Apple sells as many as 700,000 iPhones so far

I'll admit it -- I've grown wary of any news these past four days with the word "iPhone" in it. The most-anticipated consumer electronics device in recent memory (forget game consoles) went on sale at 6pm in each local time zone this past Friday courtesy of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). Over the weekend, the reviews came rolling in about how fantastic the device is -- you can see Engadget's iPhone review here -- although there were also reports about the activation problems many customers face. Truth be told, the surge in customer inquiries and complaints that AT&T has had to respond to was bound to cause some leaks in this otherwise well-oiled machine. Probably no company could have fared any better.

Even so, the iPhone's sales continue to ramp up at a rate that is making the industry slack-jawed in awe: 500,000 to 700,000 iPhones have already been sold, according to estimates by industry watchers. Although both Apple and AT&T (NYSE: T) have not released sales figures, this estimate is probably a decently accurate one. Four days and half a million to three-quarters of a million sold? Holy cow. Either AT&T just gained a huge dose of new customers or it gained a decent does of existing but upgrading customers -- or a combination of both. That combination is an important metric, I think, one we will certainly hear about later. Right now, though, Apple is basking in, well, itself. After creating marketing hype that reminded me of the hoopla surrounding the "Blair Witch Project," the iPhone has landed and landed hard.

AT&T and Apple have said that all of their retail locations have nearly sold out of the initial iPhone shipments. Again, in four days. With the numbers of 500,000 (or even topping 750,000), that's a cool $250 million in sales so far. Again, in four days (getting the point here?). AT&T even said that, "We sold more iPhones in the first weekend of sales than in the first month of sales for any device in AT&T history." AAPL shares were at an all-time high this past Friday right before the launch, but were down to just over $121 at the market close yesterday.