Barely three months after the much hyped iPhone appeared, it has sold 1 million units.
On the other hand, it took Apple two years to sell 1 million iPods.
So all the more remarkable is Apple's achievement given that it is a rookie entering the highly competitive mobile handset business.
But its competitors are not sitting still. Nokia will be lauching touchscreen cellphones in its Series 6000 product line which is due to come out next year. It also announced Ovi, a Web portal that will sell songs and games not only to Nokia handset owners but to everyone.
This is a direct challenge to Apple's iTunes whose popularity is unmatched having sold 1 billon songs since it started business in January 2001. Just recently, Apple unveiled the iPod Touch which is a lookalike iPhone sans the cellphone function.
With built-in wi-fi, it allows users to buy songs over the air. One can say that this service is only available in Starbucks outlets in the US, but to anyone who has been in the US, this coffee chain is on every street corner. So its impact is bound to be great.
Ovi will only appear in the first six months of next year. But its advantage will be that it is a global service unlike iTunes which only operates in the US, Europe and Japan and Australia only.
Sony Ericcson is another strong challenger. Its music cellphones are popular and its brand is strong in Europe.
Korean company LG has announced its Prada touchscreen mobile phone. Samsung is not far behind and can be expected to launch an ultra-thin device to rival the iPhone for the year-end Christmas season.
The next few months will be crucial for Apple.
The Silicon Valley icon will not be able to ride on the hype momentum for much longer. It will face competitive pressures as rivals gear up to meet the challenge head-on especially in the lucrative gift-buying months at year-end.
In Europe, where iPhone sales will start soon, the device will only appear in a few markets like England. Additionally, all handset makers in Europe like Nokia, Sony Ericcson and Motorola have their tie-ups with mobile operators to sell their products while Apple has yet to announce its telco partner there. In the US, it has only relied on AT&T to sell iPhones.
Apple's success in the mobile handset industry will be played out in Europe. Observers will be keenly following the game.
But there is a wild card in Apple's favour: Steve Jobs, Apple's mercurial CEO and a marketing wizard. He has proven time and again that he is more than able to face the market challenge.
