Apple announced that record numbers of customers pre-ordered the new version of the iPhone when sales opened on Tuesday – but was forced to apologise to those who were unable to order the phone due to website glitches. In a statement Apple said that, along with its operator partners, it took more than 600,000 orders for the iPhone 4 on the first day. “It was the largest number of pre-orders Apple has ever taken in a single day and was far higher than we anticipated, resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions,” Apple said, admitting that “many customers were turned away or abandoned the process in frustration.” According to a Reuters report, Apple’s website said Wednesday afternoon that products ordered then would be shipped by 14 July, three weeks after the phone’s scheduled 24 June launch in stores and slower than the 2 July shipment promised earlier in the day. AT&T – the exclusive distributor in the US – also said it had halted pre-orders and that sales would resume as soon as inventory becomes available. AT&T said orders of the iPhone 4 were ten times higher in their first day than for the iPhone 3GS on its launch day last year.

Many analysts have moved to raise their sales predictions for iPhone 4 following the reports of record demand. Associated Press reports that a Piper Jaffray analyst raised his estimate for iPhone 4 sales by 1 million units Wednesday. In a client note, Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster said he now expects Apple to sell 9.5 million units of the iPhone 4 before the end of the month. He also raised his price target for Apple shares to US$348 from US$330 and reiterated an ‘overweight’ rating on the company.