iPhone Out of Stock "Company Wide"

From Computerworld

The iPhone is of-of-stock "company wide," Apple sales representatives said Sunday. The outage has fueled rumors that the next-generation 3G model will be released shortly.

Neither Apple's U.S. or U.K. online stores have iPhones available for sale, according to their Web sites. At both, the message "Currently Unavailable" appears beside "Ships," which last week was noting a delay of five to seven business days. The company's German and French e-stores, however, still show 8GB and 16GB iPhones available.

"It's out-of-stock, Apple-wide," said a saleswoman from the Apple store in downtown Portland, Ore. "No, I don't know why," she said when asked why the iPhone was unavailable online and at retail. "All we've been told is that it's Apple-wide." The iPhone's vanishing act has boosted talk that the 3G-enabled iPhone -- many analysts have predicted it would be announced and released next month -- is right around the corner. Apple officials were unavailable for comment.

Most analysts and pundits have pegged June 9, the opening day of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) as the likely introduction of the 3G iPhone. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected to open the conference with his usual keynote address and could unveil a new iPhone then.

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