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The iPhone 4-hungry crowds that reportedly knocked out Apple’s Website for a time on June 15, following Apple’s official acceptance of iPhone 4 preorders, apparently bought out the place.
On the Apple site, the 16GB and 32GB black iPhone 4 are now said to ship by July 2. (From the start, Apple has said the elusive white iPhone 4 is unavailable for preorder or in-store pickup.) Bargain hunters, however, may appreciate that the 8GB iPhone 3G S, at the low-low price of $99, can still be made to arrive on doorsteps by June 24.
Best Buy, Radio Shack and AT&T additionally began accepting June 15 preorders for the Apple iPhone 4, which will go live on the AT&T network June 24. The carrier conceded that by noonish Pacific Time on June 15, its reserves dipped low, and anyone who preordered later can expect to get their hands on Apple’s new, long-running darling around June 25 or later.
Still, like the bar stools left open for walk-ins in a reservations-packed restaurant, a few lucky AT&T customers may still get served come that Thursday.
On June 15, AT&T’s official word on the matter, per Boy Genius, was:
“Because of the incredible interest in iPhone 4, today was the busiest online sales day in AT&T history. As of Tuesday afternoon, customers who preorder iPhone 4 moving forward will receive their device on June 25 or later, depending on when the order is placed. We’ll e-mail customers with confirmation once their order is placed, and again when it ships. In addition, we will have devices available on a first-come, first-serve basis in our stores beginning on June 24.”“
By June 16, however, AT&T issued a statement saying that it had suspended preorders all together, following demand for the iPhone 4 that was 10 times greater than what greeted the iPhone 3G S.
“The availability of additional inventory will determine if we can resume taking preorders,” AT&T said in the statement. It added, “In addition to unprecedented preorder sales, yesterday there were more than 13 million visits to AT&T’s Website, where customers can check to see if they are eligible to upgrade to a new phone; that number is about three times higher than the previous record for eligibility upgrade checks in one day.”
Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone 4 at Apple’s 2010 Worldwide Developer Conference June 7, calling it “beyond doubt one of the most precise, beautiful things we’ve ever done.”
To view images of the Apple iPhone 4, click here.
The iPhone 4 is slimmer than the iPhone 3G S and features an improved camera on the back and a second camera on the front, for video conferencing. Answering one of the biggest complaints about previous iPhone models, the battery on the iPhone 4 is said to offer seven hours of talk time, 300 hours of standby, 40 hours of easy listening and 10 hours of video watching. Using the phone’s WiFi connection, users can expect up to 10 hours of surfing time – versus six hours with AT&T’s 3G network.
The iPhone 4 also features a gyroscope – great for game-playing, as Nintendo Wii users know – which is expected to start the gyroscope market climbing.
With a two-year contract with AT&T, the 16GB iPhone 4 is priced at $199, while the 32GB model will cost you from $299.