Apple iPhone Outsells Other Smartphones, Devices Spotted In China's Black Market

The iHype continues but some are questioning how much longer it will last: recent figures from analysts iSuppli say that there were more iPhones sold than other smartphones in the U.S., accounting for 1.8 percent of all sales, or 220,000 handsets. But the entire July figure is still less than Apple was able to sell in the first two days it was released, writes the San Jose Mercury News. Following this pattern, it means that sales will likely fall short of Apple’s original target of selling 1 million phones by the end of September: “Given the error margin in iSuppli’s estimate, consumers bought between 200,000 and 240,000 iPhones in July, according to iSuppli’s research. At that pace, consumers would buy between 600,000 and 720,000 by the end of Apple’s fiscal quarter in September.” The article notes one disparity in sales figures: Apple would count how many handsets it has shipped both to retailers and consumers, while iSuppli is counting how many are actually sold through retailers. Launches in other countries could also help boost iPhone figures…although the recent reports of the product hitting China is probably not what Apple had in mind in its strategy to expand into new markets.

IPhones are showing up everywhere, usually in tandem with stories about how to unlock them. There’s a few dozen iPhones being used in Australia, according to the SMH, running on the “TurboSIM” hack — which involves getting a special SIM card. One has also been sold on eBay for double the US sale price. Meanwhile, a 17 year old anonymous schoolboy has signed on to sell the software hack from iPhoneSimFree that has raised so much publicity, the SMH reports today. It will go for AU$59 (US$48.43).