Aug 30

iPhone 3G - In Balance

For a pretty long time - almost two months now, one of the iPhone 3G problems that wasn't really up to the design, the components or the handling of the device by the user, and not even up to the service provider, the lack of enough phones to sell, seems to approach its last hour. Rest in peace, iPhone 3G shortage. Amen!

Considering how things started, and the incredible manufacturing rate reached by Foxconn - no less than 800,000 iPhones per week(!!!), it was expected for supply to catch up with demand, and now it seems that moment has finally arrived, although people had to wait up to 8 hours or more to get one so far, and only when they were lucky enough to find a store with enough iPhone 3Gs available...

According to analyst Ben Reitzes of Lehman Brothers, all US Apple retail stores are currently fully loaded with 16 GB iPhones, while the 8 GB model has a 99 percent availability! "We have seen a major improvement in iPhone availability in the US throughout August. It appears as though supply has met demand entering September (as expected)," he said.

The most interesting part in Reitzes' report is the opinion that Apple needs to lower the price of the iPod Touch seriously, if they don't want the iPhone 3G to kill it. I fully agree with that, and I am also eager to see the new iPods, Macs, and all that may come from Apple next month!