Is T-Mobile actually got 1.5 millions of T-Mobile G1 pre-ordered? Probably not. Betanews has tried to get a confirmation from T-Mobile and they were simply told, “While we have not released specific pre-sales numbers, nor do we comment on rumor or speculation, we look forward to Oct. 22, when our customers will be able to experience this unique phone first-hand.”

So how did the fool.com come out with the figures? Marin Perez from informationweek has contacted the author Anders Bylund and here is what happened

I contacted Anders Bylund, the author of the original Motley Fool article that hundreds of stories are citing. I was curious as to how he got these figures and he gave me his rationale.

He cited a Cens.com article that said, “according to industry insiders, T-Mobile is planning to order a total of between 1.5 million and 2 million units of G1 with HTC in the near future, including 400,000 to 500,000 to be sold in the fourth quarter of this year.”

Then, Bylund cited T-Mobile selling out of pre-order units, and tripling the number of phones initially available. He then tripled the 500,000 number to get 1.5 million.

Source