The launch of Apple’s iPhone 3G on July 11 in many countries was disturbed by servers & software crashes and many stores running out of stock. However, after the initial hiccups, the iPhone seems to have recovered. It is reported that Apple was able to sell one million 3G iPhones across 21 countries in the first three days of sale. The iTunes servers that repeadetly crashed in countires such as the US, Uk and Canada barred both the new iPhone 3G owners and those, who wanted to upgrade their old iPhone with the iPhone 2.0 software alike, is now running normally.

iPhone 3G is now available in 21 countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US.

Announcing on July 14 that the new iPhone 3G has crossed one million mark, Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO said “iPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend”, “It took 74 days to sell the first one million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world.”

Users were able to get their handset activated and download apllications on it as the servers restored. The new iPhone 3G allows users to download and run third-party applications along with many other new features. Although the new phone features and GPS are as ‘cool’, it is the ability to run third-party applications that is making the iPhone 3G more popular. In the first three days of sale, owners of both the new and old iPhone were able to download 10 million applications from the newly launched App Store in iTunes.

Developers have created a wide array of innovative mobile applications ranging from games to location-based social networking to medical applications to enterprise productivity tools. Users can wirelessly download applications directly onto their iPhone or iPod touch and start using them immediately. More than 800 native applications are made available on the App Store, with more than 200 offered for free and more than 90% priced at less than USD 10.

Announcing the success of the App Store, Jobs said “The App Store is a grand slam, with a staggering 10 million applications downloaded in just three days.” “Developers have created some extraordinary applications, and the App Store can wirelessly deliver them to every iPhone and iPod touch user instantly,” he added.

The first generation iPhone that was launched in 2007 took 74 days to reach the one million mark, a feat that iPhone 3G achieved in just three days. However, it is to be noted that the first iPhone was not launched in 21 countries last year. Apple has so far sold more than 7 million iPhones including the first generation iPhone since its launch in 2007. As Apple makes its iPhone available in more countries by the end of this year, its goal to sell more than 10 million iPhones by the end of the year will be acheived comfortably. iPhone 3G is now ready to be launched in France on July 17.

Although the breakup of free versus paid applications downloaded is not available, it is estimated that atleast USD 5 million worth of paid downloads happened over the weekend.

The launch of iPhone 3G was not perfect at many places. However, there is staggering demand for the new iPhone and all the applications that are made for it. Many are anxiously waiting for the launch of iPhone 3G in their countries. As these early numbers indicate, users today want more computing power and web browsing capabilities on their phone and this is what the new iPhone 3G is providing them.

About iPhone App STore

The App Store on iPhone works over cellular networks and Wi-Fi and allows users to purchase and download applications wirelessly and start using them instantly. Applications are free or charged to the user’s iTunes® account and the App Store notifies the user when updates are available for their apps. The App Store is also available in iTunes (www.itunes.com) running on a Mac® or PC, which syncs applications to the iPhone or iPod touch using a USB cable.

Images Source: iPhone App Store