iPhone brings Verizon its “most successful first day sales”

Despite being more than half a year old, the iPhone 4 has brought Verizon Wireless what they claim is their “most successful first day sales in the history of the company”. And that was in only two hours of pre-orders! What the what?

In a press release I’m sure they were happy as clams to write, Verizon Wireless proclaimed their first day of iPhone sales an incredible success.

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — At 8:10 p.m. EST yesterday, Verizon Wireless ceased online orders of iPhone 4 to existing customers and ended the most successful first day sales in the history of the company.

“This was an exciting day,” said Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer for Verizon Wireless. “In just our first two hours, we had already sold more phones than any first day launch in our history. And, when you consider these initial orders were placed between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., it is an incredible success story. It is gratifying to know that our customers responded so enthusiastically to this exclusive offer – designed to reward them for their loyalty.

The rest is on their VZW site. So basically, in two hours, in a pre-sale exclusive to existing customers, starting at 3 o’clock in the @#$%& morning, with a phone due to be updated in a few months, despite everyone, including us, extolling the virtue of patience, Verizon Wireless had their strongest launch ever with the iPhone 4. That is a stunning testament to the pent-up demand among VZW customers for the iPhone, despite the attempt to satisfy them with great Android alternatives backed up by strong marketing.

While I don’t think this means iPhone will knock Android off the top of the smartphone heap, it is a sobering reminder that the iPhone’s market share has a self-imposed restriction. If, as many predict, the iPhone is opened to all U.S. carriers this year, the phone industry be in one heck of a horse race.

Via BGR