Hasta La Gadget!

If you were wondering why both Apple and AT&T melted down when taking orders for the iPhone 4 on Tuesday, we have the answer. Apple sold 600,000 of the things. According to Apple’s press release, “It was the largest number of pre-orders Apple has ever taken in a single day and was far higher than we anticipated, resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions.”

It wasn’t helped by AT&T’s new ordering system which, according to an AT&T insider was updated over the weekend with new fraud-prevention measures and then left untested before iPhone ordering opened. AT&T has issued a statement saying that on launch day, pre-order sales were “10-times higher than the first day of pre-ordering for the iPhone 3G S last year.” Now AT&T has “temporarily suspended” ordering for the iPhone 4.

You can still buy an iPhone 4 at Apple.com, although it appears you can only place orders for mail delivery. If you request an in-store pickup, the Apple.com ordering system will show you a list of nearby stores, but you cannot actually select one.

The crush of orders shouldn’t have come as a surprise to AT&T and Apple. All the iPhone 3G owners who held off buying the 3GS last year are now ready for an upgrade. The iPhone 4 got a terrific boost of pre-launch hype thanks to the April appearance of an iPhone prototype on gadget blog Gizmodo, which led to widespread mainstream media coverage. And AT&T has decided to let many 3GS owners upgrade early without penalty. You might think that this unholy combination would lead to a surge in demand, and you’d be dead right: On Tuesday there were 13 million visits to AT&T by customers checking their eligibility to upgrade.

What does this mean for you, the customer? Delivery dates have slipped again, this time to July 14th (launch day is June 24 and new orders were already delayed to July 2). And if you have already ordered, you may still be in for disappointment. Reports from Gadget Lab readers say AT&T is e-mailing customers to cancel their iPhone 4 orders, effectively forcing people to re-order and wait an additional three weeks for delivery. [UPDATE: AT&T got in touch. These cancelled orders are, in fact, just cancellations of duplicate orders some customers made when they didn’t receive confirmations of their first orders.]

And this is in the United States. Countries that do not yet even have a launch date should be prepared for a long wait.

Did you have trouble ordering an iPhone 4? Know anything else about AT&T and Apple’s troubles? Let us know in the comments, or send a tip to us at gadgetnews@wired.com.

Statement by Apple on iPhone 4 Pre-Orders [Apple]

AT&T: iPhone 4 Pre-Orders 10 TIMES Higher Than First Day Last Year [Silicon Alley Insider]

AT&T Now CANCELING Confirmed Pre-Orders [ModMyI. Thanks, Andrew!]

See Also:

• IPhone 4 Already Sold Out Despite Apple Store Meltdown
• iPhone 4’s ‘Retina’ Display Claims Are False Marketing
• Showdown: iPhone 4 vs. HTC Evo 4G
• Photo Gallery: Hands-On With the iPhone 4
• IPhone 4 Available for Pre-Order

Apple on Wednesday apologized for technical issues that marred yesterday’s iPhone 4 pre-order process, but said that it still managed to sell 600,000 of the devices in its first day.

“It was the largest number of pre-orders Apple has ever taken in a single day and was far higher than we anticipated, resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions,” Apple said in a statement. “Many customers were turned away or abandoned the process in frustration. We apologize to everyone who encountered difficulties, and hope that they will try again or visit an Apple or carrier store once the iPhone 4 is in stock.”

The new iPhone 4 is not scheduled to hit stores until June 24, but Apple, AT&T and several other retail outlets started taking pre-orders for the device on June 15. Unfortunately, the companies’ systems could not handle the extra demand, and many online buyers were met with timed-out browsers and 404 errors.

Since then, AT&T has suspended pre-orders, as have Radio Shack and Best Buy, which were accepting in-store orders.

The Apple Web site also now says that pre-ordered iPhone 4’s going forward will ship on July 14 rather than June 24.

UK carrier Orange has already confirmed that it’ll be joining in on the iPhone 4 party on June 24th, and it’s just now revealed exactly how much the phone will cost you depending on the service you choose. As with the 3GS, the iPhone 4 is available on both monthly or pay-as-you-go plans, and actually starts as low as free for a 16GB iPhone 4 on the highest monthly plan (£75 per month) and goes all the way up to £570 (or $845) for an off-contract 32GB iPhone 4 on a pay-as-you-go plan. There’s literally no less than twenty different price points in all, however, so be sure to hit up the source link below to see exactly what’s available before you go line up.

Update: Hey, O2 has followed suit. Imagine that!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Orange and O2 announce UK iPhone 4 pricing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s official: AT&T can’t cope with iPhone 4 orders. Following the first day of the iPhonepocalypse—and after shutting down their online sales system following multiple security problems—they are giving up to avoid any further trouble. More »

They denied it, but readers claim that AT&T is exposing credit cards and shipping information during iPhone 4 pre-orders. Wrong shipping information is even being used by AT&T and Apple’s websites to send units to the wrong people. [Updating live] More »