Apple, AT&T record sale of 600,000 iPhones

NEW YORK: Apple Inc said that it and its phone company partners took orders for more than 600,000 iPhone 4s in one day, the highest number it's ever seen. The companies stopped taking orders for shipment by the June 24 launch day in the US.

The crush of orders sets the scene for long lines and potential chaos at stores when the next version of the iPhone is released. Judging by previous years, shortages could last through the summer.

AT&T Inc, the exclusive carrier in the US, had stopped taking orders, saying it had to focus on fulfilling orders already received.

Apple was accepting orders only for black models, and would only guarantee shipment by July 2. The white model was unavailable for order.

Dallas-based AT&T said it received 10 times as many pre-launch orders on the first day for the new iPhone model as it did for the previous model last year.

AT&T also said it logged more than 13 million visits to a Web page where current customers can check if they're eligible for a subsidized upgrade to the new phone. That number was three times higher than the previous record for upgrade checks.

The price of the phone starts at $199. Customers who aren't eligible for upgrades will pay $200 more.