Apple Announces Record Pre-Orders For iPhone 5: 2M in 24 Hours, 2X iPhone 4S Day One Sales

Apple today announced that it managed to rack up 2 million pre-orders for the iPhone 5 in 24 hours, two times as many as it managed for the iPhone 4S last year, which sold over 1 million devices during its first 24 hours of pre-order sales. That’s a new record, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been watching the progress of iPhone pre-order sales since the device originally hit the market.

The iPhone 4S eventually went on to sell more than 4 million devices over the course of its first weekend actually on store shelves, so expect the iPhone 5 to blow past that milestone, too. The iPhone 5 is initially available in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the U.K., adding two new countries (Hong Kong and Singapore) to the list of launch regions for the iPhone 4s, so expect that to influence early sales as well, especially since Hong Kong is a popular destination for those looking to resell the iPhone at a premium on the grey market in China.

Apple’s pre-order sales actually went relatively smoothly this time around, with few hiccups in site performance and availability when they went live early Friday morning, by most accounts. The initial crop of iPhone 5s (those shipping immediately in time for the September 21 release date) also sold out much, much faster than previous models, up to 20 times faster than the iPhone 4S. AT&T also saw record pre-order sales, it announced this morning, though specific numbers haven’t yet been released.

• APPLE

Company:Apple

Website:apple.com

Launch Date:April 1, 1976

IPO:NASDAQ:AAPL

Started by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, Apple has expanded from computers to consumer electronics over the last 30 years, officially changing their name from Apple Computer, Inc. to Apple, Inc. in January 2007. Among the key offerings from Apple’s product line are: Pro line laptops (MacBook Pro) and desktops (Mac Pro), consumer line laptops (MacBook Air) and desktops (iMac), servers (Xserve), Apple TV, the Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server operating systems, the iPod, the...

Read More

Facebook sets $28 to $35 price range for IPO

NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook has set a price range of $28 to $35 for its initial public offering of stock.

At the high end, this could raise as much as $11.8 billion. If the underwriters sell the extra stock reserved for overallotments, the IPO will value Facebook at $79.3 billion at the high end of the price range.

That's much higher than any other Internet IPO in the past, even Google Inc. in 2004, which raised $1.9 billion. The range came in a regulatory filing Thursday.

After that, Facebook will go on an "IPO roadshow," where executives talk to potential investors about why they should invest in the stock. If all goes well, Facebook's stock is expected to price on May 17 and make its public debut on May 18.

Facebook's IPO has been highly anticipated, not just because of how much money it will raise but because Facebook itself is so popular. The world's largest online social network has more than 900 million users worldwide.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who turns 28 this month, has emerged as a wunderkind leader who's led Facebook through unprecedented growth from its scrappy start as a hangout for Harvard students.

Zuckerberg will keep tight control over the company even after the IPO. He will control about 58 percent of the company's voting power, through stocks he owns or because other shareholders have promised to vote his way through shares that they own. This means he will have final say over the biggest decisions facing the company even after it goes public.

Zuckerberg will own 31.5 percent of Facebook's outstanding stock after the IPO. At the high end of the expected price range, this will make his holdings worth $17.6 billion. This would put him at around No. 33 of the Forbes lists of the world's richest people, above the likes of Michael Dell and Steve Ballmer.

Facebook's expected valuation will easily surpass well-known corporations such as Kraft Foods Inc
.

Read More