iPhone sales successful despite activation delays

Apple Inc has announced that opening weekend iPhone sales were a success, despite activation problems on some of the first devices to be launched.

AT&T Corp, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone, reported that its nearly 1,800 stores had virtually sold out.

The device, which went on sale in the US last week, has to be activated through Apple’s iTunes software on a computer.

Customers choose a rate plan and authorize their credit card number and the phone should be activated soon after.

Apple expected it to take a matter of minutes for customers to be assigned a new phone number, and up to six hours for people transferring a number from another operator.

However, according to postings on Apple’s iPhone message board and elsewhere it has taken over 48 hours for some customers to get their phones activated.

Apple is selling the IPhone for between $500 and $600 in the US, depending on the amount of memory supplied, plus fees for activation and a service plan from AT&T.