iPhone roundup: Apple claims 1M sold, issues refunds for activation delays

The lines for the iPhone 3G S may not have been as long as they were for last year's 3G, but Apple claims that the new model is selling at the same blistering pace. Also: Apple offers $30 store credits for those suffering activation woes.

First up: The crowds may not have been as big or chaotic on Friday as they were at last year's launch, but based on analyst estimates and Apple's own claims, the iPhone 3G S is a hit nonetheless.

Apple announced Monday morning that it sold a million iPhone 3G S units worldwide in just three days, matching last year's figures for the iPhone 3G.

Analysts were a bit more conservative with their 3G S numbers. Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster estimates that Apple sold about 750,000 units of the new iPhone, with sales tilting toward the 16GB model (57 percent, versus 43 percent for the 32GB version), according to Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog.

But judging even from the more cautions estimates, Apple clearly has reason to pump its fists today. After all, the conventional wisdom just a week ago was that Apple would be lucky to clear 500,000 iPhone 3G Ss during its launch weekend.

Apple's triumphant press release Monday is notable for another reason: a direct quote from Steve Jobs, who's due to return to Apple after his six-month medical leave. Jobs also made headlines over the weekend after the Wall Street Journal reported that he'd undergone a liver transplant in April.

Meanwhile, the high-fives at Apple HQ were interrupted by complaints of long activation delays for some iPhone 3G S customers, myself included.

While many said they managed to get their new iPhones activated within minutes, others—especially those who pre-ordered and got their handsets delivered to their homes—were hit with a message in iTunes saying that it might "take up to 48 hours" to activate their devices due to "current activation volumes."

It's not clear how widespread the activation problems were, although I saw plenty of complaints on Apple forums over the weekends—along with a variety of proposed remedies, including turning your iPhone on and off, removing and replacing the SIM card, swapping out the 3G S's SIM with one from an old iPhone 3G, and yelling at AT&T customer support (always fun, if not terribly constructive).

What finally worked for me was calling AT&T on Saturday and (courteously) giving them the IMEI and ICCID numbers for my new phone (both numbers are located on the bottom of the iPhone box). Once I read off the numbers and the service rep added them to my account, it was a simple matter of turning my 3G S off, waiting a few moments, and turning it back on again—and within seconds, the phone was activated.

So … was it a matter of high server volume, or a disconnect between AT&T and Apple? Whatever the reason, Apple began handing out $30 store credits via e-mail Sunday (if not earlier, according to Gizmodo) to frustrated iPhone 3G S owners still awaiting activation. It's not clear who exactly qualifies for the $30 credit or if there's an application process—I know I didn't get one, but I didn't have to wait all that long to get my iPhone activated, either.

Show of hands: Who bought an iPhone 3G S over the weekend? Have any trouble activating it? Let us know.