Analysts have begun to speculate whether the iPhone bubble has burst, in light of the latest sales numbers arising from both Europe and the US. A recent earnings conference call saw Apple announce it activated 900,000 iPhones during the fourth quarter. AT&T wrapped up 2007 with “just at or slightly under two million iPhone customers,” according to company executives. However, Apple announced at Macworld earlier this month it has sold 4 million iPhones as of mid January. Although international sales could account for some of the gap, analysts such as Toni Sacconaghi believe there are many iPhones left unaccounted for. “We believe the data points to a significant amount of iPhone channel inventory,” wrote Sacconaghi, a financial analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein. “This is negative in two ways: It indicates end-user demand for iPhone is lower than many investors may think based on Apple’s sales figure and it points to slower iPhone sales in the current quarter, since much of this inventory is likely to be drawn down.”

Meanwhile analysts have been quick to throw cold water on the latest iPhone sales figures from Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile unit. According to CEO Rene Obermann, more than 70,000 iPhones have been sold in Germany since the handset’s introduction in November, a number Obermann called a “good” start. Hannes Wittig, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co, said, “the number is lower than what I expected,” having predicted sales of 150,000 units. “If Deutsche Telekom wants to ramp up sales, it needs to talk to Apple about getting the price lower.”