New Apple iPhone 3GS: 1M+ Sales Defy Recession

Apple is celebrating after the latest incarnation of the iPhone sold a million units in its first weekend. However, the firm has issued compensation to some customers who were unable to fully activate their handsets.

The sales figures of the 3G S are keeping pace with the 3G, which came out last August. That's an impressive number, given that many consumers are cutting back on spending this year and that there are no revolutionary changes to the new model other than an improvement in speed.

Pre Sales Figures May be Inflated

It's worth remembering that Apple's counting methods are considered by some to be quite strange -- in short, there is no guarantee that a million people currently have the new phone in their pockets.

When the firm issued similar figures for the 3G launch last year, it included sales through carriers such as AT&T, which are measured as soon as they leave the distribution center in Asia. However, whatever the raw figures, it's still a good performance in comparison to last year.

Delays Lessened But Still An Issue

Some customers did face delays of up to two days in activating their handsets this year, which meant they couldn't make or receive phone calls. Apple has responded by offering a $30 credit for the iTunes store as compensation.

Thankfully, it appears these problems are less widespread than similar issues last year.  Back in 2008, Apple launched both its 3G handset and the latest edition of its iPhone operating system on the very same day, giving company IT pros less time to work out the kinks. Apple has apparently learned their lesson, and this year the OS launched a few days prior to the 3G S. (Source: informationweek.com)

General reaction to and reviews of the 3G S have been pretty favorable, with many reporting that the promised speed boost in running applications and loading web pages is very noticeable. There was some bad news when a website's testing showed the rival Palm Pre smartphone was slightly quicker, though this was carried out in an area known to have poor network coverage for the iPhone. (Source: zdnet.com)