Apple Store's US and UK sites run dry of iPhones, 3G imminent?
By Chris Ziegler 
posted May 10th 2008 11:36AM
posted May 10th 2008 11:36AM
[Via GadgetKing, thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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So I submit this, use my title but use a seperate story - i feel cheated :X
This tuesday?
Well, I submitted it too, so what?
That was the exact title..
news like this makes me want to break my iphone.
hate fan boys with a passion.
i suppose i am a apple hating fanboy.
Don't start a sentence with "so".
so if i own an iphone does that make me a fanboy?
Wow your a hero ?
You would think Apple and/or AT&T would make an official announcement a couple days before releasing it.
But that is not the way Apple does it - when they announce something, then it is usually available immediately.
Can't be - it would have to pass FCC etc first, and there would be *some* sort of report online by then.
You assume they need to run it by the FCC when the only change is going from 2.5g to 3g. For all you know they got approval for both with the first model.
I'd have to agree that the new 3G chip would require FCC approval. It's doubtful that they had final internal design for the 3G iPhone over a year ago when they submitted to the FCC. But we need either someone that is an expert with the FCC's processes, or just wait it out and see what happens.
Just want to clarify a few things about FCC and 3G.
There are in fact several pre-approved 3G-capable chips, so Apple would not need another FCC approval if it features one of them.
And the FCC can also withhold information regarding a 3G iPhone on request by Apple until or just before it is released.
(insert speculation)
(Insert counter argument to above speculation)
(insert defense for speculation)
Maybe on the websites they're unavailable but not in stores. Do I have to go and take pictures of the heaps of unsold iPhones for you guys to wise up?
ok..go on..i went to 6 different o2 and carphone warehouses in london..NONE of them have 8GB iphones in stock, and they dont know when they ll get new shipments either..one guy looked in the computer db and told me that they were sold out in every [official] shop in london...ofcourse, i can still go to chinatown to buy a unlocked one for 250 pounds but i prefer to buy a locked one, and unlock it myself for the sweet sweet price of 170...
just to throw in my two cents...
i live in manhattan and took my iPhone to the 5th avenue flagship store last night for repair/replacement, and the gentleman at the genius bar told me they didn't have any replacement or loaner phones available at any NYC store. he also said they're not expecting any shipments soon.
OK, watch this space.
I just got mine replaced at the Suburban Square Apple Store due to a malfunctioning earpiece, they had about 16 refreshed replacements available, but only 2 new ones for sale that I was able to see.
Maybe they're just trying to not encourage a lot of people to buy phones right before an upgrade, which results in either a high cost of trade-outs or really unhappy people. Isn't this what they should do?
not normally, they usually just announce new releases and you the the unhappy customers. In the UK we normally have a 14 day return policy with NO restocking fee. But after new releases, they often extend this to 28 days. Furthermore, they are in fact quite lenient on those 28 days too, sometimes extending it a week. So this phasing out period is quite a strange move from Apple, its not normally the case
No, they should announce a shipping date for the new phone (maybe even a price, just for the hell of it) and let potential customers decide for themselves. I know that's not the Apple way of doing things, but maybe Steve-o is changing his paradigm a little.
YES
Damit, I got my iPhone 30 days ago. Now I have to wait two years :(.
jk... that would be idiotic of me.
No you don't, you just have to extend your contract to 2 years again, well not even you just have to grab another one from a apple store & replace your old one with it, no new contract will requiered for the new iphone, as per AT&T
A freind bought an iphone from 02 thursday and arrived this morning. Hes bringing it over later cant be that out of stock.
http://shop.o2.co.uk/promo/iphonetariffs
Told you 02 had iphones left even if they only have 16GB left like they said at the beginning of this week. they said they were only taking stock of 16GB iphones.
It's o2 not 02 - the o is a letter, not a number.
I just got my iPhone in November. But, I dont care about the new iPhone coming out because I dont even have 3G service in my town, which sucks, because it would be nice to have 3G.
Is everyone just dumb? Say it like it is:
APPLE HAS SHIFTED ITS PRODUCTION LINE TO 3G IPHONES. BECAUSE OF THIS PRODUCTION REALLOCATION THE 2.5G IPHONE SUPPLY IS NOT MEETING DEMAND OF CONSUMERS. APPLE IS NOT RAMPING ANYTHING DOWN AT ALL, THEY ARE SIMPLY SELLING MORE THAN THEY ARE CURRENTLY PRODUCING.
