"People who were disappointed are the ones who are always very interested in being surprised" by the latest Apple move, said Gottheil. "They're always looking for that 'I never would have thought of that' moment."

The boost in pre-sales over last year didn't surprise Gottheil, who cited a number of factors, including a larger pool of iPhone owners and a pent-up demand because of Apple's decision to delay the iPhone 4S roll-out to October.

And the iPhone 4S may have a bigger upside than the iPhone 4, added White, because of moves he expects later this year.

"There has been lots of buzz in China surrounding last week's unveiling of the iPhone 4S and we believe the product will be available in China during December," said White, who is currently in that country on business. "We believe the iPhone 4S will take Apple fever to the next level in China."

Apple has not announced when it will start selling the iPhone 4S in China -- a market that accounted for more than one-eighth of the company's revenues in the last reported quarter -- but has said that the new smartphone will be available in 70 countries by the end of 2011.