Customers likely sold on both hardware, and software

Oct 10, 2011 09:32 GMT  ·  By

Australian sources are reporting that Apple’s iPhone 4S has been a hit down under with at least one carrier confirming to the media that it is experiencing huge demand from customers.

Wireless telecommunications companies in Australia were given the green light to start taking pre-orders just this weekend, smh.com.au reports.

Customers looking to buy the phone directly from Apple's online store caused the wait time to be pushed to 1-2 weeks. The reason is simple - unforeseen demand, according to one Australian carrier:

"We've experienced unprecedented interest in iPhone 4S," said a Telstra spokesman. This person added that "tens of thousands" of customers are registered to receive more information (carrier newsletter perhaps), according to the paper.

Another carrier, Optus, said it was "pleased" with the demand, most likely because they run a smaller business than Telstra. However, unlike the latter, Optus is actually accepting pre-orders.

The same goes for Vodafone, the report said. Telstra will do so "soon", as Apple prepares to release the phone to the masses this Friday.

The same situation has been reported in the United States. The nation’s #1 iPhone carrier, AT&T, said in a statement last week that some 200,000 customers had pre-ordered their new iPhone 4S.

The slurp-up was recorded in less than 12 hours, said the operator, which also cited "extraordinary demand" for Apple’s latest handset. AT&T added that this was "the most successful iPhone launch" they'd ever had.

Verizon, for their part, said they were pleased with the sales, adding: "our systems [were] humming very strongly since 3am".

Customers are not buying the iPhone 4S just for the upgraded hardware, but also for the new underlying software, iOS 5, which comes with a nifty personal assistant app that works only on the dual-core chip inside the new handset.

“iPhone 4S plus iOS 5 plus iCloud is a breakthrough combination that makes the iPhone 4S the best iPhone ever,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, right after the company had unveiled the device.

“While our competitors try to imitate iPhone with a checklist of features, only iPhone can deliver these breakthrough innovations that work seamlessly together,” added Schiller.

There is also a theory that Steve Jobs’ recent passing has spurred increased interest in the handset.

iPhone 4S is currently available for pre-order in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK. The phone will be released to 22 more countries by the end of October.