3G IMMINENT - FRANCE HAS 0 TOO
http://www.grabup.com/uploads/941e8be05b8b396f2390a41f05b86ffb.png
Wow! Pretty shortsighted there, wouldn't you say? Wouldn't you agree
that the online Apple Store -- the virtual store in the sky -- has a
longer lead and a closer connection to the factory than the brick and
mortar store does?
And what does this story have to do with your longstanding belief
that we love Apple and hate Nokia, anyway?
Another conning sales tactic by Apple!
Apple makes submarines?
"Is anyone suddenly having a nasty case of "I only want what I can't have" syndrome and regretting that they didn't order one of these bad boys a day or two ago?"
Surely the only syndrome they would have is the "I'm so glad I waited a bit longer so that now I can buy the better improved version of the product" syndrome?
Which is better than the "FFS I just bought this thing and in a few weeks time a newer version is coming out" syndrome.
"FFS I just bought this thing and in a few weeks time a newer version is coming out"
Shouldn't Apple fans be used to this sort of treatment by now?
Maybe you should have bought it a year ago when it first came out. They are always going to come out with a newer version and there are always people that will get burned. It's like that for every company. Maybe do some research because everyone should have been able to figure out it was coming out soon. They made the decision to buy or wait.
I don't own an iphone. I have an N95. I was just using others as an example.
Well the AT&T stores seem to have a healthy stock and they're proud of it. So I guess its just for the benefit of them to keep selling ( out-dated) phones i mean its not like customers are going to leave them because a new version came out.
That's John Appleseed, he knows more than he's letting on.....
hehe, that made me giggle
Thanks for posting this! Thought I was going crazy at 2AM when I found this. Salivating for the new phone. Love the email and web browsing on the current iPhone (edge could be faster, but I guess that is why there is so much hype on the 3G version) but I hope they improved the phone quality. Most people I know have a tough time talking on the iPhone. "Can you hear me now?"
Robby
http://www.gadgetking.com/2008/05/10/iphone-currently-unavailable-at-us-apple-store-online/
So by switching production to the 3G iPhones they are ramping up the new one and the net result is that by not making the old one, there are none...
I'm good to buy one starting the 15th of this month. The biggest thing that is exciting me about the new iPhone is the rumors of the subsidy programs that will be available on AT&T. $600 i have a problem with. $300 my wife will not make too big of a stink, so i can just go get one when available. :)
definately good news for me! i was going to buy one soon!
shanejonas
http://shanejonas.com
It's gone from the German webstore as well
Yep, all stores which sell it online are saying unavailable.
I think that this is as official as Apple gets. It will probably come back to the site later on... and if it does Apple would have signaled that the new one is coming out soon, so the whole I want to return it fiasco would be avoided.
Maybe foxconn (the rumored 3G iphone producer and current 2.5G iphone producer) can't handle production of both units, or stopped producing the 2.5G iphone already, to ramp up production of the 3G model?
I'm having another case of apple always releases what I want right after I buy the previous model syndrome.
well stop buying older models when there are rumors that something is coming out soon. Most of the rumors and release dates are fairly consistent for macs. There have been tons of rumors that the new iPhone is coming soon. Just wait it out or buy the current one but dont bitch that you got screwed.
And the 3g iPhone is not coming to the UK with O2 until September I'm afraid. And that's from a source inside O2.
:(
I talked with AT&T this morning and they didn't know anything about the new iPhone revision. When I suggested that "early June" is when the rumor sites were projecting the new revision, the response from the representative was "oh, great"... implying they (1) hadn't heard anything and (2) expect the launch to be big.
DUH. since when is at&t a legitimate source in this regard. who did you speak to, your local sales rep? : sigh :
O2 denied this back on Tuesday when this story broke. They said they are just restocking.
iPhone 2 will have version 2 of mobile OSX therefore it can't be released till after june 9th when the new firmware is released.
Is that not correct?
Therefore stop the stupid iPhone 3g imminent posts!!!
They obviously underestimated the demand and they would not release something as major as the second gen iPhone without a keynote!
It can be released at the same time as 2.0 though.
That sounds likely to me.
here is a thought for you... it comes with 1.1.4 and when 2.0 get released you upgrade. Logic Stupid, Logic
is 1.1.4 designed to work with the new chipsets?
you think logically! except for the loss of a few weeks sales, where people who want an iphone arent going to go and settle for another phone anyway theyll just wait, why bother? Most likely WWDC will bring the anouncement and give a huge amount of media hype!
