UPDATE 1-Sprint says iPhone sales beat expectations
* Shares rise 1 cent to $2.80 in late tradeOct 14 (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel said on Friday that
sales of Apple Inc iPhones surpassed its expectations
and that iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S broke the “device family”
one-day sales record for the No. 3 U.S. mobile service.Sprint, the third U.S. operator to carry iPhone, is under
pressure to sell a lot of iPhones as investors have been
fretting over how it will pay for the higher subsidies that
carriers pay for Apple products. Sprint was heavily criticized
for failing to comment on its iPhone costs at an analyst day
last week.”Sprint today reported its best ever day of sales in
retail, web and telesales for a device family in Sprint history
with the launch of iPhone 4S and iPhone 4,” Fared Adib, Sprint
product chief, said in a statement.Without giving specific numbers, Adib said Sprint reached
the milestone at about 1 p.m. EDT on the day of the iPhone 4S
store launch. It started taking preorders on Oct. 7.”The response to this device by current and new customers
has surpassed our expectations and validates our customers’
desire for a truly unlimited data pricing plan,” he said.Apple’s new iPhone went on sale in seven countries around
the globe on Friday, prompting long queues at many stores from
Sydney to Tokyo to New York.Sprint shares closed up 1 cent at $2.79 on the New York
Stock Exchange. The shares edged up to $2.80 in after-hours
trade.
