Apple announced Monday that in the first three days of availability, it sold 1.7 million iPhone 4 models. That beats previous launch records set by previous iPhone models; the iPhone 3G sold 1 million in its first weekend, while the iPhone 3GS sold "over" 1 million.
"This is the most successful product launch in Apple’s history," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a statement. Still, the success came in spite of some problems, including issues with AT&T's servers which prevented many customers from making successful pre-orders, having no white models available at launch, and supply that was easily outstripped by demand.
"We apologize to those customers who were turned away because we did not have enough supply," Jobs said.
During the launch, there were also two widely reported issues with the design of the new iPhone 4. One was that holding the device in the left palm can short the lower antenna—part of the stainless steel bezel that surrounds the entire device—causing loss of signal and in some cases dropped calls. Jobs told Ars that iPhone users should "just avoid holding it this way," though in an e-mail to another user he suggested that it wasn't a problem and that more information might be forthcoming.
Some users also claim that the specially hardened Gorilla Glass covering is susceptible to shattering when dropped on hard surfaces. This problem isn't really new to the iPhone 4, though—we've seen plenty of cracked iPhone screens since the first one launched in 2007. But this time, the rear cover is also made with the special glass, making it more likely that one side could shatter from being dropped. Luckily, iFixit notes that the rear panel is easily replaceable.
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