Apple Says a Million iPhones Were Sold in Three Days

Apple Inc. said yesterday a million buyers got their hands on the latest iPhone by Sunday, three days after it launched.

Hundreds of Long Islanders were among those waiting for hours at Apple and AT&T retail stores when the new iPhone went on sale in 21 countries Friday. Yesterday afternoon, dozens more were lined up outside the Apple store at Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City.

The phone runs on a faster wireless Internet network than its year-old predecessor, has a global positioning chip and software that can run business programs, games and other applications. The cost is $199 for the 8-gigabyte version and $299 for a 16-gigabyte model.

Analysts have said they expect Apple to sell 10 million of the units in the first year.

"iPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend," Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said in a written statement yesterday. "It took 74 days to sell the first 1 million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world."

Problems with Apple’s servers that led to activation problems Friday have been largely resolved, analysts and company officials said.

Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., also announced that 10 million applications had been downloaded as of yesterday through its new service available for the iPod Touch and iPhones — both old and new.

But Research In Motion, which makes the BlackBerry, dominates the domestic market for smart phones and wireless cell phones, according to Canalys, a high-tech industry analyst.

"Apple is still shipping a very small percentage of cell phones worldwide compared to Nokia or Samsung," said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for the Port Washington-based NPD Group. "In the U.S., they’ve been doing quite well in the smart phone market."

Catherine Lawlor, 21, of Bethpage, yesterday returned to the Apple store at Roosevelt Field, where she had waited in line all Friday, to have her 8-gigabyte iPhone restored. Problems with sound and some applications hadn’t dampened her enthusiasm. "It’s like holding a little piece of the future in your hand," she said.

THE COMPETITION

Market share of smart phones sold in U.S. first quarter this year.

RIM Blackberry 44.5%

Apple 19.2%

Palm 13.4%

Samsung 8.6%

HTC 4.1%

Motorola 2.6%