iPhone 4S: 4M sell during first 3 days

Apple Inc.'s newest smartphone, the iPhone 4S, topped sales of 4 million in its first three days of release, more than doubling the debut of its predecessor and setting a record for a mobile phone, the company said.

Apple announced Sunday that the iPhone 4S -- which outwardly resembles the iPhone 4 model but has a faster processor, better camera and new voice-recognition software called Siri -- had already surpassed the 4 million mark after being introduced Friday.

When the iPhone 4 was released in 2010, the Cupertino, Calif., tech giant announced it sold 1.7 million of the devices in the first three days, though some stores ran out of the devices during the iPhone 4 launch.

The large total is not a surprise to those who waited for hours at Apple stores to buy the new product. Friday's launch created huge lines at Apple stores as customers paid respect to recently deceased Apple co-founder Steve Jobs while waiting to buy the latest gadget from the company he helped make one of the most valuable in the United States.