A Look At Apple Since The iPhone Launch

Sramana Mitra submits: It has been a month since the launch of the iPhone and in this post we will see how Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been doing since the launch.

Following the launch, estimates of the first weekend sales of iPhone took the figure to an over optimistic and ridiculous level of 700,000. The announcements from AT&T and Apple brought it down to 146,000 activations and 270,000 sales (including accessories, it appears). Though it looks modest in comparison to the earlier estimates, it is nevertheless a strong sale and Apple expects to sell 1 million iPhones in the first three months. May be more. The iPod took a bit of time to hit its stride, and there is no reason for the iPhone to not follow suite.

A USA Today report on iPhone customer satisfaction shows that despite initial activation glitches, 90% of the customers are very happy with their iPhones. However, the report says that the customers wish the iPhone had longer battery life, faster Internet speed and more internal memory. AT&T being the exclusive carrier does not seem to be a problem with 50% of the buyers switching from another carrier. [It is with me, and I have not switched from Verizon yet.]

Another issue with the iPhone is its high cost. As per the report, it ranks as the No. 1 reason for deterring consumers interested in the device from buying an iPhone. When viewed as a laptop-replacement device, the iPhone