Apple Inc. on Monday said it sold more than 1.7 million units of iPhone 4 in the first three days since its debut, a record high for any new product launched by the company.

According to Apple, sales of iPhone 4 hit 1.7 million last Saturday, three days after the new handsets hit stores in the United States, Japan, France, Germany and Britain on June 24.

"This is the most successful product launch in Apple's history, " Steve Jobs, the company's chief executive officer, said in a statement.

"Even so, we apologize to those customers who were turned away because we did not have enough supply," Jobs added.

Compared with previous models, the iPhone 4 is thinner, has better display and a front-facing camera and can allow users to make video calling through an application named FaceTime.

Apple and its partners took more than 600,000 orders for the iPhone 4 on June 15, the first day when pre-order started, setting a new record of pre-orders for an Apple product in a single day.

The unexpected strong demand forced AT&T, iPhone's exclusive wireless carrier in the U.S., to suspend taking advance orders.

Sales momentum of the iPhone 4 is likely to continue as the company rolls out the new phone in more countries and regions.

Apple said its new generation of iPhone will be available in 88 countries and regions by the end of September.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2010)