De La Vega: iPhone 3G S demand exceeding expectations; “hundreds of thousands” of pre-orders
While no official numbers are available just yet of course, AT&T Mobility Prez Ralph De La Vega has just issued a preliminary 3G S assessment during an interview with CNBC. According to De La Vega, iPhone 3G S demand is exceeding AT&T’s expectations and “hundreds of thousands of customers” have pre-ordered the new Apple handset. The smartphone space is definitely heating up, what with competitive offerings like the “BlackBerry RIM” (1:17 in the video below) gaing ground every day, but it looks like Apple’s updated iPhone — however modest said update may be — will still manage to have a killer opening weekend. We certainly won’t see numbers anywhere near last year’s iPhone 3G launch but recent high profile launches such as that of the Palm Pre will apparently pale in comparison. Hit the jump for the De La Vega interview vid.
…I got my 2 units……
@bela
Ummmm everyone apparently knows this except for you. But those pre-orders were delivered to peoples houses. THEY DON’T HAVE TO GO TO THE STORE TO PICK THEM UP. So of course you would not see any lines.
@Len
Generally, it is consistent among most of the general tech blogs. People just seem to care more about iPhone than they do for the Pre. Pre is not doing as well as people thought it would. Well, I didn’t think it would do that well … Palm really made some mistakes with the release. They have been making mistakes since the beginning, and that is why they are failing as a company.
I use a bb 8330 on sprint, all the other RIM offerings are just 8330’s with different form factors, nothing new=boring. Pre bottom edge can and will scratch your face, I know trust me. Have played with many an iphone=best consumer handset bar none, that is why it gets the coverage and adoration. Hate it or love it, it is the best.
Just got back from the Apple store at Biltmore here in Arizona. I just wanted an accessory! LOL Long lines and a 45 minute wait outside when I got there and the line was still growing. Very bad day to buy accessories at the Apple store.
BGR, you have no shame as a Iphone fanboy. Get a life!
@On
You have no idea what you are talking about.
At&t preorders were delivered IN STORE.
Check your facts before you are nasty to other people.
I guess you are a fanboi?
I have an iPhone 3G, and I would never dish out 300-400 bucks for the same thing, with a video camera.
Its a pathetic update, and they just did it to milk the cow.
My cellphones from 10 years ago had video recording.
And you can flame me all day, I couldnt care less.
This dumbass needs to spend that newly claimed cash on his network so that it can perform the way its supposed to. As of right now i can hold a call on t-mobile in a service area with 1 bar and my iphone 3G cant even make a phonecall with 4-5 bars. FML! Why am i paying for this piece of crap…
I see the iPhone becoming the next RAZR milk it till it worthless and then nobody will want it…
Palm will be sold by Sring 2010, so it’s not a player. Sprint will be split by the giants.
Let’s see what AT&T will be when the iPhone is not exclusive anymore. It’s not going to be pretty!
ATT/Cingular wasn’t setting the world on fire before the iphone. Verizon becomes the king in subscribers by acquiring regional carriers. Sprint is decidedly third in subs – but has 50 MILLION subscribers. And their boost prepaid does well also. You don’t just “split up” 50 million people.
And Palm was king of smartphones for a long time. They got lazy and complacent and the industry passed them by. Didn’t help that they split hardware/software divisions. But EVERYONE that had a high end phone had a treo.
The treo was the iphone before the iphone.
But when the iphone leaves ATT – the real ATT will show back up and they will bleed customers.
so are you gonna make tweet genius for the iPhone? Since it’s in such high demand and all
Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone) at: New York United States
The carrier you prefer to whine about (what did it ever do to you besides possibly take your money for services rendered?) has more smartphone offerings and more smartphone subscribers, by FAR, than any other carrier.
Treo was the iPhone before the iPhone? THAT’S a RIOT! Thanks for the laugh. Poor Palm. Always a bridesmaid …
The point is ATT was/is shit. People tolerate it for the iphone.
And the treo was the iphone before the iphone. Short of a razr the treo was the phone mobile professionals carried – regardless of their carrier.
