iPhone 4S sells 4 million in three days - but rival moves to block Aussie sales

Reviews for Apple's latest handset are mixed, but  the sales story is clear.

The company says it sold four million units of its iPhone 4S during the phone's first three days on sale.

The new model went onsale Friday in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Australia.

By contrast, the iPhone 4 sold 1.7 million over its first three days.

Since the launch of the previous model, 16 months ago, Apple has moved from one to three carriers in the US.

The iPhone 4S also enjoyed the advantage of being sold in two extra countries at launch (23 further countries will see the new model before the end of the month; New Zealand still has no release date).

BELOW Apple's iPhone may have the edge in sales. But according to this Techcrunch.com smash test, the 4S is way beind Samsung's Galaxy S II in terms of dropability (NBR does note that an iPhone can continue to work with a shattered screen, as an example in our office shows).

Android ahead as a pack
Cellphones running Google's Android software collectively out-sell iPhone by a handy margin, in New Zealand and worldwide (Google activation figures implied sales of 50 million Androids in the June quarter) - yet no single model comes close to Apple's iPhone.

Apple sold 20 million iPhones during its third-quarter, and when it reports its latest period on October 10, analyst firm Morgan, Keegan & Co told The Wall Street Journal it expects the company to report sales of 27 million.

By contrast, Samsung's Galaxy S II, reporteldy the top selling Android, sold 10 million over its first six months.

The Korean company issued a statement today saying models in its Android "S" series, which includes the top-shelf SII (sold here by Telecom and Vodafone) have hit sales of 30 million.

Samsung moves to block Australian sales
Samsung further took the shine off Apple's sales news by launching legal action to block sales of the iPhone 4S in Australia.

Black market boom
The move is part of a tit-for-tat patent war that recently saw Apple block sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android tablet across the Tasman (although Australians have reportedly taken to online retailers in numbers to circumvent the ban).

The dispute is part of 20 patent cases in 10 countries as Apple spars with companies in the Google Android camp over the fast-growing smartphone and tablet markets.

No action has been launched by either company in New Zealand, where the Tab 10.1 is sold by Vodafone and various retailers.