Apple sells 1 million iPhones in first 3 days

An Apple Store employee rings up orders for the new iPhone in New York, Friday July 11, 2008. Apple Inc.'s new iPhone went on sale Friday to eager buyers worldwide, but there were problems getting the phones to work. (AP Photo/Ed Ou)

NEW YORK—Apple Inc. said Monday it sold 1 million iPhones in the first three days its newest model was on the market.

"IPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend," said Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, in a statement.

However, Jobs did not address widespread software problems that plagued the launch.

On Friday, Apple's servers buckled as buyers tried to activate new iPhones in stores, while owners of older iPhones and the iPod Touch were updating and reactivating their devices.

In stores, employees who couldn't get the new iPhones working sent shoppers home to try again on their own later. At the same time, owners of the older phones were left with unusable units.

Reports of activation snags subsided over the weekend, as Apple's systems apparently recovered, and buyers were able to activate their phones through their home computers. As of Monday, the issues appeared to have been resolved, said analyst Charles Golvin of Forrester Research.

Apple did not respond to calls or e-mails requesting more information about the activation glitches.

Apple had sold about 6 million units of the first-model iPhone since it launched in the U.S. a year ago. The company has set a goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008.

Shares of Apple rose $1.30 to close at $173.88.