iPhone 4 Pre-Order

The iPhone 4 outsold every previous Verizon smartphone launch to date, all in the first two hours. In fact, Verizon sold out the entire inventory it set aside for existing customers in just 17 hours. The number of units sold has not been released by the company, however they have stopped taking pre-orders and are recommending that interested customers order the iPhone 4 online February 9 starting at 3:01 AM EST.

On February 10, 2011 Verizon Wireless stores will open at 7:00 AM to accommodate the official in-store release day. Verizon offered the early pre-order to existing customers only and has asked employees to wait on getting an iPhone 4 until initial customer demand is fulfilled. Verizon joins the Apple store, Best Buy and selected Wal-Mart stores in offering the CDMA iPhone 4.

Rumors of a Verizon iPhone 4 are hitting a fever pitch even as Apple and the largest US carrier are keeping mum. Two new reports lend more credence to the claim that a CDMA-compatible Verizon Wireless iPhone will be launched in early 2011, only months after the company started selling iPads in its retail stores. Fortune magazine reports that Verizon executives sought to patch things up with Apple after CEO Jobs was initially rebuffed in his attempts to launch the iPhone on the carrier's network.

Sources also told the magazine that a Verizon iPhone was a done deal, coming to a retail location near you. The device is planned to be the current iPhone 4 model, except with a CDMA chip that will only work on Verizon's US network. No specific date was given, however early 2011 could put launch several months before the iPhone 5 is expected in summer 2011.

When the iPhone 3GS came out, I preordered it from Best Buy. On the day before the launch, I got a call to schedule my appointment to pick it up. Knowing that activation would be easier the day after the launch, I set my appointment for the day after. I walked in, picked up my phone and was out the door in about 20 minutes.

We've received emails from several iPhone customers, panicked over the possible loss of their yet-to-ship pre-ordered iPhone 4. These users have all received an email from Apple indicating that their pre-ordered iPhone 4, which was otherwise ready to ship, is being held by Apple based on instructions from AT&T. The letter instructs that Apple will attempt to reprocess the order daily for 7 days, at which time the order will be cancelled if the customer has not resolved the issue with AT&T.

The letter to customers reads:

Some lucky customers have received notification from Apple that their iPhone 4 pre-orders have shipped and will arrive on time. Launch day is June 24, and some of the notifications have listed the "Delivers By" date as June 23, a full day ahead of schedule.

As has happened before, it's likely that shipping companies will hold the package to insure that everyone receives the iPhone 4 on June 24. The iPhone 4 pre-order process has been fraught with difficulties for many customers, including some receiving notification that their pre-order was cancelled, not shipped.