Over 1m iPhone 4S Activations So Far Says AT&T

AT&T has activated more than one million of the new iPhone 4S since the handset went on sale, the carrier announced today, after its Q3 financial results suggested demand for Apple's smartphone could be waning. The most successful iPhone launch AT&T has seen, the carrier has confirmed, the reason for the strong demand is down to the speedy HSPA+ support and ability to talk and access data simultaneously, CEO Ralph de la Vega reckons.

On Verizon and other CDMA networks, meanwhile, the iPhone 4S is only capable of accessing EVDO Rev.A data or CDMA voice calls one at a time, not simultaneously. Apple could have worked around this by including LTE support – thus allowing 3G calls and 4G data to be used at the same time – but the company opted instead for longer battery life and less bulk by sticking with 3G.

Apple itself announced that first weekend sales of the iPhone 4S topped four million units, and supplies are now constrained to the point where would-be buyers face either 1-2 weeks delay for online orders or having to pre-book a handset for in-store collection. The demand contrasts with underwhelming sales for Apple in Q3, which CEO Tim Cook blamed on overwhelming media hype around the speculated iPhone 5.