Verizon iPhone said below but at 550K plus

Verizon's iPhone 4 launch was slightly disappointing but still outsold AT&T's model, according to leaked sales data. The overall sales are reportedly a "little under" predictions but, during the first five days, consistently outsold AT&T at five different retail stores. The information supplied to BGR showed "very prominent" Apple stores cooling down to between 660 and almost 796 a day a few days later, but AT&T stores at these areas usually sold roughly 100 fewer phones, with the gap sometimes wider.

Only a small number, 14 percent, were coming from an AT&T iPhone, the tips said. However, they confirmed suspicions of strong Android conversions. Despite presumptions by many that Android users would remain loyal, defectors represented the largest single known group of iPhone buyers at 30 percent. BlackBerry users represented 25 percent, and the leftover 31 percent either wouldn't reveal their outgoing smartphone or were upgrading from a basic feature phone.

Verizon's claims of beating its first-day sales record may have been validated, as about 550,000 iPhones were sold during the 17 hours of pre-orders to existing customers. The carrier has never publicly quantified first day sales for a phone, but the tally would be about a third of what Apple managed for the GSM iPhone 4 launch, albeit one shared with several other countries. Android and BlackBerry devices aren't thought to have come close.

The ratio suggests the Verizon release is only having a mild cannibalization effect on AT&T and that many of the early adopters are existing owners unhappy with their current smartphones. Demographics could change quickly as it shifts away from pent-up demand and towards regular business. While the expansion may be below estimates, a continued ability to outsell the AT&T version without simply stealing sales could lead to a much larger market share in the US.

By Electronista Staff