White iPhone 3GS shortages

The white 16GB iPhone 3GS is proving to be the most popular by far in the US, Apple stock tracking shows. As of Tuesday morning, the phone model is missing in 30 out of 41 states in which Apple Stores are located, along with the District of Columbia. Elsewhere shortages are so severe that in California, Apple's home state, only one out of 45 retail outlets has white 16GB units.

Likewise, only one out of nine stores in Massachusetts has the phone; the ratios shift to one in seven for Illinois, one in six for Virginia, and one in three for New York City. The black 16GB 3GS is also in short supply in many areas, but should be available in greater quantities than its white counterpart. Both colors of the 32GB phone are generally in wide supply.

Apple notes that the 8GB iPhone 3G should be available in every Apple Store, and that the 3GS is restocked on "most days" of the week. The demand for white phones may potentially prove problematic for Apple, as a number of them have become discolored from overheating. Black iPhones have so far escaped permanent damage.

by MacNN Staff