Verizon Wireless said Friday that it stopped iPhone pre-orders for existing customers at 8:10pm Eastern on Thursday, ending what it called its "most successful first day sales in the history of the company."
Verizon did not provide exact stats on how many phones it sold, except to say that it had surpassed previous sales records after only two hours.
"In just our first two hours, we had already sold more phones than any first day launch in our history. And, when you consider these initial orders were placed between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., it is an incredible success story," Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer for Verizon Wireless, said in a statement. "It is gratifying to know that our customers responded so enthusiastically to this exclusive offer - designed to reward them for their loyalty."
Mead said Verizon worked to scale its system to enable "unprecedented customer orders through our Web site." Though there were some reports that customers received error messages when trying to purchase their Verizon iPhone, the orders did not appear to cause significant problems like the ones reported during AT&T's iPhone pre-order phase last summer, though that was open to everyone, not just AT&T customers, and did not occur in the middle of the night.
"Yesterday's launch set the pace for next week when we open up sales to everyone across America," Mead continued.
He said that Verizon customers will have another opportunity to order the phone, though he did not specify. Customers on other providers can start pre-ordering their Verizon iPhone 4's via Apple on Feb. 9 for delivery and pick-up by Feb. 10. Verizon Wireless and Apple stores will also open at 7am local time on Feb. 10, and the phone will also be sold at Best Buy and select Wal-Mart stores.
Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White said in a Friday note that the pre-order news "is quite a statement around the pent up demand from Verizon customers for the iPhone 4, and we believe this speaks to the potential trajectory of demand with Verizon in 2011."
For more, read PCMag's Vicki Jacobson's account of pre-ordering her Verizon iPhone 4 at 3am, and check out our first look at the Verizon iPhone 4 and the unboxing slideshow below.