AT&T phones have been ringing...

Mar 28, 2007 10:33 GMT  ·  By

Despite many voices in the industry putting it down, the iPhone has captured the imagination and attention of users everywhere. While June, and the very first shipment of iPhones has still a long way to go, calls are already coming in.

The largest U.S. wireless service, Cingular, will be the very first to sell the new music-playing phone when Apple releases it. No doubt, the exclusive deal will leave both companies very happy as the outlook is already very profitable.

During the CTIA wireless technology conference, AT&T Chief Operating Officer Randall Stephenson announced that the public's interest is already growing. "One million people have asked us to call when this phone is available," Stephenson said.

While Cingular is not currently taking advance orders for the device it has already set up a section on its Web Site where visitors can subscribe to receive information on the upcoming phone.

Apple has announced that it could very well sell 10 million of the stylish gadgets that can play both video and music, and if the numbers put forward by AT&T are any indication, that estimate may not be very far off. The iPhone comes in two models, one with 4 gigabytes of flash memory which will cost $499, while the 8-gigabyte version will cost $599.

AT&T shares rose 1 percent to $39.68 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Apple share were flat at $95.85 on Nasdaq.