Figures still disappoint some analysts
Apple announced yesterday that it has sold over five million iPhone 5 devices, just three days after the smartphone's launch on 21 September. The company added that more than 100 million iOS devices have been updated with iOS 6 in the same period.
Yet while demand for iPhone 5 exceeded the initial supply, the sales have fallen short of some analyst expectations that predicted sales of six million to eight million over the weekend in the eight countries the device has initially gone on sale. iPhone 4 sold more than four million devices in its first weekend on sale in seven countries.
However, Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, said: 'Demand for iPhone 5 has been incredible and we are working hard to get an iPhone 5 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible. While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date.'
Following the controversy over iPhone 5’s lack of Google Maps in favour of Apple's own version, which does not work properly, Google's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, has stated that his company has no intention of providing Google Maps for the App Store at this point and that is would be Apple's call.
Apple's Map app, which uses data from Dutch satnav maker TomTom, is all that iPhone 5 users will have to navigate by for the foreseeable future commented Schmidt, who stated: 'We have not done anything yet. We think it would have been better if they had kept ours. But what do I know?'
Schmidt was in Japan to launch Google's Nexus tablet, which includes a new Google Maps feature that allows the user to move the tablet around them and without touching the screen, the map moves as though it is seeing what the user sees.
