In its conference call earlier this week, Apple noted shipments of 2.3 million iPhones in the December quarter, thus indicating that Apple had shipped almost 300,000 iPhones during the first two weeks of January and representing a quarterly rate of about 1.8 million units. However, on the call, Apple executives were confident that Apple would hit its sales target of 10 million iPhones for calendar year 2008. The EDN report speculates that sales of iPhones in Europe have been lower than expected thus leading Apple to cut its shipment projections for the second quarter. Despite Apple's strong quarter and its optimism in its product line-up, Apple's stock dropped precipitously due to a weaker-than-expected outlook for the March quarter -- some analysts, however, see the drop as a buying opportunity. Earlier this week, separate reports indicated that cellular carrier Optus is trying to negotiate exclusive rights to Apple's iPhone in Australia and that Apple is currently negotiating international distribution rights for its iPhone in Thailand.