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Neither Apple nor AT&T disclosed precise sales figures. Tech and telecom analysts estimated sales of 500,000 to 700,000 units of the combination phone, iPod and pocket Internet device by Sunday.
"It's a phenomenal start," said Gene Munster of equity firm Piper Jaffray. "Apple had an incredible weekend."
Munster's sales estimate: $250 million.
Munster estimates that 95% of iPhone buyers bought the more-expensive $599 iPhone with 8 gigabytes of storage (it's also available for $499 with 4 GB of storage) and that Apple kept most of the phone inventory for its own retail stores.
"The big flagship Apple Stores had as many as 10,000 phones per store, compared to about 50 at the AT&T stores," he said.
Still, AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said, "We sold more iPhones in the first weekend of sales than in the first month of sales for any device in AT&T history."
In a note to investors, analyst David Bailey at Goldman Sachs wrote that Apple had more initial stock on hand "than any other product introduction we could remember for the company."
When it was introduced in 2004, Apple's colorful iPod Mini quickly sold out, and Apple had shortages for weeks.
Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris wouldn't say which stores have inventory left. But she says new phones are being delivered daily. "The response to the iPhone has been incredible. We're thrilled," she said.
Apple has a website tool (www.apple.com/retail/iphone) that lets consumers type in their ZIP code to determine — after 9 p.m. local time — where to find an available iPhone the next day.
Over the weekend, some customers contacted Apple and AT&T to complain of long waits to activate the phone, but AT&T says the problems have been addressed and fixed.
The problems are "substantially behind us," spokesman Siegel said.
Since activation of the phone takes place at home, not in the store as with most cellphones, Apple cashiers were able to move a lot more phones over the weekend, Munster said. "They could process up to 1,000 sales per hour," he said.
Munster watched the action from the huge Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. He says he saw few people adding Mac computers or iPods to their baskets. "The extras will come later," he says. "Most people went in to get an iPhone, picked up a case or extra charger and left. They wanted to get home and play with the phone."
Investors ran up Apple stock to all-time highs before Friday's iPhone launch. On Monday, shares were down 78 cents in regular trading at $121.26 and fell 1 cent in after-hours trading.
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