How many units will the iPhone 5 sell in its first three days? Analysts place bets

Apple is expected to announce the new iPhone during the event that takes place tomorrow at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and sales are also scheduled to begin on September 21, next Friday. Several analysts are already placing their bets on the amount of sales of the ‘iPhone 5’ during its first weekend.

Sales of iPhones in the first weekend

Based on the sales success of all past generations of Apple’s cell phone, some analysts have bet on a new sales record. Three of them, Brian White, Tavis McCourt and Gene Munster, spoke to AllThingsD about your expectations.

The most conservative, White – from Topeka Capital Markets – expects that about 1.5 million ‘iPhones 5 ”will be sold in pre-orders and an additional 3.5-4 million units will be sold over the weekend. McCourt, director of Raymond James, is betting on higher numbers. According to him, somewhere between 5-6 million new iPhones are expected to be sold during the same period. Piper Jaffray’s Munster, on the other hand, believes the next iPhone will sell somewhere between 6-10 million (!) Units, easily breaking the iPhone 4S record of 4 million.

However, contrary to what analysts said above, Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at the NPD Group, does not put faith in a sweeping launch. Although he believes the launch will be successful, Baker explains that the iPhone does not have much to grow on. His view is that “easy market points” have already been taken from weaker competitors, such as Research In Motion (RIM) and Microsoft, by past generations. The fact that the iPhone is now available on major American carriers corroborates Baker.

We’ll find out who’s right soon… ?