The latest iPhone surpassed $700 in late trading yesterday after announcing record first-day orders…
The iPhone 5, which features a bigger screen, faster chip and a lighter body, sold 2 million units in first-day orders, more than double a record set by the previous model. Since its 2007 debut, the device has become Apple’s top-selling product.
“It leaves me in awe,” said Rex Ishibashi, chief executive officer of Callaway Digital Arts Inc. which develops games for the iPhone. “It’s reflective of how important these devices and these digital technologies have become in our lives.”
Apple’s surge gathered steam Sept. 14, after it began taking orders for iPhone 5. Apple’s website said new orders wouldn’t ship until Sept. 28, a week after the handset is due in stores, an indication that supply may be running thin.
IPhone sales last quarter alone reached $16.2 billion, 33 percent higher than Google Inc.’s total and almost as much as Microsoft Corp.’s $18.1 billion in revenue.
Shares climbed as high as $701.79 after reaching a record $699.78 at the close in New York. The stock has advanced 73 percent this year.
The company’s shares are also getting a boost from a legal victory in August, when a jury said Samsung copied the iPhone. The outcome of the California trial may result in a ban on certain Samsung phones in the U.S., and it ratchets up pressure on Apple competitors to make their products less like the iPhone and iPad.
The company will keep generating the revenue growth that transformed it from a niche computer manufacturer into the world’s most valuable business.
