Odds are strong that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) will sell one million iPhones today. The smartphone will launch in the US and several large wireless markets including the UK, France, Germany, and Japan. Early news is that the new iPhone is already sold out in Japan. Usually, the international release of Apple products comes several weeks after their US debut.

Apple may top 2 million iPhone sales by the end of the fiscal quarter on June 26, with half of that coming today,  Andy Hargreaves, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, told Bloomberg.Already, 600,000 iPhones have been ordered online from Apple and AT&T. Many customers who tried to order the smartphone were turned away, so the pent-up demand is significant.

It is worth remembering that one million iPhone 3 models were sold in less than a week after the product’s launch. The new iPhone offers new advances such as longer battery life, a high def screen, a video camera and an antenna that wraps all the way around the handset’s outer edge.

The iPhone is also priced to sell quickly. The 16GB version is only $199 and the 32GB version $299. That is competitive with other smartphones that AT&T (NYSE: T) sells including some versions of the BlackBerry.

Another important reason that iPhone 4 sales could hit one million on the first day is that the phone will be available at Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and at Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), which will substantially increase Apple’s retail footprint beyond its retail stores and AT&T’s.

People are already standing in lines outside Apple stores around the world. The 600,000 pre-ordered phones are about to be delivered.

Another blockbuster device is about to be launched.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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