Despite of hype and bold estimates by analysts, sales of Apple iPhone devices in their first weekend were well behind such guesses, according to AT&T, the carrier which exclusively sells the much anticipated cell phones. Still, the numbers are pretty respectable.

AT&T, the exclusive service provider for iPhone, said it signed up 146 thousand iPhone customers as subscribers in the first two days of iPhone sales, Reuters news-agency reports. Given that end-users had to sign up for a special contract with AT&T to get an Apple iPhone, therefore, the number of subscribers does reflect the number of sold-through iPhones.

“The difference (between sales and activations) is going to be what was sold on eBay or activations that didn't happen immediately. There were some problems with activations but from what we heard it was minimal,” Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves is reported to have said.

Technology and telecom analysts estimated sales of 500 to 700 thousand units of the iPhone in the first weekends, however, with the actual numbers being tangibly lower than that, the prospects of the gadget that combines phone, digital media player and an Internet browser may not turn out to be that bright.

Nokia, the world’s largest maker of cell phones, ships approximately 100 million of mobile phones a quarter worldwide. As a result, it can be estimated that about 1.1 million of its mobile phones get sold-in. Even though Nokia has a very broad lineup of products, it is highly likely that certain models do sell-through in about 70 – 80 thousand a day at launch.