A high number of iPhone 4 sales within the first three days have made it the best-selling Apple product at launch.
At 26 June, which was the third day of sale for the iPhone 4, Apple had sold 1.7 million of the smartphones. Apple says it took 28 days after launch to sell a million iPads.
“This is the most successful product launch in Apple's history,” said Steve Jobs, Apple CEO.
The iPhone has transformed Apple into one of the world's leading mobile phone companies, boosting its margins in the process.
The company has sold more than 50 million iPhones since the device debuted in 2007.
Hudson Square Research analyst Daniel Ernst said the 1.7 million number likely included pre-orders, which began on 15 June. It was higher than his estimate. "No single smartphone model has been this successful," he said.
This is despite stock running out, forcing Apple to let some customers down. “We apologise to those customers who were turned away because we did not have enough supply,” said Jobs.
With more than 600 000 pre-orders for the iPhone 4 on the first day, many customers who tried to place their order for the phone before launch were also disappointed when Apple's approval systems malfunctioned due to the heavy load, according to the smartphone manufacturer.
Apple has given no clear indication of a release date for SA.
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