The i phone is the device to have. Its currently sought after – like the treo was – 5 years ago.
Apple wasn’t always king folks. And ask Palm how easy it is to slip.
I know, I know…. It’ll never happen…. Whatever. The only constant in business is that it is seldom constant.
Obviously, you didn’t graduate from UF’s Warrington business school if you believe that the Treo ever had the market weight that iPhone has. I’ve gone thru the Treo lineage personally and know well enough that it may have held its ground (but that is all) for what it was, but a tiny unknown company by the name of RIM has always left Palm in the dust. Always. As for the lame comparison to the iPhone, you’re out of your mind. If Palm had enjoyed the level of success with a line of phones that Apple has enjoyed with a single model on a single carrier, Palm’s history would NOT be what it is. You can’t have it both ways, no matter how inconvenient that is.
If people only tolerated AT&T for the iPhone, why are they the largest carrier where smartphone subscribers are concerned? Lots of not-so-bright people who can’t get out of there own way using smartphones?
It’s really cool (not) that some people commenting made fun of the guy because he is Mexican. Jealous racists is not a good thing.
@ralph de la vegA
i sold all my 3Gs’s today like a good rep,
make my COU an iphone?
i have a curve… lame.
Hell yes as soon as Apple leaves AT&T im gone!
is it me or is gaing supposed to be gaining?
I’ll buy the iPhone the moment it implements an automatic condom dispenser. Till then, I’ll stick to my Blackberry.
I agree I’m fed uo with bgr as well its a apple fan boy site that may report news on other devices. And most of the followers are apple groupies as well. Yess I own a palm pre and its an amazing device. It deserves well more than 11 postings on a site like this. I put it this way when you speak about the pre they never made mention of how there were no issues with activations…if I recall bgr even had issues with the iphone when it came out. It took apple 3…and I repeat 3 freaking phones to get what most of the Pre has now. Do me a favor get off of apples jockstrap. I’m a gadget fanatic and I THINK the iphone is ok. But I think its not as groundbreaking as webos or the pre…ps please tell the apple fanboys again how webos will be taunting iphones with flash by the end of the year..
@the pauper-in-drag above: What are you sobbing about? If you’re genuinely so upset over the number of blog posts here on the Pre, Engadget is all over the Pre’s crotch with mouth wide-open (since that seems to suit your fancy a bit more).
For the record, there have been quite an abundance of entries here leading up to and since the Pre’s release. Why don’t you ask your Pre for directions to them since you’re so obviously lost. What? No voice-dialing or command?
Time for you to go back and re-review your “How To Post Propaganda” manual again.
bla bla de la “vedga” he is so full of crap and can these reporters be more lame and less tech savy? the blackberry RIM? nano technology?
whats uo with the mo-hawk?
This guy is such an ass.
And you see how he deviates from questions with promotion advertisements and glorification of iphone.?
Every time they ask him a question he does not like, he then starts to praise the phone to try to deviate from it.
If i was the anchor I would of kept asking and asking until he answered or he walked off.
Just like SPRINT said, in their question and comment the anchor said.
AT&T keeps charging more and more and now people are paying way too much for services that really don’t work and broken.
And contracts are over extended.
In order to get the iphone you have to renew your contract for 2 years minimum.
AT&T does not allow MMS pics and MMS audio,
they say it takes up too much bandwidth.
Verizon offered Apple a super deal to take over iphone, but AT&T fought it and even threaten about it.
But AT&T time is almost up…!!
soon the iphone will be on every network, people will leave AT&T by the millions because of their stupidity.
I can’t believe AT&T is charging 100 dollars a month and locking customers down and barely giving any services.
dog chaining their customers of whats rightfully theirs.
We can use their services, but we are restricted on what we can use.
and the constant bottle necking of AT&T’s network is killing customers and their pockets.
The very day iphone leaves AT&T is the same day I will follow Apple to another network.
So have your fun now AT&T,
soon it will be all over.
And someone needs to shoot Ralph De La Vega in the head
with a very large caliber weapon.