A little twist of something different today (mainly because of a lack of exciting computer hardware news), we take a look at the success of the “dark” side in the mobile world.
Last week Friday, the world got their mitts on the iPhone 3G (S), the latest rendition of the cultural iPhenomenon, coinciding closely with the release of the savior 3.0 OS update for regular iPhone users. The “S” model is the third version of the phone, which has seen a new release every June/July since its launch in 2007. In just 2 years, the phone has sold over 20 million units world wide, and now Apple can put another notch into their post, with claims that their “S” series sold over 1 Million units in the course of a weekend.
The iPhone was available for sale first thing Friday morning across 8 countries from Apple stores and Rogers (Canada), AT&T (USA), and other partner carriers in the various countries. Most were reportedly snatched up within minutes of the doors opening at a price of $199 for a 16GB (w/ 3 Yr (Canada) & 2/Yr (USA) or $299 for a 32GB (w/ 3 Yr (Canada) & 2/Yr (USA) . For those that decided to skip the typical 100+ person lineups, reports indicate that it will be a few more weeks before stock is replenished.
Apple CEO, Steve Jobs made a statement, likely from a hospital bed as he recently underwent a liver transplant, regarding the success of his creation,
“Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning. With over 50,000 applications available from Apple’s revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever.“
Earlier in the week, Apple also released the long awaited v3.0 of its iPhone OS for previous iPhone owners. The update brings features that many agree, probably should have been included in the first place, such as; cut,copy & paste, a landscape keyboard, tethering and other multimedia messaging options available on most every competing mobile OS. Apple claimed another victory with the update, citing that they received over 6 million updates to v3.0 in just a mere 5 days… it is open to interpretation though, as to whether that is a popularity success, or a show of how many people we’re zealously awaiting to get their product fixed.
Unfortunately, much like with the launch of the 3G phone in which Apple’s servers went up in smoke due to overload, the OS update was severely dampened by activation issues. An issue with the activation servers caused a near 48 wait time for many users in getting their phone up and running after the update. As a result, those who experienced issues, may be eligible for “I’m Sorry” $30 Apple iTunes store credit;
“Dear Apple Customer,
Thank you for your recent Apple Store order. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay in your iPhone activation.
We are still resolving the issue that was encountered while activating your iPhone with AT&T. Unfortunately, due to system issues and continued high activation volumes, this could take us up to an additional 48 hours to complete.
On Monday, you’ll receive an email from Apple with an iTunes Store credit in the amount of $30. We hope you will enjoy this gift and accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this delay has caused.
Thank you for choosing Apple.
Sincerely,
Apple Online Store Team”
The author is a proud Windows Mobile user, however he is waiting anxiously for the day that someone figures out how to install Android onto the iPhone; the iDroid.
