By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com
June 16, 2010
Eager consumers at times overwhelmed AT&T;'s online ordering system Tuesday, but in spite of technical glitches, Apple has sold out of its iPhone 4 models available for pre-order.
Apple now says the new iPhones will "ship by" July 2, rather than be delivered by June 24.
By Tuesday evening, tech bloggers were reporting that AT&T;'s Web site gave out the message "pre-orders for iPhone temporarily suspended" when consumers attempted to place an order.
Consumers may still be able to purchase the next-generation phone on June 24, but they will have to stand in line at a retailer that is selling them, and hope supplies last until they get to the counter.
If popularity can be determined by pre-order demand, the new iPhone will be a much hotter item than the 3GS model its designed to replace. While Apple went through its pre-order supply of iPhone 4s in less than 24 hours, it took more than a week to exhaust supplies of the 3GS, when it was rolled out last year.
The iPhone 4 was introduced last week in San Francisco. It comes in two models -- the 16GB that will sell for $199 and the 32GB, selling for $299. Both models require a two-year AT&T; contract to get those prices.
Last year's model upgrade, the iPhone 3GS, will sell for $99 starting June 24, and Apple reports plenty of those units remain available for order.
The upgraded iPhone 4 will record HD video at full screen, 720 pixels at 30 frames per second. It also has built-in video editing, so you can produce a movie, right on the phone.
Apple has also upgraded the iPhone's camera system. The iPhone 4 features a five megapixel camera and a sensor to detect backlighting. It comes with 5X digital zoom, tap to focus, and LED flash.