Do you think apple will just put the new phone in the store without an anouncement? It will only get released before WWDC if there is a keynote organised beforehand. I couldnt imagine Steve not wanting to present it unless he's not really excited about this.
Maybe we'll get a 1.1.5 update that has 3g thats it
who knows
If they aren't going to be released until June, and they don't have any more current generation phones to sell I imagine they would start taking pre-orders to avoid loss of sales.
I can't wait to upgrade to 3G from my 2.5G iphone. Even if the 3G coverage across the country is a little spotty...
I really do wonder if they will release it early - we're basically talking about no iPhone sales in a large part of the iPhone market for a month, and that's a very large amount of lost revenue all in the name of Apple-policy-secrecy. And besides, how much new is going to be in there? 3G, GPS, and that's about it? We already had a conference on the new OS features, so IMHO Apple could feasibly have a paper launch for the 3G iPhone.
Well then what would we have at WWDC, you ask? Does no one remember the Mac Tablet rumors that came up at MacWorld, but were then explained as being pushed back to WWDC because there was a last minute flaw or something? That's what I'm hoping for... :D
dude.. crap post
Dude, crap picture ;)
So don't give a flying shit. Again put this shit on TUAW. You want to put actual launching hardware on Engadget that is fine....when the fuck did this become MacRumors 2.0?
I dont think Engadget has a sister site about mac only. TUAW is run by the guys that publish gizmodo. Just skip the article if it doesnt interest you.
erm chris scroll down to the bottom of the page TUAW is a Weblogs inc blog
Watch the language.
Hey, they're only covering the news the world wants to know about. Which is every little scrap of iPhone news or near news that gets the buzz and hype flowing. If there's a rumor that the iPhone will be getting released in Outer Mongolia, that's ground-breaking news worthy of an Engadget article. One iPhone rumor article is worth ten Zune update articles for Engadget site traffic.
Can't wait to check out that new iPhone's battery life.
"Is anyone suddenly having a nasty case of "I only want what I can't have" syndrome and regretting that they didn't order one of these bad boys a day or two ago?"
$400 for an 8 GB phone that locks me into AT&T's heavy-handed tactics? Er... No, I'm not regretting a damned thing, thankyouverymuch. Hey, you asked the question.
All I gots to say is beware. AT&T is a technologically impaired telecom company. There barely getting up to speed on 3G when Verizon is prepping for 4G launch in a few years. 3G is not available everywhere. Google "EVDO SHOOTOUT" for aircards. The guy gets an aircard that says 3G plain as day on it and its as slow as dial-up. I believe there is going to be a huge backlash against Apple and AT&T (AT&T mostly) for releasing a phone with so much damn hype that can't live up to it's expectations. If you want fast RELIABLE high speed connection, it's best to stick with Wi-Fi. I wish the fanboys would see that but love is blind afterall. Just watch...
Ah.. but, for those of us who have had Edge on previous AT&T service, then got an iPhone.. well you can say edge just about doubled its performance overnight coinciding with the iPhone launch. They turned up service that was previously being held in reserve, basically, and I don't doubt for a minute that they'll do the same with their 3G service when the 3G iphone debuts.
but they are still on sale at att.com.
Exactly. I'm guessing they're slowing down production but will have one more wave before the release of the 3G one. Like is mentioned below, they can't just expect to not have any replacements for broken 2G iPhones.
AT&T Still has them,and Apple Stores will probably get a batch next week. But mark my words, WWDC will have the release.
I'm selling my iPhone this week.
Apple cannot completely stop manufacturing the first generation iPhone, then people would just claim theirs is broken and return it for the 3G version. It would be very suprising if they introduce this not in a keynote. If they were to redesign the iPhone, i doubt they would change the size of the screen because it would suck for developers.
Why not? That is what they do with all their hardware.
iPods, Macs, everything.
Why do I have to read something I don't want to read? Is I stoopid?
You do know that a '?' is not a '.', right?
A question mark is not a period? I'd never have figured that out if you hadn't told me. Thanks.
And yes, this was supposed to be a reply to Jon Doe.
Alot of the 02 stores in Britain are also out of stock!! Needed a replacement one as the screen broke, ended up having to go to an apple bar to get it sorted. The assistant told me that they are running low on stock too!!
I hope to god English isn't your first language.
I hope to God this is your first reply.
All the evidence is there; all I can say is we WILL see a 3G iPhone in the very near future.
how astute of you...(rolls eyes)
how intelligent of you to point that out... eh...
