Verizon iPhone preorders sell out on first day

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Initial demand for the Verizon iPhone is strong, as Apple and Verizon both appear to have run out of pre-sale stock of the new CDMA iPhone and are directing customers to wait until Feb. 9 to purchase the device online or Feb. 10 for in-store purchases.



Preorders for the Verizon iPhone began at 3 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, but only for existing Verizon customers. Initial interest appeared heavy, as some customers reported difficulty accessing the Verizon website.



Though it is unclear exactly how many units were offered during Wednesday's preorder, Apple and Verizon have stopped taking orders for the device. Customers interested in purchasing the iPhone 4 on Verizon are directed log back on to either the Verizon or Apple website starting at 3:01 a.m. Eastern on Feb. 9. Retail stores will begin offering the handset at 7 a.m. on Feb. 10.



AppleInsider reported earlier this week that Verizon had sent out a companywide email urging employees not to purchase the iPhone for themselves or their families. "Demand will be unprecedented," wrote Chief Operating Officer John Stratton.



The carrier has asserted that the launch of the iPhone will be flawlessly executed, but has expressed concern that initial supply of the CDMA version of the iPhone 4 may be limited.







Verizon has begun airing a new advertisement for the iPhone 4, featuring the "Verizon Guy," actor Paul Marcarelli. Displaying dramatic closeups of the iPhone 4, a voice-over says, ""It's beautiful. It's intelligent, even genius. But does your network work?" The phone rings and Marcarelli answers: "Yes, I can hear you now," in an apparent jab at AT&T's notoriously poor coverage.







The first Verizon ad for the iPhone 4 was a teaser, depicting clocks ticking and people waiting without ever showing the actual device. Apple has also released a TV spot for the Verizon iPhone 4, though it promotes AT&T as well by noting that "two is better than one."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 48
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Maybe AAPL will start to go to where it should be soon!
  • Reply 2 of 48
    bagmanbagman Posts: 349member
    This mirrors the ATT launch last June - almost exactly. Wonder what the pre-order numbers were, compared to ATT last year? When I ordered mine at the ATT local store then, it was already sold out online, but the ATT store got my order in the system by 1pm that day, just before they had to stop taking in store orders. Mine was delivered by mail the day before the official launch a week later, even though they warned that it may take longer than 10-14 days to ship. Apple's experience certainly helped Verizon in what to expect, and I would imagine the long lines will be in place next week, similar to the ATT launch.



    Even though this is a peculiar situation, it will be interesting to compare numbers of Verizon iP4's sold, compared with those sold during the "normal" launch date of June last year on ATT, even though you would expect it to be lower on Verizon, since many will choose to wait until June for iP5, or perhaps it will be adjusted by switchers from ATT (I would expect many less would switch from ATT, since waiting until June for the iP5 makes more sense, just to see the experience on the Verizon network by "real users" in substantial numbers (read millions), not basing information solely on privileged commentators who tested the units before launch under less-than-real-world conditions.



    Gee, where's Consumer Reports to say that "a pox be on both houses", and that we should all ignore the top two smartphones in their ratings, which will both be iP4's of course.



    Any bets here on numbers of units sold in the first full month?
  • Reply 3 of 48
    I've tried to order since midnight, even had a Verizon Cust Svc Rep enter the billing and shipping addresses with me, only to find it was a widespread problem under master ticket # S0862619. And now the pre-order is over. So if Verizon can't even take orders on their web site, and they refuse to take orders via phone, it does not bode well for Verizon's ability to handle the iPhone.
  • Reply 4 of 48
    The ending of the new ad cracked me up..
  • Reply 5 of 48
    So far Verizon is Not doing much better than ATT. Wait till next week.I don't think weve seen anything yet!

    Verizons been practicing for 3 years getting ready for that 'flawless' execution.
  • Reply 6 of 48
    bagmanbagman Posts: 349member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by robko View Post


    I've tried to order since midnight, even had a Verizon Cust Svc Rep enter the billing and shipping addresses with me, only to find it was a widespread problem under master ticket # S0862619. And now the pre-order is over. So if Verizon can't even take orders on their web site, and they refuse to take orders via phone, it does not bode well for Verizon's ability to handle the iPhone.



    Could you order one directly from the Verizon store in person, similar to what ATT provided last June during the pre-order period, or were they prevented from taking online orders in the stores?
  • Reply 7 of 48
    Received email from Verizon at 9:15 CST that my iPhone 4 had shipped via UPS. No tracking info available when I last checked.
  • Reply 8 of 48
    Après iP4, le deluge.



