales of what the Fandroids did to RIM's marketshare! Steve Jobs will scream as Apple plunges into the sun! We'll keep Apple employees as slaves and eat their ideas as a delicacy!
If you lack the wisdom to flee, then you will be the first of billions to be crushed under our might! For the Google Empire!
@dave1812
All right I'll bite. Its the double standard first of all. For months people have been talking up the Evo 4G as an "iPhone killer". How they were going to be SOLD OUT everywhere and that millions upon millions of people would defect from AT&T.
How the iPhone 4 leaks were a desperate attempt by Apple to keep the floodgates from opening and stop people from going to Sprint for the Evo 4G (where you frandroids cook this stuff up is beyond my imagination).
On top of that you guys were clearly saying that it was going to destroy the iPhone and pretty much make android number 1.
Well that hasn't happened yet. More importantly given these recent developments it's VERY clear to me that it will NEVER happen (or at least not in this next upcoming year).
Apple has defeated all the Haters yet again. Its just comical how you guys get all excited about sales so long as its an android phone.
BUT if its Apple that is selling out everywhere then you guys are like, "meh who cares about sales".
Well clearly you do. Its hypocrisy. I do care and I'll freely admit it. It does matter to me whether Apple/iOS beat google/android. Because that determines the quality of devs who flock to my phone.
@BrookLynnsFinest
You are an IDIOT! I already said I don't even own an Android phone. Nor do I want one. SO direct your anti-android sentiment to the appropriate people. Are you parents as STUPID as you, BTW??
@CaryHiroyuki Tagawa
"Eat their ideas as delicacy"...
Do you even realize how much respect you paid them while hating on them?
@BrookLynnsFinest you say that like you are somehow invested in this. My guess is emotionally only, not the part that actually financially benefits you in any way...
@BrookLynnsFinest " Its just comical how you guys get all excited about sales"
Yesterday
"To date NOT a single android phone has outperformed nor outsold the iPhone 3GS (and of course the iPhone 4 is coming out which will continue this trend)...You know whos buying them..Apple Haters. People who are jealous of Apple and the iPhones success yet desperately want to be on the same level as android...What everyone does know however is that even if the Droid has sold 4 million phones (which I highly doubt)
The iPhone has sold OVER 55 million.
I fail to see how the droid can even be considered a "success" based on that comparison...."
@dave1812 Agreed!! Keep that crap on At&t's network so my evo doesn't slow down!!
@BrookLynnsFinest: I don't think us "fandroid" folks will care as much as you think. Let apples numbers be bolstered by its rabid fan base. That's fine. Me? I'm waiting patiently for something apple won't be delivering on for awhile; dual core CPU phones. While I appreciate apples hardware and software, I can't help but see them being left in the dust resulting from the current smartphone hardware wars. In the meantime, I'll keep enjoying my Moto Droid until my next upgrade eligibility and hopefully by that time the Droid X2 will be out!
@CaryHiroyuki Tagawa
You forgot /s