Half a million iPhone 3G S for the first weekend?

The launch of the new version of the iPhone has provoked plenty of discussion online and in the traditional media, but the sales figures for the new phone's first weekend aren't likely to be exceptional.

Analysts Gene Munster has estimated that Apple might be able to shift 500, 000 units from tomorrow, when the phone launches across the world.  That's half as many as the last version, the iPhone 3G, but at the same time, twice as many as the first iPhone.

Commentators have explained that Apple's latest product will have to compete with the existing 3G model which is being offered at a lower price by the same operators.