No one should be surprised to hear that Verizon Wireless had a record day as far as device sales go yesterday. Within two hours of opening up pre-orders for the iPhone 4, the carrier beat its full day total for any other device launch.
Verizon Wireless won’t say how many existing customers pre-ordered the iPhone by the end of the day, but analysts peg the total around 100,000. No doubt that figure will pale in comparison to the sales Verizon is set up for on Feb. 10 when the iPhone is available to any one and at multiple retail outlets.
“Overall, it was a very good day,” Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead said to the Wall Street Journal in a statement. “Yesterday’s launch set the pace for next week when we open up sales to everyone across America.”
Beginning next Thursday, Verizon Wireless’ iPhone will be available at its retail stores in addition to stores owned by Apple Inc., Best Buy Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
In other news, the carrier said that it will begin to throttle data speeds for its heaviest users when the network becomes overburdened. The new policy only applies to customers under new contracts beginning Feb. 3, which by no coincidence was the first day iPhones could be ordered. Contrasting with AT&T Mobility’s current iPhone data package, Verizon Wireless is offering unlimited data plans on the device for $30 a month. This move is clearly a pre-emptive attempt to maintain control over iPhone data use while the carrier maintains that it can handle the deluge of data to come thanks to the iPhone’s arrival.