That the recent debut of the next-generation Apple iPhone 4 is apparently an unmatched success is evident from the fact that the launch-day sales figures of handset are estimated to have touched a much enviable 1.5 million mark – that too in spite of the reports of issues with the handset’s display and innovative antenna engineering!

Though a majority of the sales of iPhone 4 comprised the current iPhone users upgrading to the new handset; a notable number of new users have also reportedly jumped into the iPhone bandwagon.

According to the statistics forwarded by Piper Jaffray researchers, existing iPhone users upgrading to the new iPhone accounted for nearly 77 percent of the launch-day sales of the iPhone 4 units. As such, over 1.1 million iPhone users switched to the redesigned iPhone 4; while around 350,000 new users also bought the handset on the launch day.

Going by the statistics, Apple acquired more new iPhone customers than the ‘exaggerated record launch’ of the HTC EVO 4G on Sprint network. In addition, Apple also increased its smartphone market share by almost three times more than the first-day sales of the Motorola Droid on Verizon Wireless.

Moreover, AT&T revealed another aspect of the iPhone 4 sales – reporting that almost forty percent of the iPhone purchases were for business purposes. If those figures are correct, nearly 600,000 of the estimated
1.5 million iPhone 4 units sold were for business use.