• Information Week, Friday, February 4, 2011 12:04 PM

Watch out, Android! Out of the gate, Verizon-supported iPhones are reportedly selling faster than buttered hotcakes.  "Verizon has seen such high demand for the device that it has taken several steps to make sure that customers are able to get one," reports InformationWeek. According to a leaked memo published by AppleInsider, Verizon has even asked its employees and their relatives to wait before buying an iPhone for themselves. Verizon Wireless Chief Operating Officer John Stratton wrote in an email to its retail managers: "Demand will be unprecedented."

On Friday, CNet reported: "Verizon today said that it has suspended preorders of the iPhone 4 after registering what it called the most successful first-day sales in the company's history." "In just our first two hours, we had already sold more phones than any first day launch in our history," Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless, said in a statement. Verizon did not disclose how many iPhones were sold, but yesterday said it had set aside a "limited quantity" of iPhone 4 devices for preorder.

Adding to the frenzy, reviews of the Verizon iPhone 4 have been very positive. Top tech pundits, including The Wall Street Journal's Walter Mossberg and NYT's David Pogue reported better experiences and, critically, fewer dropped calls than with AT&T-supported iPhones. Earlier this week, Mossberg wrote in his review, "I can say that, at least in the areas where I was using it, the Verizon model did much, much better with voice calls."

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