Both Verizon’s and Apple’s websites have stopped taking pre-orders for CDMA iPhone 4 units. According to an announcement from Verizon, pre-orders were halted at 8:10 p.m. EST yesterday, ending “the most successful first day sales in the history of the company.” Verizon’s website now indicates that customers—presumably all customers, and not just current Verizon customers—will be able to order the phone online beginning at 3:01 a.m.
Eastern Time on February 9, while the handset will launch in stores at 7:00 a.m. local time the following day. Interestingly, both Apple and its GSM carrier partner AT&T sold out of their pre-order allotments of the iPhone 4 within a day, after experiencing technical issues that seemed to be more far-reaching than those faced by Verizon customers yesterday; it’s also worth noting that the Verizon iPhone’s early pre-orders were limited to current Verizon customers, while AT&T’s pre-orders were open to any qualified party.
“This was an exciting day,” said Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer for Verizon Wireless. “In just our first two hours, we had already sold more phones than any first day launch in our history. And, when you consider these initial orders were placed between the hours of 3 a.m.
