It is not astounding that the iPhone 3G S has run out of stock as demand for it was sky high. This phone, which has been reviewed and raided by people dying to own the brand new version of the iPhone, is experiencing the same shortage problems that the iPhone 3G experienced during its launch in 2008.
During times of scarcity, the Apple website features a tool called the iPhone availability widget that displays spot shortages of selected iPhones at Apple stores across the United States. This availability tool made an appearance previously in the summer of 2008 when the iPhone 3G also went through availability problems because the demand for it was heavy and the supply was dwindling.
The entire range of iPhone 3G S is going through shortages. However, this problem seems to be especially acute for the entry-level white iPhone 3G S. For instance, out of the 15 Apple stores in Texas, the 16GB model is available only in three while its sold out in the rest. The exact reason for this shortage problem hasn’t been found yet. It could either be that the demand for that model is exceptionally high or Apple just isn’t manufacturing enough of them.
Of the two above mentioned reasons, the former appears to be the actual cause. It doesn’t seem possible that Apple could be under producing the iPhone 3G S.
The new model of the iPhone availability widget created this year is significantly more accurate than the original. In the previous model, the availability figures were updated at the end of each business day. This time, according to IFOAppleStore, the page is directly linked to Apple’s internal point-of-sale computers, thus enabling updates for each store every hour.