SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK, June 15 (Reuters) – Customers trying to reserve the latest version of the iPhone were thwarted by technical glitches that hindered sales on Tuesday, the first day of pre-orders before the device hits stores on June 24.
AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) customers reported seeing account information of other subscribers while trying to buy the iPhone 4, a spokesman for the firm said. Technical errors also prevented some customers from ordering the device using the websites of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and AT&T.
Frustrated by website problems, customers lined up outside some stores to ask AT&T, the exclusive U.S. iPhone provider, to manually process orders.
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The problems marked another headache for AT&T, which last week said some iPad users had their personal information exposed via a network security flaw. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened a probe into the alleged breach.
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said the firm had received privacy complaints but it was not clear what information customers had seen because it had not been able to replicate the issue.
"We’ve received reports of customers inadvertently seeing (other customers’) account information during the iPhone 4 purchasing process," Siegel said.
He added customers could not have seen social security numbers, credit card data or call records. He said the company was still investigating.
AT&T said in a statement that people who preordered on Tuesday afternoon would receive their new phones on June 25 or later. It said devices would be available on a first-come, first-serve basis in stores from June 24.
"Because of the incredible interest in iPhone 4, today was the busiest online sales day in AT&T history," the company said in a statement.