14 DAY TRIAL // In a predictable move, following Steve Jobs' confirmation that white iPhone 4 models continue to pose assembly problems, the Cupertino-based maker of electronics has released a new statement regarding the matter. Apple claims iPhone 4 continues to be more difficult to manufacture, therefore is forced to push the phone’s official release to the end of this year.
Apple’s June 23, 2010 “Statement by Apple on White iPhone 4” saw Apple confirm that, “White models of Apple’s new iPhone 4 have proven more challenging to manufacture than expected, and as a result they will not be available until the second half of July. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected.”
Exactly one month after that statement was made, Apple has posted an almost identical statement, saying, “White models of Apple’s new iPhone 4 have continued to be more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected, and as a result they will not be available until later this year. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected.”
The delay has been rumored to have something to do with the white coating housed between two glass plates on the front and on the back of the device. Speculation is yet to mount on the the “antennagate” front, although some may be enticed to believe Apple is holding back white iPhone 4 models to release a phone that’s better at receiving wireless signals, even when the user’s hand bridges the two outer antennas.
iPhone 4 is available in the US for $199 for the 16GB model, and $299 for the 32GB model tied to a two year contract with AT&T. iPhone 4 is also available in the UK, France, Germany and Japan and will be available in an additional 17 countries by the end of July, Apple said. These territories include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.