I believe below $200 will soon look cheap.

[quote author=“DawnTreader”]
I may eat some crow on all this if supply is scant this weekend, but I’m not yet concerned about supply. I see a global logistics issue.

I’m prepared to eat crow myself, as it is early to be sure of anything, but all I know is that in Chicago right now Apple is not even coming close to meeting the demand of people who are willing to drive hours out of their way and then wait 3 hours on a line in 90 degree weather to buy this phone. 

When Apple finally meets the demands of these truly demented souls (and I’m one of them, still without my iPhone 3G having waited hours on lines already), how many MILLIONS of more sane customers are there who want to buy this phone but won’t stand in line for it?

I think its a mistake to compare this launch with the launch of any other Apple product, including the original iPhone, for which I waltzed into the local Apple store the next day after launch and bought all I needed with no line anywhere.  This product at this price is unprecedented, and if Apple can meet the demand anytime soon, it would be stunning.

Where i live, the Apple store has not had phones 9as reported on the web site) since the launch. Of course it’s possible that they have had deliveries each day and all have been consumed. A possible scenario is deliveries first think in the morning (which can’t be certified by the 9 p.m. deadline) and lines of buyers gobbling them up. The alternative is that the upper midwest has had no shipments in almost a week ? Wisconsin, Minnesota have been red dotted since Friday.

I think the smart move for Apple is to make sure each location gets resupplied, no matter how little.

[quote author=“Mayor Quimby”]I think the smart move for Apple is to make sure each location gets resupplied, no matter how little.

I agree.. at least it keeps hope alive for eager buyers, and maintains interest and profile.

Where I live, the iPhone arrived on Monday - and so far not one has been sold. I have seen them with my own eyes. They are there in a small stack, a total of 12 nice black boxes (no white ones).

No demo unit. Nothing for the public to see let allone to TOUCH.

A waiting list of 3 customers per iPhone all getting a little more angry each day gonig by.

[quote author=“ghobi”]Where I live, the iPhone arrived on Monday - and so far not one has been sold. I have seen them with my own eyes. They are there in a small stack, a total of 12 nice black boxes (no white ones).

No demo unit. Nothing for the public to see let allone to TOUCH.

A waiting list of 3 customers per iPhone all getting a little more angry each day gonig by.

Well I guess once the big Telefonica launch of its new flagship store takes place tomorrow then all those eager buyers (or at least 1 in 3 of them) will get one

[quote author=“Tommo_UK”][quote author=“ghobi”]Where I live, the iPhone arrived on Monday - and so far not one has been sold. I have seen them with my own eyes. They are there in a small stack, a total of 12 nice black boxes (no white ones).

No demo unit. Nothing for the public to see let allone to TOUCH.

A waiting list of 3 customers per iPhone all getting a little more angry each day gonig by.

Well I guess once the big Telefonica launch of its new flagship store takes place tomorrow then all those eager buyers (or at least 1 in 3 of them) will get one

Tommo, the flagship is sailing since last Friday. They took advantage of the iPhoneday for the grand opening.

The iPhones are here but the people are not authorized to sell them. As I understood it, they are waiting to activate the demo units before they start to sell the iPhones to the public.

Spain is different

Munster elaborates, says iPhone shortage to last 2-4 weeks:

Customers looking for an iPhone 3G may have to wait up to a month for Apple to boost its orders with suppliers and refill the pipeline, a Wall Street analyst said Thursday.

?I bet we?ll see these problems for another two to four weeks,? said Gene Munster, analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co., referring to his estimate of the lead time necessary for Apple to increase orders from its suppliers and restock the depleted iPhone inventory. ?Early demand has been more than they expected [because] they knocked it out of the park on the first weekend.”

Munster echoed comments made yesterday by another analyst, Ezra Gottheil of Technology Business Research, when he said Apple underestimated initial demand. And that?s not how it played out last year. ?There were outages last year, but not to this extent,? Munster said, comparing the current situation with the launch last June of the first-generation iPhone. ?This is a more sustained outage, and the demand seems to be sustained.?

And I’m reposting below what I linked on page 2 of this thread:

Mr. Munster, in a note to investors obtained by iPO, forecasted that Apple would sell 4.1 million iPhone 3Gs by the end of September. The demand for the new Apple smartphone must be tempered by constrained supplies, he said.

Good find Lumi

Checkin the online availability, I can see few stores got new inventory.

