07/24/2008, 3:45pm, EDT
Thursday, July 24th
AT&T, O2 offer iPhone availability updates
AT&T can now offer a specific timeframe for the availability of iPhone 3Gs, the company has announced -- although it may be out of the carrier's hands as Apple struggles to provide enough inventory for the popular device. The US partner carrier notes that due to demand, "many" people have been buying iPhone 3Gs through its direct fulfillment (raincheck) program, in which customers pay in advance and are told they can pick up a phone after it arrives. At present, the company says, these people are receiving their iPhones an average of 13 or 14 days after their order.
This timing is not guaranteed however, and is said to be tightly associated with the particular capacity and color a person chooses. 16GB models have traditionally been harder to find that the cheaper 8GB ones, and white 16GB phones have typically been even rarer due to greater production of black.
AT&T has meanwhile posted an order status page, which lets people track how close they are to actually receiving an iPhone. The device has been in almost continuous short supply in the US since its July 11th launch, a fact which has compounded the level of consumer anger triggered by serious activation problems.
UK carrier O2 has also posted an update on iPhone 3G availability. The company says that it is out of stock online, but still has some in stores scattered around England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A list of stores is being updated daily. Unusually, 8GB phones are said to be in "very limited" quantity, but stock of all versions is expected to increase dramatically as of July 25th.
, 
, 4
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
Top
subscribe to comments
for this article
Interesting
In my experience the 16GB black is harder to find vs the 16GB white.
I guess I must have a rare one then - 16GB white. :)
Old, questionable news
I noticed in this article, there is a comment on the "serious activation problems". Is this comment realistic given the current situation?
What is the cut off for parting shots that are allowed and those that are not?
tracking
This article makes it sound like AT&T just posted their order status page. I pre-ordered my iPhone last week Tuesday and that order status link was printed on my receipt. Also, it does NOT tell you how close you are to getting an iPhone, it only tells you when the iPhone has shipped. I was told by an AT&T employee that I'd get an email alerting me when the phone shipped, and then a call from the store I ordered from once it was received there. So basically, the order status page is useless.
Update
I think it's bull how Apple has a website to tell you if your store is getting new stock tomorrow, gives the time of the store opening at 10AM, but then in reality the stores are opening early at 8am.
Yesterday I went to the Apple store at 10AM because that's when the website said they'd open, but they were already sold out of iPhones since they opened two hours prior. Thanks a lot! Waste of time.
Today I was there at 8am in a line of 50 people and got one, but it's still silly.