AT&T reported today that they activated 146,000 new iPhones in the first 48 hours of its release, CNET News Blog is reporting.

Blogger Marguerite Reardon notes that while that number falls a bit short of what some analysts were predicting - we've heard projections as high as 500,000 to 750,000 in the first days alone - it's a long slog, not a quick skirmish. Besides, the iPhone comes the closest to making the mobile Web experience similar to the desktop experience.

"Most mobile cell phone executives I say this to are quick to tell me that it's technically impossible to shrink the Web experience onto such a tiny screen," Reardon said. "Or they say that people don't want to do the same things on an Internet-enabled phone as they do on their PC. But I think the iPhone comes the closest to achieving my ideal mobile Web surfing experience. And if it's a big success, I think the rest of the pack will follow, trying to imitate what Apple has already achieved."

AT&T reports initial iPhone subscriber numbers [CNET News Blog]