Monday, June 22, 2009, 08:30 am

Apple sells over 1 million iPhone 3G Ss in first three days

By AppleInsider Staff

Apple said Monday that it sold over one million iPhone 3GS models during the first three days the handset was on the market, while its new iPhone 3.0 software was downloaded by six million customers in the first five days since its release.

The sales tally is inline with a prediction made by AppleInsider on Friday, shortly after the the iPhone 3G S hit retail stores and AT&T announce that it sold "hundreds of thousands" of the devices during its pre-order process.

"Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning," said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. "With over 50,000 applications available from Apple's revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever."

For their part, Wall Street analysts like Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster, had initially forecasted the Cupertino-based company to accumulate first-weekend sales of roughly 500,000 iPhone 3G Ss. Prior to Apple's announcement Monday morning, the analyst edged up his estimate to 750,000 units, saying early sales indications, comments from carriers, and lines at retail stores "were more positive" than he had anticipated.

It took Apple 74 days, or approximately two and a half months, to sell its first million iPhones back in 2007, while last year's iPhone 3G launch saw a million devices sold in just the first three days, setting a benchmark for future iPhone releases. Given that sales figures reported Monday by Apple don't include sales of the newly-priced $99 8GB iPhone 3G, it's more than likely this past weekend represented the company's most successful product launch to date.

For those interested, AppleInsider published a 4-page, in-depth review of the iPhone 3G S and the new iPhone 3.0 software update earlier this morning.