AT&T Says iPhone 3GS is Hot in a Good Way

The iPhone 3GS is hot according to AT&T. No, I’m not talking about the overheating issues, but a alleged leaked memo from the iPhone’s exclusive U.S. carrier. In the memo, AT&T reports the iPhone 3GS launch day on June 6 was the best-ever sales day for AT&T retail stores, according to MacDaily News. June 6 was also the second largest traffic day for AT&T stores, and the most upgrade eligibility checks in a single day were performed during the iPhone 3GS launch day. The 3GS debut was so huge, for AT&T retail stores anyway, that sales for the device surpassed launch day sales for the iPhone 3G by noon Central Time.

After the iPhone 3GS initial launch weekend, Apple also reported a successful launch of its latest smart phone reporting that it had sold more than one million iPhone 3GS devices at Apple retail locations. That’s the same number Apple used to describe the iPhone 3G launch weekend last year.

What’s surprising, however, is a growing consensus that the iPhone 3GS debut may have been far bigger than the launch of the iPhone 3G. Last summer, the iPhone 3G debut was lauded as the most successful launch of any tech product in history. For days after its initial availability, fans were lining up around the block at Apple Stores across the United States and the world to get their hands on the iPhone 3G. Device shortages were a regular occurrence, and customers in less populated areas were left waiting for months to get their own wonder gadget from Apple.

This year, the lines were not as long for the iPhone 3GS, and the frenzy that accompanied the 2008 iPhone 3G launch was not present.   This could have been for a number of reasons including better inventory supplies on Apple’s part, and a public less willing to line up for days on end just to get their hands on a smartphone.   But if suspicison are correct, then relative customer apathy was not an issue for Apple this year, and the recession may not have made much of an impact on iPhone 3GS sales either.

Other signs of the iPhone 3GS’ popularity are also starting to crop up. Earlier this month, Apple resurrected its iPhone availability tool to help you find the Apple Store with the best 3GS supplies near you. Customers in the United Kingdom and Canada may find it harder to get the iPhone 3GS in the coming weeks. The World of Apple is reporting that two carriers–O2 in Britain and Fido in Canada–have run out of their iPhone inventories; however, Apple Stores in both countries are still stocked up with inventory.

So the iPhone 3GS is shaping up to be the hottest iPhone ever, but we may not know how hot until Apple releases its quarterly earnings report later this month.