14 DAY TRIAL // With just over a quarter of Apple's retail outlets having iPhones to sell (as reported Thursday), Wall Street analyst Gene Munster claims shortages are to last up to a month. Apple's stock checking web page, set up for iPhone fans, pretty much confirms it.
According to Gene Munster, Apple needs to boost its orders with suppliers fast, in order to refill the pipeline. "I bet we'll see these problems for another two to four weeks," said Gene Munster, analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co. Weighing in on the approximate time necessary for Apple to increase orders from its suppliers and refill the depleted inventory, Munster added that "early demand has been more than they expected [because] they knocked it out of the park on the first weekend," according to a Macworld piece.
While just 9 out of Apple's 188 stores still had all three models of the iPhone 3G in stock on Wednesday, Apple's $299 white 16GB iPhone 3G (which is available in both black and white casing) is the only one to be found at more stores - 46 to be more exact (24.5 percent of the total). Needless to point out, not all iPhone fans are that fond of the new white model, or the extra storage space it provides.
Pointing out to a statement made by Ezra Gottheil of Technology Business Research (when he discussed Apple's underestimating the initial demand), Munster noted that the situation is very different this time around, compared with the first-generation iPhone launch. "There were outages last year, but not to this extent," Munster said. "This is a more sustained outage, and the demand seems to be sustained."
Accusing the multiple market release of the new device, Munster said this was only an additional negative factor for the current shortages. "Sales internationally have taken inventory away from the U.S," were Munster's exact words.
It is also noted in the report that AT&T is doing no better either, with all of its 1,200 retail stores also being close to depleting their iPhone 3G stocks. A company spokesperson is cited as saying they are planning to move as fast as they can to fill their shelves back up with iPhone 3G units, once more handsets become available.