Apple has announced that its iPhone 3GS handset sold over one million units during its first weekend on the market.
The handset, announced earlier this month at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, had been dubbed by many as a incremental upgrade to an already-popular device. Nonetheless, and despite hefty pricing, sales of one million units between Friday June 19th and Sunday June 21st is hard to ignore. That's almost four iPhone 3GS handsets sold every second.
The news has prompted a return to action for Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who following a liver transplant in recent months is expected to resume his role at the head of Apple later this month. Commenting on iPhone 3GS sales, Jobs said:
"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."
In contrast, the Palm Pre - often touted as the latest "iPhone killer" - sold an estimated 100,000 units in its first weekend on sale in the U.S. Further highlighting the iPhone's popularity, competitor RIM's first touchscreen handset, the BlackBerry Storm, was estimated to have sold 500,000 units during its first month on sale back in 2008.
