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James Martin/CNET
Reports of underwhelming iPhone sales on Verizon’s network seem to have been exaggerated.
That’s according to Verizon Wireless CEO Daniel S. Mead, who in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) said that the carrier had sold more iPhone 4s during its launch period than any product so far.
Despite Verizon’s announcement that it had its most successful first-day sales ever during a pre-order period prior to the phone’s launch, alleged sales numbers from 5 of Apple’s stores pointed at sales numbers in the mid triple digits. As CNET noted at the time, this was just 5 of more than 230 Apple Stores that had been selling the Verizon iPhone, and the numbers didn’t include any hard data from Verizon’s own retail stores, where iPhone 4s were also being sold. Mead also told the Journal that 60 percent of Verizon’s sales had been online, which would overshadow some of the reported numbers from the 2 different retail venues.
Along with the inside look at the company’s sales, Mead also hinted to the Journal that Apple will bring a product to market that will work on Verizon’s “4G” long-term evolution (LTE) network. “They understand the value proposition of LTE, and I feel very confident that they are going to be a part of it,” he said.
