Apple to sell 45m iPhones in 2009 and has 3m available for 29th June

Those are the latest big-number predictions to come out of the States, where Apple shares continue to sit (slightly nervously) on a seemingly unstoppable escalator as the messiah phone’s street date approaches.

Businessweek just published an article which argues that the iPhone could be bigger than even Apple expects, in which its also claimed that there will be three million handsets available on day one. Meanwhile, LoopRumors reports that Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is now predicting Apple will ship 45 million handsets in 2009, and has upped his predicted share price for the company from $140 (£70) to $160 (£80). Did someone shout ‘goldrush’?

We really hope Apple doesn’t slip-up because the fall-out would be enormous — the slightest setback could cost the company and its investors literally billions. And much as we love Apple and its creations, it is not infallible. Gizmodo recently reported comments from an alleged insider claiming that the iPhone’s firmware is still being updated on a daily basis — and that’s not a stable situation for a complex piece of technology to be in so close to launch.

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