Tulsa World: Apple: iPhone sold out online in U.S.

MAKE US YOUR HOMEPAGE | Saturday, November 21, 2009 | WIRELESS

Home > Business

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Apple: iPhone sold out online in U.S.

Wil Gieseler talks on his Apple iPhone in front of an iPhone poster at the MacWorld conference in San Francisco in January. Apple Inc. says its online stores in the U.S. and U.K. are sold out of the iPhone. Paul Sakuma/Associated Press file

By Staff and wire reports
Published: 5/13/2008 2:08 AM
Last Modified: 5/13/2008 3:30 AM

Apple Inc. said Monday its online stores in the U.S. and U.K. are sold out of the iPhone, a sign supplies are being winnowed ahead of the launch of the device's next generation featuring faster Internet surfing speeds.

The Cupertino-based company confirmed that the iPhone is out of stock online, but added that brick-and-mortar stores run by Apple and iPhone carriers including AT&T Inc. might still have units available.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment on reasons for the shortage and on Apple's plans for an update to the device, which is widely expected to be unveiled in June at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Representatives of Tulsa's Apple Store at Woodland Hills Mall said the iPhone was out of stock there, though Andrew Morgan, spokesman for AT&T, said local AT&T stores still had the popular phone.

The paucity of iPhones for sale in some markets comes as Apple is hustling to meet its goal of selling 10 million of the hybrid iPod-cell phone-Internet surfing gadgets by the end of 2008. So far, Apple has sold 5.4 million iPhones, according to the latest data as of the end of March.

One way Apple's expanding the iPhone's reach is by inking deals with wireless carriers around the world, even breaking with its pattern of requiring exclusivity to sell in a certain country.

On Monday, four mobile providers in the Asia-Pacific region announced partnerships with Apple to bring the iPhone to their regions later

this year.

SingTel will sell the gadget in Singapore, Bharti Airtel Ltd. in India, Globe Telecom Inc. in the Philippines and Optus in Australia, the companies said in a brief joint statement, without giving details.

In recent weeks Apple has also signed deals with Rogers Communications Inc. to sell the device in Canada; Milan-based Telecom Italia SpA to sell the iPhone in Italy; and Vodafone Group PLC, the world's biggest mobile company by sales, to sell it in a total of 10 countries, including Australia, India, Italy and Turkey.

Until the spate of the latest deals, Apple adhered to its policy of exclusivity with one carrier in each country. The exclusive deals for the iPhone were with AT&T Inc. in the United States, O2 in Britain, T-Mobile in Germany and France Telecom's Orange wireless arm in France.

Industry observers say some people may be holding off on buying an iPhone until the much-rumored next-generation of the device is launched.

By Staff and wire reports

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Reader Comments

Show: Most Recent Comment First

Add your comment

3 comments have been made on this story so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

	Report Comment Confused, Tulsa (5/13/2008 9:28:03 AM) Who uses the word "winnowed" anymore....some people really have to write so they can make what is lacking in their pants feel bigger...I guess they really have something to prove...
	Report Comment yes, (5/13/2008 10:01:54 AM) Wil Gieseler in the photo is a hottie! Is he calling me?
	Report Comment Alex, BA (5/13/2008 12:09:08 PM) No one has money for gas/food/standard living costs, credit card debt is killing the middle class...but this just in...$600 iPhones have sold out in the US. We are a stupid, stupid people.

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.