It’s an iPhone bonanza for AT&T

Well, Steve Jobs probably wasn’t the only CEO rubbing his hands with glee at the success of the iPhone this week. The wonder device may have helped build Apple’s cash pile even higher but it looks like it’s also gone down a treat with exclusive carrier AT&T. The US mobile unit added 2 million subs during the third quarter, while Apple shifted 1.1 million devices. Given that 250,000 of the 1.4 million iPhones sold in total are thought to be hacked, it’s a safe bet that almost half of AT&T new additions were tempted in by the Apple device. It will be interesting to see if this is sustainable as the European version of the device comes on line next month, with the wildcard of a potentially unlocked unit from France.