Reports Claim Apple To Order 24-25 Million 3G iPhones [3M iPhones Earmarked for June]

According to a report published in the Chinese-language Commercial Times, the Taipei-based Foxconn Electronics – the manufacturer responsible for building Apple’s iPod range and designated manufacturer of Apple’s current and up and coming 3G iPhone models – has been informed by Apple to expect to ship between 24-25 million 3G iPhones over the product’s lifecycle, 3 million of which will be shipped in June.

The report, which unsubstantiated by Apple, originates from ‘sources at foreign institutional investors’ and, if true, gives further credence to rumours that Apple will make a formal announcement concerning its 3G iPhone at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2008 (WWDC 2008) in June.

Considering that the original iPhone has shipped around six million units, should this report be believed, this would necessitate (to put matters in perspective) a 400% increase in production rates for the 3G model and, though the touted figures seem particularly high, we for one don’t doubt that many have been holding back on purchasing an iPhone until the 3G model becomes available (ourselves included).

[via Digitimes / Uber Review]