14 DAY TRIAL // In what is the biggest mess-up in the history of pre-orders for any Apple product, Apple has released a statement confirming that the company and its carrier partners were unable to cope with demand for the new iPhone 4, “resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions.” The situation, however, is much worse, going by the numerous reports from affected customers whose credit-card information was compromised in the process of pre-ordering the next-generation handset.
Reproduced below is Apple’s original statement on the matter, released yesterday via the Press section of its website.
Statement by Apple on iPhone 4 Pre-Orders
Yesterday Apple and its carrier partners took pre-orders for more than 600,000 of Apple’s new iPhone 4. It was the largest number of pre-orders Apple has ever taken in a single day and was far higher than we anticipated, resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions. Many customers were turned away or abandoned the process in frustration. We apologize to everyone who encountered difficulties, and hope that they will try again or visit an Apple or carrier store once the iPhone 4 is in stock.
The provider of wireless services and exclusive iPhone carrier in the US, AT&T, issued a statement of its own, after deciding to shut down the iPhone 4 pre-ordering system completely. The company compared iPhone 4 pre-orders with those of iPhone 3GS last year saying sales were 10 times higher this time around, and suggested that it had underestimated expectations for this high level of demand. As such, AT&T said it was suspending pre-ordering in order to fulfill the orders it had already received.