“Apple Inc.’s latest iPhone arrived in stores Friday in the U.S. and a half-dozen countries, as the company hoped to cement its position as the world’s leading smartphone maker,” Geoffrey A. Fowler, Anton Troianovski, Ian Sherr and Juro Osawa report for The Wall Street Journal.
“As has become the custom for Apple product launches, throngs of eager customers lined up in front of Apple’s retail stores to be among the first to get their hands on the new phone, dubbed the iPhone 4S,” Fowler, Troianovski, Sherr and Osawa report. “The handsets go on sale at 8 a.m. local time in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, France, Germany and Japan.”
Fowler, Troianovski, Sherr and Osawa report, “Apple has already said first-day preorders for the iPhone 4S, which began a week ago, topped one million units, beating the company’s own expectation and sales for earlier models. Smartphones are not only one of the fastest-growing parts of the technology sector, but have since 2007 also become Apple’s single-largest product category.”
Much more in the full article here.
All hail the king!!!
Steve is smiling above us! Not because of the money, but because people genuinely want the iPhone!
A new survey of customers in line at Apple stores on Friday to buy the iPhone 4S found that nearly three-quarters are upgrading from a previous version of the iPhone, while 27 percent are buying their first Apple handset.
We must not forget that majority of those replaced iPhones will remain in the Apple/iTunes/iCloud ecosystem. Most will be hand-me-downs, with many unloaded on eBay / CraigsList.
The installed iOS base keeps growing rapidly.
The king with a 3.5″ crown sitting uneasily on his head where a 4″ diadem would provide a better fit.
Even at the current size, iPhone is borderline too geeky of a brick for vast majority of ordinary, normal people. A 4″ display would require a device that would be just too large, and most normal folks would feel awkward and like dorks holding that brick to their ear.
Although there certainly are people out there who passionately argue for a 7″ iPhone (if it fits in the pocket, it’s good for a phone, and everyone loves a big screen — bigger is always better!).
I number myself among the 27%.
I did not go to an Apple Store, I went to a Rogers outlet (Canada). I was sttuned to discover I was the only one in line. I felt like an early arrival at a Frasier Crane Fan Club meeting – inside joke.
Very happy with the 4S, I have never been disappointed with any Apple product. Siri works in Canada, although she doesn’t do maps and directions yet.
Btw to a previous poster, I asked Siri to open the pod bay door, she responded, ‘I’m sorry I cannot do that. Are you happy now?’
My UPS driver said he had about 50 on his truck for delivery today…
So was he promptly knocked out cold and thrown in a dumpster somewhere after telling you this?
And if so… can I have one? hehe
Look closely at the iPhone 4S camera, it is a SONY 8mp Camera, but other’s company optics.
That’s what makes apple products so unique and also that where the cloners fail.
It is not just about the hardware or specs you fandroids….
Walked into my local Apple store(woodlands Mall TX) at 1:30, no line and plenty of stock.
Setting up syncing my music over now.
Guess Apple learned a thing or two from past releases.
By maintaining the iPhone 4 form factor, Apple didn’t have to retool the production lines. That’s why the same style is used for at least two years. It costs a lot to set up production lines, and it takes time to build up stock. With much of the 4S relying in iPhone 4 design, it’s a smoother transition.
The king as in seminal progenitor.