Apple, AT&T sell 1 million new iPhones in 3 days; users download 10 million applications

Steve Jobs can take another bow. The new iPhone 3G has sold a whopping one million units in the first three days, more than double what some analysts anticipated.

"iPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend," Apple CEO Jobs said. The device went on sale in 21 countries last Friday. Jobs noted that it took 74 days to sell a million of the original iPhone, one of the fastest-moving products till then. Not any more. (See: Apple's iPhone 3G goes on sale - a Kiwi snaps up the first one)

Apple said problems encountered by consumers and store salespeople activating the phones was caused by too much traffic on the iTunes network. Apple and AT&T use iTunes to activate the phones.

That brings the total number of iPhones sold since the launch of the first generation phone to more than 7 million. Apple's stated goal of reaching 10 million iPhones sold by the end of the year seems well within reach.

Apple ran out of iPhones in 95 stores, based on an online inventory tally posted on the company's Web site Sunday night.

Apple and AT&T, based in Dallas, said last week they expected the activation process would take 15 minutes or less. Both companies demanded American customers pick a two-year service plan at the time of purchase, a move designed to prevent buyers from reselling the phone or unlocking it to work on unauthorized wireless networks.

The new 3G model, available in black and white, sells for as little as $199 in the United States. Shoppers seem to prefer the black, 16-gigabyte model, which sells for $299, based on the inventory tally at each of Apple's stores in 38 states. (See: Sleeker, faster, cheaper – Steve Jobs unveils new iPhone 3G)

Unlimited data plans start at $30; voice plans start at $40 for 450 weekday minutes, setting the minimum monthly cost of owning a fully functional iPhone 3G at $70. Previously, the combined iPhone voice/data plans started at $60.

The sales record is another indication that consumers are embracing phones with multimedia features. In June, Sprint said the Samsung Instinct, a multimedia touch screen phone with features similar to the iPhone, was its fastest selling phone ever.

But the iPhone sales are only part of the success story. During that same time, owners of both the new and old iPhone were able to download 10 million apps from the newly launched App Store on iTunes, despite a few hiccups with the iPhone 2.0 software update disabling many people's phones temporarily on Friday. "The App Store is a grand slam," said Jobs.