    They have no clue!
  • Reply 9 of 48
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    Whoever it was who predicted the number of hours it would take to sell out, should step forward and pound their chest and do an end-zone dance.
  • Reply 10 of 48
    Great commercial!
  • Reply 11 of 48
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    The sun rises in the east.
  • Reply 12 of 48
    Any guesses how many were allocated for pre-order?
  • Reply 13 of 48
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Initial demand for the Verizon iPhone is strong, ....



    Preorders for the Verizon iPhone began at 3 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, but only for existing Verizon customers. Initial interest appeared heavy, as some customers reported difficulty accessing the Verizon website.



    ....



    Verizon has begun airing a new advertisement for the iPhone 4, featuring the "Verizon Guy," actor Paul Marcarelli. Displaying dramatic closeups of the iPhone 4, a voice-over says, ""It's beautiful. It's intelligent, even genius. But does your network work?" The phone rings and Marcarelli answers: "Yes, I can hear you now," in an apparent jab at AT&T's notoriously poor coverage.



    ....



    The first Verizon ad for the iPhone 4 was a teaser, depicting clocks ticking and people waiting without ever showing the actual device. Apple has also released a TV spot for the Verizon iPhone 4, though it promotes AT&T as well by noting that "two is better than one."





    When ThinkSecret and Appleinsider got into trouble by the big AAPL a few years ago, one rumor sight disappeared and the other did not. Since then, the content of ai always seems to verge from the hysterical apple fan (which is fine) to the programmed PR piece.



    What reporting is in this story other than disseminating designed hype and reminding of Big red advertising? ("sold out"!!(?) - how bout try who? what? where? when? why?)

    Further, The Leaks that do come out of ai are now front page and string along AAPL timelines - as opposed to buried in the forums somewhere and removed after lawyers say so.



    AAPL's "we do not comment on future products" is red herring re their communication stradegy - and this site is evidence of that.



    Seems to be a very cleanly designed agreement going on about what to report and when - oh and please chew up google please - to let get everyone ready for the next reality distortion field.



    Or I'm just getting old and cranky for the good old days of undisclosed spy shots and pull down notices.
  • Reply 14 of 48
    This people is why an iPhone on "Dinosaur" CDMA tech is a good idea. With 95 million customers, if Verizon was a country, it would be the 11th most populous in the world.
  • Reply 15 of 48
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by waytogobuddy View Post


    Or I'm just getting old and cranky for the good old days of undisclosed spy shots and pull down notices.



    After Gizmodo Chen, that side of the business has moved to Asia. (Just as the serious political leaks business has moved to Europe).



    You've got a long 'cranky' coming!
  • Reply 16 of 48
    AT&T has not been that bad in my area for one thing. I'm in a valley that's blocked so I got the MicroCell tower in my home and it works well.



    AT&T service should greatly improve even further if a lot of people bail out from them to go to Verizon. Suddenly AT&T will be much snappier as a result of this.
  • Reply 17 of 48
    ha!
  • Reply 18 of 48
    Oops ...



    Quote:

    My mind is just boggling. Far from scoring a coup, Verizon may have just bought the biggest bag of substanceless hype and wind Steve Jobs has ever peddled while AT&T snickers behind its hand. The iPhone brand is in worse shape than I thought was even possible. And the implications of that are huge.



    First: We can expect Verizon?s iPhone sales to be anemic. A bit of arithmetic applied to this chart tells us Verizon has been churning about 93M * 1.42% * 3 = 396K customers a quarter ? about the same as that deadly 400K. The smart way to bet is that most of Verizon?s potential Apple customers decamped to AT&T long ago and are part of that 90% saturation.



    Second: Anybody betting their dollars or reputation that Apple?s ?superior user experience? would guarantee it perpetually increasing market share just took it on the chin, hard. AT&T?s CEO has just told us as plainly as a CEO ever does that that theory is busted. AT&T?s bet is on Android now.



    Third: The iPhone is in deep trouble. 4.1 million activations looks like a lot, but any product manager will tell you that in a market moving as fast as smartphones, a product with less that 10% new customers in a quarter is usually only a few quarters from market share decline. Comparing this to the 600% quarter-over-quarter growth rates Android has been posting just doesn?t look good.



    http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=2898
  • Reply 19 of 48
    I guess it's a good thing I ordered mine at 3 am. Now maybe I'll get it before the 10th
  • Reply 20 of 48
    adonissmuadonissmu Posts: 1,776member
    Apple meet orange. Os to os device to device. Name one android device or flavor that has outsold iPhone or iOS.
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