From iLounge

iPhone 3G supply snapshot: 61% of Apple Stores sold out

A week after its troubled launch, the iPhone 3G remains a hard-to-find item in the U.S., with nearly all of AT&T?s company-owned stores sold out. According to checks made earlier this morning by iLounge, Apple?s online iPhone 3G availability page shows approximately 61% of the company?s 187 retail stores sold out of iPhone 3G. 57 stores (30%) show availability of at least one iPhone 3G model, while only 15 stores (8%) report stock of all three models. Out of the 57 stores with at least one model in stock, 22 were located in New York and California, with 7 out of the 15 stores showing availability of all three models coming from those two states. This gives NY and CA a disproportionately high percentage (40%) of stores with stock remaining. While Apple is understood to be making shipments to its stores on an almost daily basis, it remains to be seen when iPhone 3G availability will again be widespread.

Additionally, AT&T stores contacted by iLounge have reported extremely limited availability of iPhone hardware, with one store claiming that a grievance has been filed against Apple for restricting shipments. The store noted that it had received a total of only 20 iPhones to offer to more than 100 lined-up customers, with only 5 of each 16GB model to sell. Meanwhile, the store noted that Apple Stores have been stocked with hundreds if not thousands of units.

Here’s a link to the raw feed for iPhone availability at Apple stores in the US - supposedly updated every 2 hrs. With thanks to a poster at MacRumors.

http://www.apple.com/retail/iphone/feeds/3g_us_inv.json

Bought my iPhone yesterday ! 

After two failed attempts where the wait in line was around 4 hrs.  I decided to try first thing in the morning.  I checked the availability and found the Beverly Hill location had the 16gBlack in stock ... it was the only model they had but it was the one I wanted.  So I got there around 8:45 am thinking the store would open at 10 .... there were 10 people in front of me ... well turns out they open at 9 ... so I got right in and was out of the store by 10 iphone activated and synced with my contacts (I brought my macbook to the store) ... there was one other location that was nearby that listed availability for all 3 models ... I almost went there but good thing I didn’t because it turned out to be inaccurate as several people got in line behind me after cueing up at that store only to be told they had no stock to sell. 

In any case ... I can’t begin to tell you how much I LOVE THIS PHONE…. it’s my 1st iPhone so the simple fact that I waited over a year for this thing helps me love it more ... but it’s really a work of art ... just MILES ahead of any other “smartphone” out there .. well for my needs anyway.  I had to pay the full price for it since I’m already a AT&T customer but it’s worth every penny !

Like I said in earlier posts ... Apple will simply sell every unit they can manufacture ....  BRAVO Apple !!!!

On another note ... about 2 years ago I had a conversation with my Brother about Mac and market penetration .  He’s a high powered Attorney who is partner in a firm in Orange County ... well he has NEVER owned an Apple product at that time and we would always have the Apple Vs. PC argument ... which always ended with him saying regardless of how much better I thought the Mac and it’s OS was it would NEVER replace PC’s at work .... 

Well now he is the proud owner of 2 ipods, Apple TV, Macbook (for his home ) and he just called me yesterday from the Apple store gushing about how cool the iPhone is ... he will probably buy two as soon as they are available without having to wait.  And a iMac has now entered their office ... their entire website was done using Apple’s iweb application ... and it looks great ... just a matter of time before his office is MAC.  Folks ... this is happening at such a rapid pace I don’t even think it can be measured ..... Apple is growing by such leaps and bounds due to unprecedented synergy in it’s products .... Other companies are so far behind the curve that it’s insane .... and they simply don’t have the mix of products to catch up ....  the “package” if you will .... 

Sorry for the long winded post but I’m a very happy Apple long this morning ... even though the devil attacked our poor APPL stock on Friday ... down 6.66 ....

I’m off to have that TREO smashing party I promised myself ... just can’t let the kids watch ... gotta set a good example ... but I’m leaning towards backing over it with my car ... I’ll have to videotape it .... 

Congratulations!

Glad you finally got your phone. I’ve had mine original iPhone for quite some time now and I’m still thrilled with it. The 2.0 software update has opened up a whole new world of possibilities that I didn’t have before (no jailbreak for me). There may be a few kinks with the new 2.0 software, and a few apps are flaky. Still a few missing features. But overall I’m still extremely happy. I’m sure your experience will be the same.

I’m in the process of trying to get hold of a 3G phone, but they are hard to come by without waiting. I stopped by the Bethesda, MD store today. Twice. I’ve been there about 5 or 6 times since last Friday. Always the same story. They are either out of stock, or they have a line of people waiting for the ones they do have in stock. This morning they had a handful of people inside who had snatched up the stock, but they also had a line of about 5 people or so just waiting for the next delivery. Mind you, the store rep told me he ‘expected’ to get some, didn’t know for sure, didn’t know how many, didn’t know when. Still, 5 people queued up and waiting. It’s been like that all week. Amazing.