The 3g Iphone is coming Soon as i have been informed by the maanger of a CPW in U.K and O2 U.K that the Iphone has been discontinued and new Iphone which is a 3g Will be available soon as quick as end of May or beginning of June. so the Rumors of iphone 3G are true.after talking to those people
3G iPhone !!!
O.M.G., O.M.G., O.M.G., O.M.G., O.M.G., O.M.G., O.M.G., O.M.G.,
World domination is just a couple of days away. In one fell swoop, the rest of the smartphone market will be crushed. It's back to the copiers and drawing boards for LG, Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, Palm and RIM. Not that it will do any good, since they had their chances years ago. They're completely dead if the iPhone becomes subsidized. Nearly a million 3G iPhones sold a month seems likely. That will make the iPhone the smartphone market share leader by mid-2009. And the cellphone manufacturers said it was supposed to be a failure.
O.M.G., O.M.G., O.M.G., O.M.G., O.M.G., O.M.G., O.M.G., O.M.G.,
iPhone FTW.
Apple does not want to get affected by their price protection. If sales are limited for 14 days they do not have to refund the price difference on many customers. They will quietly sell out and use the rest for refurbs. Expect to see the new iPhone around May 23rd - May 26th... watch :)
Maybe, just maybe they ARE separating the iPhone hardware 2.0 release from the software 2.0. It is possible that they release a 3G phone with software similar to what's on the first gen, but with some applications that are specific or updated for the new hardware, for instance a different google maps if it has GPS, or iChat if it has a front facing cam, or iTunes store access over 3G.
Then at WWDC they'll launch the announced software update and add to both generations of hardware the Exchange support, and 3rd party apps support.
It would be a bit similar to what they do with OS X, where the Air and the MB Pro have a different version of the OS that supports the multi touch track pads etc.
The advantage would be that they don't have to explain the new software (for everyone), the new hardware (for some), the 3G specific apps (for those with the new hardware but not for those with the old hardware) all at once.
Just a thought.
Well obviously there will be differences due to the extra hardware, but it will most likely still be version 2 of the os.
It's only 4 weeks at most, can't everyone just sit back, calm down and wait to see when apple anounce it rather than all these rumours and speculation it doesnt really make a difference we know its going to be released. Wishing its going to happen next week wont make a difference. Then again engadget has to keep up the post count somehow when there's no news.
a friend of mine was in one of the apple stores in boston yesterday, i think cambridgeside galleria. there was a line of people waiting for the iphone at 9:50am before it opened. they sent someone out to say that there were no iphones, all sold out. when he was in the store getting what he needed he saw them wheeling a huge cart of over 50 phones from the storage room out to wherever, maybe sending the stock back to corporate? but they are obviously doing something with them, because they aren't really all gone.
DJDevine
Think before you type Verizon fanboy, AT&T will launch their 4G in 3.5 years and I will quote below... If you don't research first you look stupid and you look stupid... "Can you hear me now fanboy?"
It looks like AT&T is going to use the fresh-off-the-grill spectrum to launch its own 4G LTE mobile broadband network.The additional spectrum firmly plants AT&T at the head of the spectrum-owning game - the B-Block spectrum combined with the C-Block spectrum holdings will give AT&T 100% coverage in the top 200 US markets and 87% coverage over the entire US.
rant
I don't have an iPhone yet, but I will line up to get the 3G as soon as it's released. I have one feeling about the iPhone though: I kinda like that it's a fairly exclusive device. Most people can't afford a $600 phone, so when people see an iPhone, they generally react to it. If, in fact, the iPhone dominates the smartphone market, the iPhone will be typical like a RZR, and no longer the cool, exclusive product. It can suddenly become the Ralph Lauren shirt that you buy at Target.
Much like many other designer products, there's a definite value of exclusivity, does anyone else NOT want the iPhone to become too successful so that it maintains that exclusivity?
It sounds terrible... but I agree.
The same with AT&T subsidizing it. And I feel bad for saying it but.... I can afford an expensive phone, and if people who can afford it don't want it enough to pay, then they shouldn't have an excuse to have one, which the subsidizing would be.
People won't be just buying an iPhone for coolness. The iPhone is far beyond the RAZR for that. It's going to be used as a productivity tool, social network bridge and as a gaming device. Apple is not Motorola. The RAZR was milked for two years past it's prime when there should have been a follow-up device. Apple probably already has the 4G iPhone on the drawing board and a touch-screen tablet to go along with it just in case.