In its first day on sale in Moscow, at least 2,000 iPhone 4 handsets were sold despite shortages and online leaks.
The smartphone went on sale in the Svyaznoy retail chain at 00:01 on Wednesday despite the official Moscow release being scheduled for Friday, September 24. Svyasnoy did not get a green light from Apple to begin sales, a source close to the company said.
Other retailers had to follow Svyaznoy. "Our decision to begin the sales in Moscow on September 22 was forced by the situation on the market," Ulyana Smolskaya, PR director for Euroset mobile phone retailer said.
Numerous leaks before the official release that involved glitches in online ordering embarrassed many buyers.
Svyaznoy had completely sold out of iPhone 4s by midday, with shop assistants recommending buyers wait a week for more stocks to arrive.
In Moscow, 32GB iPhone 4s are sold for 36,900 rubles ($1,190), while 16GB iPhone 4s cost 31,900 rubles ($1,029).
Analysts say the new iPhone 4 will likely surpass sales of the previous iPhone 3 model.
MOSCOW, September 22 (RIA Novosti)
