Hasta La Gadget!

Apple’s 5m iPhone 5 sales in the first three days of availability are impressive, but analysts are still scrabbling to explain why their own predictions had been so much more enthusiastic. Notorious Apple-obsessive and Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster went further than most, suggesting as many as 6-10m iPhone 5 handsets would be snapped up; now, Fortune reports, he’s blaming math and shortages for being so wrong.

Munster claims that the expectation at Pipe Jaffray had been that Apple would include all preordered devices in its final count. He also suggests that the numbers were based on the assumption that Apple would have sufficient stock to meet demand, something arguably naive given the shortages encountered in previous launches:

“We believe there are two factors that negatively impacted the number. First, our sales expectation assumed that Apple would include all phones pre-ordered online. We believe that this may have been up to 1 million additional units as units pre-ordered after the middle of the first day were projected to be available in October. Second, we noted 1.25 days of Apple Retail inventory compared to 2.5 days during the 4S launch. Our 8 million estimate assumed full weekend availability and the counting of all online pre-orders. We believe that if supply were not a constraint and Apple included all pre-orders, the launch weekend number would have been closer to 7-8 million, assuming ~1 million October pre-order sales and an additional 1-2 million units at retail” Gene Munster, analyst, Piper Jaffray

Munster isn’t the only analyst to be juggling numbers to explain things. ISI Group analyst Brian Marshall had predicted 6-8m sales, but argues that – since those numbers take into account devices currently in transit, which Apple won’t count until they’re signed for by purchasers – there could be more to be added to Apple’s official tally that number “in the millions.”

Shaw Wu of Sterne Agee perhaps most accurately hits it on the head, however, when he argues that the furore is “a classic case of near-term expectations getting out of touch with reality.” As of writing, online orders in the US, UK, and elsewhere have a 3-4 week shipping estimate, putting deliveries somewhere in the middle of October.

Analyst: Our 8m iPhone 5 prediction would’ve been right if Apple had sold more is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The iPhone 5 looks to be sturdier than its delicate baby glass predecessor, but all of these drop tests are dodging one crucial question: can the Knicks’ 6-foot-5 point guard use it as a basketball? More »

Apple sold over five million iPhone 5 handsets in the first weekend of sales, the company has announced, with the entire first batch of devices snatched up by shoppers. “While we have sold out of our initial supply,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement today, “stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date.”

“We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough iPhone 5s for everyone” Cook concluded.

Demand for the iPhone 5 was already expected to be strong, with Apple revealing that over 2m preorders were placed in the first 24hrs of availability last week. Despite online sales, however, queues still formed outside of brick & mortar Apple Stores in major cities, with the iPhone 5 going on sale in several locations in North America, Europe, and Asia.

While Apple scrambles to produce more iPhone 5 units, the next phase of the smartphone’s roll-out fast approaches. 22 more countries will get the handset on September 28, with Apple promising over 100 countries will have the iPhone 5 by the end of 2012.

More on the iPhone 5 in our full review.

iPhone 5 sales blast past 5m in opening weekend is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple broke records again opening weekend, with the iPhone 5 selling more than 5M in its first three days, compared to 4M for the iPhone 4S.

The iPhone-maker also announced that demand for the iPhone 5 far exceeded the initial supply, which is likely the only reason why opening weekend sales didn’t cross into the 6- to 10 million range some were predicting. Still the number is impressive, and reflects strong pre-order performance, which Apple said topped 2 million in the first 24 hours.

Apple also announced that 100 million iOS devices have been updated to iOS 6, an amazing rate of adoption, considering that the company has sold just north of 400 million, according to its own numbers released earlier this month. We saw a lot of evidence that adoption was very high, very early on after the release of iOS 6, but Apple’s official totals really drive home just how many eagerly pushed that update button in the first week.

Hey, you know what would be a nice, cathartic response to the tsunami of iPhone 5 coverage? Shooting it with a giant ass Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifle. More »