Apple sells 1 millionth iPhone

NEW YORK — Apple sold its millionth iPhone on Sunday, just 74 days after the combination cellphone-iPod went on sale and less than a week after its price was cut by a third.

Apple previously said it expected to hit the million-sold mark by the end of September. It took almost two years for Apple to sell 1 million iPods, Apple CEO Steve observed in a statement today.

Today's announcement sent Apple shares up $4.94, or 3.8 percent, to $136.71.

Last week, Apple shares shed more than 8 percent of their value after the surprise price-cut announcement on Wednesday unnerved traders.

Jobs cut the price of the 8-gigabyte iPhone from $599 to $399 and discontinued the $499 4-gigabyte version. The next day he apologized to those who had paid full price and offered $100 credits to early buyers.

In a letter on the company's Web site, Jobs acknowledged that Apple disappointed some of its customers and said he had received hundreds of e-mails complaining about the price cut.

Jobs added that "the technology road is bumpy," and there will always be people who pay top dollar for the latest electronics but get angry later when the price drops.

"This is life in the technology lane," Jobs said in the letter Thursday.